SHE Investments: Supporting Cambodian Female Entrepreneurs

May 1, 2024

29 2 minutes read

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SEATTLE, Washington — Located in Southeast Asia, right of the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia is a country with a population of approximately 16.77 million people. In Cambodia, small and medium-sized businesses have played a critical role in providing jobs, skill training, sustainability and overall economic development. Cambodian female entrepreneurs operate 61% of the country’s businesses, but 95% of these are micro-sized, typically employing fewer than four people.

Empowering Cambodian Female Entrepreneurs

Support Her Enterprise Co., Ltd — SHE Investments — started as an independent social enterprise in 2013. The organization began with the mission to empower Cambodian female entrepreneurs, with its motto stating: “Investing in women is [an]opportunity; not charity.” As of January 2024, the company is powered by the International Development Enterprises (iDE) as a support program.

iDE Cambodia is a nonprofit organization that creates business models for local entrepreneurs in hopes of alleviating poverty in the country. One sector in which they are making strides is gender equity. For example, the nonprofit researches how to better include women in the business world. It uses the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) to measure improvements for women in leadership, income, production, resources and time use.

Resources and Support for Entrepreneurial Growth

Under the care of iDE Cambodia, SHE Investments aids the nonprofit’s goals by continuing to offer its most successful products, services and initiatives. Many of its products are resources for Cambodian female entrepreneurs who may not have the systems or information to support their businesses, such as their “KOTRA Riel Bookkeeping App,” “Learning Management System” and “Digital Resource Center.” In addition, the company sells educational handbooks surrounding entrepreneurship and investment in English, Khmer and Myanmar for accessibility. Funded by USAID, its Financial Pathways Toolkit webpage also features other local business resources like apps and Facebook communities for Cambodian female entrepreneurs.

Impact and Future Prospects

Along with its online resources, SHE Investments hosts workshops and incubator programs for women in business from all around Cambodia. Its workshops touch on subjects like financial and digital literacy. In addition, its 6-month incubator program is open to applications from small women-led businesses in the country to help their companies grow with business education. For instance, recent program participant Nun Channy found that her banana business’s production increased by 800% after completing her experience with SHE Investments. The organization also sets up networking events where Cambodian female entrepreneurs can convene to give each other advice and support.

SHE Investments has already made great changes for Cambodian female entrepreneurs and their small businesses, about 6,000 people use its KOTRA Riel Bookkeeping App at the moment. The company has worked with more than 350 people in its incubator program and more than 100 in its accelerator program. Reflecting the truth of its motto, it found that its programs increased the total monthly revenue for its graduates by $728,334 and $2,006 per participant. Graduates of the programs have even created more than 850 jobs throughout the country.