NBC chief urges SMEs to adopt digital tools
NBC chief urges SMEs to adopt digital tools
Chea Serey, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), on Thursday urged the owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt digital tools to expand their financial and market access.
As a speaker at the panel discussion on ‘Safeguarding the Economy’s Backbone: Accelerating Global SME Growth through Digital Innovation’ during the Singapore FinTech Festival 2024 (SFF 2024), Serey highlighted the progress of Cambodia’s economy and its development pillars.
The NBC Governor emphasised the essential role of SMEs in driving economic growth after the Covid-19 crisis, noting that their significance continues to grow.
She highlighted the challenges SMEs face, including limited access to financial resources and increased competition as they strive to expand, particularly in light of the tourism sector’s slow recovery.
The Governor also underlined the initiatives of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to promote the development of SMEs by improving the business environment, increasing access to finance, and enhancing cooperation in developing and connecting payment systems between Cambodia and the countries in the region and the world.
Serey wrote on her social media account that SMEs in many markets are considered the backbone of the economy but they also face similar challenges – lack of access to finance, markets and research and development (R&D)
“I believe digitalization can solve these challenges but SMEs need to be ready to adopt digitalization – which in itself, is another challenge on its own,” she noted.
“Digital literacy is limited and necessitates coordinated efforts from all parties, including the public and private sector, to promote it. More sustainably financial and digital literacy should be embedded in the general education program and be a part of necessary life skills,” she added.
Pat Patel, Executive Director of Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International and Senior Vice President of Ant Group, Mahendra Nerurkar, Vice President of Payments for Emerging Markets at Amazon, Martha Sazon, President and CEO of GCash, and Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation of the Republic of Rwanda, were also invited as speakers at the panel discussion.
After the session, Serey went on to visit several booths of NBC’s potential partners including Paytm – India’s largest digital payment system with the most-loved payments application – and Tencent to explore their new palm payment technology.
