Cambodia sets up SME coordination structures

Cambodia sets up SME coordination structures

The new structures are designed to serve as a coordination mechanism between SMEs and relevant authorities to help businesses secure registrations, licenses, permits and incentives through a streamlined process.

The government has issued a sub-decree establishing two secretariats under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Coordination Unit (SMECU), covering business registration, licensing and permits, as well as monitoring and inspection.

The new structure is aimed at strengthening coordination and administrative support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while improving the efficiency of registration, licensing and permit procedures.

It also establishes a dedicated mechanism for monitoring and inspection, which is expected to improve coordination among relevant government institutions and support a more transparent and business-friendly environment for SMEs.

The sub-decree consists of 4 chapters and 10 articles, signed by Prime Minister Hun Manet and released on Monday. It is designed to serve as a coordination mechanism between SMEs and relevant ministries, institutions, and entities to assist businesses in obtaining necessary registrations, licenses, permits, and other incentives through a more streamlined process.

According to the sub-decree, the secretariat will also assist applicants in filling out applications for digital submission or forwarding them to the registration, licensing, and permits department.

Once an application is approved by the relevant ministry, institution, or public entity, the secretariat will issue the license and permit to the applicant.

“The secretariat will be responsible for managing SMECU’s digital systems, databases, and operations, as well as handling legal affairs, public communications, administration, human resources, archiving, documentation, logistics and assets,” read the sub-decree.

“The registration, licensing, and permits department will verify application documents and coordinate with focal points across relevant ministries, institutions and public entities to facilitate registration, issuance and renewal of licenses and permits.”

A separate monitoring and inspection department will oversee the implementation of incentives granted through licenses and permits processed under SMECU’s coordination mechanism. This department will coordinate with relevant ministries and public institutions to address challenges related to the implementation of these incentives and ensure they are delivered accurately and effectively.

The sub-decree specifies that the secretariat and each department will be led by a director, assisted by deputy directors as necessary, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

“This new structure is expected to strengthen coordination between government agencies and SMEs by providing a centralised mechanism to handle business-related administrative procedures, while improving post-issuance monitoring and accountability for licenses and permits,” the sub-decree added.

It may be recalled that the establishment of the secretariat follows the Prime Minister’s inspection of the progress of setting up the SMECU on Sunday, which will serve as a one-stop service to provide coordination services for registration applications, the issuance or renewal of various licenses and/or permits for SMEs, as well as tracking the implementation of incentives processed through this coordination unit.

Mr Hun Manet wrote on his social media that SMEs requiring these services will be able to submit their applications at just one place – the SME coordination unit. “The SMECU will act as a coordinator with all relevant ministries and institutions from start to finish. This measure will help reduce complexity, time and costs for small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.

Mr Hun Manet noted that the establishment of this SMECU is a new concrete measure among several recent measures and incentives.

In connection with the small and medium enterprise sector, the Ministry of Commerce has announced the recruitment of 160 business owners to participate in a training course to enhance their capacity to operate e-commerce proficiently, particularly through the CambodiaTrade.com platform.

The ministry announced that the implementation of the project “Digital Capacity Building and Promoting Khmer Products to International Markets via CambodiaTrade.com” aims to address the challenges faced by micro, small and medium enterprises in Cambodia. This is done by building business owners’ digital skills through practical, hands-on e-commerce training, training merchants on online store management and boosting orders via the CambodiaTrade.com marketplace platform.

SMEs participating in the training will be encouraged to start selling their products on the CambodiaTrade.com platform before completing the course.

According to the ministry, applications for the third training course opened on Saturday and run through November 1, while applications for the fourth course are also open from Saturday to December 10.

khmertimeskh