Cambodia has set the country’s visions to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050, and these visions can only be achieved if new technology is leveraged to increase industrial value-added, diversify exports, and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology has become one of the most important tools that are used to support the competitiveness of SMEs. Different from large scale businesses, SMEs have insufficient funds which restrict them from investing in technology. Although many SMEs are involved in creative business, owners have not been able to understand the importance of the use of technology and how beneficial technology can be to increase productivity. Since technological tools and skills are the only elements that SMEs can use to thrive during the pandemic, SMEs cannot adapt themselves to and survive in the situation. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to establish an effective system and platform as a foundation to support SMEs in the country for adopting technology to be more resilient and competitive. The project is made through the establishment of an analytical study, soft infrastructure development, as well as operational and management components. The main outputs of the project will be 1) technology platforms developed, 2) business intelligence system (BIS) developed for supporting SMEs, and 3) technology adoption piloted in selected SMEs.

The General Department of Science, Technology & Innovation of the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation is the implementing agency of the project with the financial support from the government of Japan under the ACMECS development fund. At the higher level, this project will contribute to the implementation of various national strategic policy frameworks, including the National Policy on Science, Technology & Innovation 2020-2030 and Cambodia’s Science, Technology & Innovation Roadmap 2030.