Helping women entrepreneurs navigate the system

KHMER TIMES
CHEA VANNAK

Keo Mom, president of the Cambodia Women Entrepreneur Association. KT/Chor Sokunthea

Women play a significant role in Cambodian businesses, particularly in the small enterprise sector.

The Cambodia Women Entrepreneur Association (CWEA) provides a representative forum for women in business to bring issues to the attention of the government and also to business leaders.

Khmer Times’ Chea Vannak spoke to Keo Mom, CWEA’s president, to get her views on the challenges that Cambodian women entrepreneurs face in a male-dominated economy.

KT: What has the Cambodia Women Entrepreneur Association (CWEA) achieved in its efforts to help women, since it was formed in 2012?

Ms. Mom: In 2012, CWEA was formed with 14 members. Presently it has 370 enterprises, all run by women, as members. So that’s quite an achievement. CWEA runs training courses for its members to strengthen their business capacity and also build up their leadership skills.

In 2016, CWEA received funds from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Coca Cola. Those funds have been put to good use in running monthly training courses for women entrepreneurs. We also have ongoing cooperation agreements with ministries and government agencies.

These training courses are immensely valuable to women. They help bring together women – who can get marginalized in a male-dominated business environment. By bringing them together, they will be able to share their experiences with other women entrepreneurs.

This is a confidence building measure that helps their business grow.

KT: Why are women entrepreneurs so underrepresented in Cambodia?

Ms. Mom: Based on CWEA data, 60 percent of entrepreneurs in Cambodia are women. When it comes to income generated from business, it’s a different story. Women entrepreneurs generate less income than their male counterparts, mainly due to the fact that they are mostly concentrated in micro, small and medium enterprises. Most business run by men are medium and large enterprises. Because of that, their income is much better.

KT: What challenges do women entrepreneurs face?

Ms. Mom: In Cambodian society, women are supposed to take care of family welfare, including domestic services as well as assuring that education and healthcare is available. They are also responsible for the family’s day-to-day cash management and savings.

Cultural barriers define the role of women in the economy. Cambodian women are expected to work inside the house in providing domestic services while men are expected to be household leaders and to work outside the house. Women can only run small businesses at home, in their free time from housework, to support their families. So, there are limited chances for women to gain new knowledge to expand their businesses. Cambodian women are expected to confine themselves to the domestic world and there is little, if any, concept of them seeking fulfillment outside the house activities.

If they do seek employment, they consequently tend to end up in low-skill and low-income jobs, both because of restricted choice and because women’s work tends to be lowly valued.

KT: How does CWEA help women entrepreneurs get financing from banks and microfinance institutes (MFIs)?

Ms. Mom: The most common problem faced by women entrepreneurs when they deal with banks and MFIs is that they are unable to provide collateral security to obtain finance. Many women also complained about the tight repayment schedule, and the general feeling is that banks and MFIs are reluctant to lend money to them.

On our end, CWEA is helping women entrepreneurs navigate through the financial system. We’re helping them understand issues involved in borrowing and repaying money.

CWEA is also talking to the banks and MFIs and we’re negotiating with them to also accept moving collaterals, like machinery and inventory, rather than just fixed collateral as security for loans. We want women entrepreneurs to be treated equally like their male counterparts by the financial institutions.

KT: Do you think the government is doing enough to help women entrepreneurs?

Ms. Mom: Although government has begun to provide services for women entrepreneurs, many complain that they are unable to access them, claiming that obtaining access to government services is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

Yes, women entrepreneurs in Cambodia need more government help. Why can’t we be like Japan, where women entrepreneurs are able to receive loans from banks at lower interest rates? The government also should make it easy to register small and medium enterprises run by women. Right now it is a complicated and long process.

As an association, we are a voice in forum between the government and the private sector. We will use our voice to raise our members’ problems to government.

KT: In the context of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), what are the advantages and disadvantages for Cambodian women entrepreneurs?

Ms. Mom: The AEC will see the flow of goods and services in a common Asean market. So the Cambodian consumer will have a greater choice to choose from.

For local producers, especially small enterprises, there could be difficulties. Small players don’t have economies of scale, so their production costs are normally higher. The range of businesses run by Cambodian women include manufacturing, retail and services. So in the AEC, they would have to compete with the influx of goods from other Asean nations.

Support from the ministries of commerce and industry and handicraft is needed to extensively promote a “Buy Khmer Products” campaign. We have to support our own products to safeguard the livelihoods of Cambodian women entrepreneurs.

KT: What is CWEA’s outlook for this year?

Ms. Mom: We will continue advocating with banks and MFIs to provide low interest loans to women entrepreneurs. Adequate arrangements must be made for credit facilities at appropriate concession rates for women entrepreneurs in view of their growing needs.

Also our trainings and mentorship programs will continue. Some of our members will be sent overseas for training. It’s always valuable to have international exposure.