Ministry signs MoU on digital literacy project for ASEAN bloc
Ministry signs MoU on digital literacy project for ASEAN bloc
The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Asia Foundation (TAF) on the regional Go Digital ASEAN initiative.
The deal aims to enhancing digital literacy among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in rural areas of the Kingdom and ASEAN countries, the ministry said.
The MoU was signed by minister Cham Prasidh and TAF director Meloney C Lindberg at the ministry on August 28.
The ministry said the initiative is backed by $3.3 million in funding from Google Inc and is implemented by a number of project partners that include STAR Kampuchea, US-based DAI Global LLC and InSTEDD iLab Southeast Asia.
Under the MoU, STAR Kampuchea will organise training courses for 15,000 entrepreneurs in the capital and Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Takeo and Kampong Speu provinces, it added.
At the signing ceremony, Prasidh said the project would place emphasis on the online registration of MSMEs to position them under “the sole umbrella” of the ministry and ease their management, training and work direction in the context of globalisation and Industry 4.0.
“On behalf of the ministry and government, I pledge support and high commitment to providing digital skills training to small and medium-sized businesses in Cambodia so that they can continue to do business notwithstanding the Covid-19 environment and participate in the digital economy,” he said.
TAF’s Lindberg said the project comes as MSMEs are in urgent need for digital knowledge and skills to participate in the digital economy and earn money to support their families during the Covid-19 era.
She said: “I am pleased with the full support of the Ministry of Industry, [Science, Technology and Innovation] to implement the project at the regional level and in Cambodia.
“Small businesses are at the heart of national economy and community of Cambodia [and have been greatly] affected by Covid-19, so there is an urgent need for digital support of those businesses.”
The Cambodia Inter-censal Economic Survey 2014 shows there were 513,759 enterprises in the Kingdom that year, of which 97.6 per cent were micro-enterprises and 2.2 per cent were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Women owned 26 per cent of SMEs and 62 per cent of micro-enterprises.
