Phnom Penh: Tuesday, 3rd of December 2019, The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) organised the “Building prosperous and resilient SMEs in emerging economies: How to harness the potential of new markets to promote economic diversification” and “Panel discussion – Building prosperous and resilient SMEs in Cambodia” at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh.
The event was sharing experience by Panha S. Theng, the founder and producer at 606 Media, a digital media startup working on video media and digital content. Before devoting herself full-time to 606, Panha had experience working at various media companies in television and NGOs on both commercial and social impact projects. Panha has made several documentaries on her own issues including climate charge, deforestation and civil rights. Her work has been shown in different countries in Asia and on national television.
Prof. Yuen Yuen Ang, Assistant Professor presented the topic “Using What You Have: Building Markets in Emerging Economies”. Prof. Ang is an Associate Professor of Political Science and a China specialist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She has been named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow for “High Calibar scholarship on the most pressing issue” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Ang studies economic and political development and adaptive governance focusing on emerging markets. Her expertise is widely sought on Chinese development, the Chinese political economy and China’s rising global role. Ang is the author of an award winning book “How China Escaped the Poverty Trap” and a forthcoming book “May 2020” China’s Gilded Age.
Prof. Ang also presented preliminary findings of her new project, which investigates how new markets emerge in the absence of first-world conditions across the Global South. Conventional wisdom insists that poor countries must first replicate the good and strong institutions of the first world in order to become wealthy. However, facing numerous constraints, how can low- and lower-medium income countries spur new markets and entrepreneurship? Instead of emulating developed economies, what can emerging economies learn from other emerging economies? Prof. Ang will therefore draw some preliminary conclusions from three case studies, i.e. Cambodia (tech start-ups), India (finance & home mortgages), Nigeria (Nollywood and media industry).
The Panel discussion “Building prosperous and resilient SMEs in Cambodia” was lead by Prof. Yuen Yuen Ang and H.E Vanarith Chheang, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Policy of Ministry of Economy and Finance. Vanarith is currently in charge of macroeconomic and fiscal policy formulation. In addition, he is a Deputy Secretary General of Committee on Economic and Financial Policy which covers formulation of major national development strategy and policy as well as reform measures. He is a well-experienced government official in policy formulation and reform-related area. H.E Vanarith holds dual Master’s degrees in Economics and Public Policy from Georgetown University United States.
Pauline Tamesis is the UN Resident Coordinator to Cambodia since 2018. Before coming to Cambodia, she spent two years in Thailand as Chief of the Country Office Support at UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub. Prior to that, she also served as UNDP Country Director in Bangladesh. Tamesis has more than 20 years of experience in development cooperation. Her areas are policy development advocacy and management with the UN and other International Practice Leaders, and Practice Manager and Anti-Corruption Policy Advisor with UNDP Bureau for Development Policy in New York.
Alan Soon started Splice to help drive the transformation of the media industry in Asia. He believes they’re seeing the unraveling of the mass media model into niche media startups serving smaller but highly engaged communities, He believes we’re in a golden age of media. The mission at Splice is to support the growth and sustainability of these media startups across Asia. He has been in media for over two decades. He has worked in radio, TV, Newspaper, Magazine and online.
Pong Limsan currently services as founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Womenteeh Asia Co., Ltd. She also works as a freelance IT consultant for IT development projects from different ministries of the Royal Government of Cambodia including the Ministry of Health as well as from private institutions. Limsan has over 15 years of professional experience in IT and technology innovation in the solutions field.
Photo by: Supplied
