Deadline: 20-Nov-21
The UNDP Cambodia is pleased to launch the Innovation Challenge on Business Digitalisation and E-Commerce Acceleration to provide Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with an opportunity to develop ideas and/or solutions for their digitalisation transition, with a focus on readiness for export.
This call for submission of application for the Innovation Challenge on Business Digitalisation and E-Commerce Acceleration for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is supported by UNDP Cambodia in a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Khmer Enterprise is currently implementing a key initiative of Cambodia’s e-commerce acceleration project (Go4eCAM) with a focus on Component II: Skills and entrepreneurship for e-commerce (SME eBiZnest).
Objectives
The Innovation Challenge aims to ensure that MSMEs:
- Have access to suitable digital technologies to increase their confidence, productivity and competitiveness;
- Grow their business, expand market reach and employ more people;
- Upskill and train business owners and staff and benefit from new technologies;
- Work smarter and faster, be more innovative and work fewer hours; and
- Create an environment within the enterprise that makes it easier to do business.
Focus Areas
The Innovation Challenge is making a call to Cambodian MSMEs whose businesses involve some of the following key areas:
- Digitization transition and introduction of new technologies with a focus on readiness for export
- Fin-Tech, Agri-tech, food-tech, or any technology for agriculture promotion
- Agriculture product,
- Handmade/Handicraft,
- Environmentally friendly products
- Digital business solutions, or any automation of business processes
- Trade solutions in payment or logistics, smart retails/wholesale innovation
Benefits
In addition to the prize of US$5,000, MSMEs with winning innovations will receive:
- Training workshop,
- Mentoring and coaching, and
- Resources and tools to support the execution of the innovation concept
Eligible Activities
- The awards shall support investment towards the design, development, implementation, and delivery of domestic and cross-border e-commerce features, which include but not limited to the following:
- Consultation services – information technology strategic planning execution, e-commerce related technologies, warehousing and operations technologies among others.
- Business upskills on e-commerce, digital marketing, business digitalization among others
- Innovations to enhance business competitiveness or to reach broader target customers in an identified market (nationally/internationally)
- Product listing on a domestic/cross-border e-commerce website, creative catalogue design considering a market standard (i.e. with a complete product description, etc.) Innovations on environmentally friendly packaging for e-commerce
- Integration of appropriate web analytics software to allow SMEs to generate data reports on web traffic to and from the website or digital market tracking system understand customer behaviors;
- Other innovations contributing to a business success in domestic and/or cross-border e-commerce
- Moreover, solution identification varies depending on a business’s e-commerce readiness. Businesses could utilise the following resources to identify innovations, which could assist them for digital transition and onboarding marketplaces:
- The International Trade Centre’s e-commerce readiness checklist, which could be accessed via https://tools.ecomconnect.org/readiness/, guides businesses to check their business readiness in terms of engaging in international e-commerce and understand where a business needs to concentrate their efforts to successfully sell online.
- Cambodia e-commerce platform, which has been developed by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) under the Go4eCAM project, is a fully integrated B2B2C marketplace. The platform has been equipped with international logistics services, secured payment gateways, among others.
Who are they looking for?
- This programme is for MSMEs in (selected sectors), which are looking or planning to:
- Move part or whole of the business operations online;
- Have greater exposure from smart matching to connect with potential overseas clients;
- Optimised listings on domestic and overseas e-marketplaces aiming for selling cross-border through e-commerce;
- Have prompt access to financing offers facilitated via the online or digital platforms;
- Cross-border e-payment facilities that alleviate currency risks;
- Strong partners network such as with logistics companies to facilitate faster delivery of orders;
- Training and support to build competency for cross-border e-commerce;
- Enter onto cross-border e-commerce through dedicated e-marketplaces, including MoC’s CambodiaTrade.com or other platforms.
- Business cases from women (women-led business or promoting women’s economic empowerment), provincial enterprise, and those MSMEs targeting exports of products are strongly encouraged and will be given special consideration.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the Innovation Challenge programme, MSMEs should meet the following criteria:
- A Cambodian-owned enterprise, either registered or unregistered who are growing or looking to grow their business online;
- Must have at least business operation and continuity of minimum of one year engaged in the target sectors;
- Have a physical product or a range of physical products (Cambodia made) that can be sold online and can be shipped to customers (in-country or cross-border);
- Demonstrate a clear business roadmap and commitment to move the current business model online, as well as the development of e-commerce feature for selling online;
- Able to demonstrate the capacity to deliver the proposed digitalization model within the proposed timeline successfully;
- Able to demonstrate the proposed idea or solutions contributing to sustainable development goals (environmental, economic, and social dimensions) is also an advantage.
For more information, visit https://undpcambodia.exposure.co/the-innovation-challenge-on-business-digitalisation-and-e-commerce-acceleration