Ellie Dyer
The Phnom Penh Post
FEMALE entrepreneurs highlighted corruption as the most important issue facing businesswomen in Cambodia, during a meeting Wednesday attended by government officials and international experts.
Around 80 women working in tourism, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, handicrafts and manufacturing joined together at the Intercontinental Hotel in Phnom Penh to discuss their working environment.
Conference participants said that corruption, tax levels and their lack of a coherent voice were among top concerns.
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), women are underrepresented in official business forums. Although around 62 percent of Cambodian businesses – mostly small enterprises – are owned by women, according to 2008 figures, relatively few attend regular meetings set up between the government and private sector.
“Women entrepreneurs are an enormous untapped resource for economic development. If women’s businesses were able to achieve their potential, they could make much greater contributions to job creation, improving incomes, developing human resources, paying taxes and contributing to economic growth,” said Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, according to a transcript of her speech.
The forum closed with women volunteering to represent their sectors at official meetings.
Brenda Murphy, a consultant with London-based Law and Development Partnership, who helped present the forum as part of a two-year project in Cambodia, said: “This is the first stage of the process. We are trying a bottom-up approach to seek out the issues.”
Around 80 women working in tourism, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, handicrafts and manufacturing joined together at the Intercontinental Hotel in Phnom Penh to discuss their working environment.
Conference participants said that corruption, tax levels and their lack of a coherent voice were among top concerns.
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), women are underrepresented in official business forums. Although around 62 percent of Cambodian businesses – mostly small enterprises – are owned by women, according to 2008 figures, relatively few attend regular meetings set up between the government and private sector.
“Women entrepreneurs are an enormous untapped resource for economic development. If women’s businesses were able to achieve their potential, they could make much greater contributions to job creation, improving incomes, developing human resources, paying taxes and contributing to economic growth,” said Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, according to a transcript of her speech.
The forum closed with women volunteering to represent their sectors at official meetings.
Brenda Murphy, a consultant with London-based Law and Development Partnership, who helped present the forum as part of a two-year project in Cambodia, said: “This is the first stage of the process. We are trying a bottom-up approach to seek out the issues.”
3 comments:
“Corruption as the most important issue facing businesswomen in Cambodia.” Sounds FUNNY! It sounds and seems like having corruption linkering around in Cambodia is a good thing. How about using the word "CRITICAL," it is more logical.
How does the government respond to the issue since they anti-corruption law is enforced to the person who they want to close the mouth or kill????? However, they may not embarrassed at all....
"Too many hands spoil food" is absolutely right for Cambodia context as we now have too many DOCTORs, but cannot solve the issue of corruption even the Prime Minister also has PHD with him all day and night..SIC
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