Enterprise Financial Day Unites Business and Banks

More than hundreds of attendees including SMEs, and leading FIs came together to join the Enterprise Financial Day program, a financial discussion series that was conducted from September to November 2023 to prepare businesses access to finance and tap into the entrepreneurial community network.



H.E. Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, Chief Executive Officer of Khmer Enterprise said, “The Enterprise Financial Day forms part of Khmer Enterprise’s overarching vision to promote the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial activities and provide platforms to build a thriving entrepreneurial environment by connecting local businesses to the financial expertise and relevant ecosystem stakeholders for accessing to finances and other networking opportunities.”



The program aims to provide a platform for businesses to be more prepared on how to access finance and decide on the available loan options that could help the business expand and succeed, while for FIs to better understand the needs of the business community to tailor products around that demand.



Mrs. Mar Amara, Senior EVP & Group Chief Financial Officer, and Group Chief Operations Officer of ACLEDA Bank Plc., emphasized “the significance of the Enterprise Financial Day in fostering and advancing entrepreneurial activities and development. The bank has also been actively involved in the ecosystem by providing tailored loan products to SMEs to facilitate business expansion and investments. The overarching goal is to increase income, create employment, alleviate poverty, and promote sustainable economic development.”



Finance is an issue for many businesses when they start, or crises out of control strike, with the impact of Covid-19 and other recent global events. According to the World Bank report, Cambodia is on the path to economic recovery. The report went on to forecast the acceleration of economic growth to 5.5 percent in 2023. In October, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said that in 2024, Cambodia’s economy will grow by a projected 6.6 percent.



Understand the important role of SMEs in helping Cambodia’s future economic success while they comprise 98 percent of all businesses in Cambodia and contribute about 58 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP, the Enterprise Financial Day program includes discussion sessions that bring together the businesses and FIs to understand each other's needs and work together to achieve the financial readiness for businesses to compete within local market as well as international stage.



Recognizing that access to finance is one of the major hurdles for SMEs, therefore, Khmer Enterprise utilized the series of discussions to include informative presentations from various financial institutions on financial products and services that support SME access to loans. Followed by a high-engagement Q&A session that tackled the SMEs’ financial challenges. And finally, the attendees network with each other over lunch and break. The program was sponsored by ACLEDA Bank, SME Bank, and Sathapana Bank.



About Khmer Enterprise



Khmer Enterprise, established by the Royal Government of Cambodia, aims to mobilize, invest, and manage resources to support the development of a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cambodia, thereby promoting entrepreneurial activities driving innovation and value-added creation in Cambodia’s economy. Khmer Enterprise has the vision to become the national platform for promoting entrepreneurial activities in the four priority sectors: ICT focuses on tech start-ups, service focuses on hospitality and logistics, agriculture focuses on agro-processing for domestic consumption and agriculture for export, and lastly, manufacturing focuses on import substitution.


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