Digital Cambodia 2020 set to focus on talent
THE Digital Cambodia 2020 expo, to be held under the theme Digital Talent, will be held in March next year to build human capital as the government aims to transition the Kingdom into a largely digital economy by 2025.
Kan Channmeta, secretary of state at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, speaking at a press conference at the ministry on Wednesday, said preparations for the second Digital Cambodia came as result of the success of this year’s inaugural event.
Held in March, Digital Cambodia 2019 gathered significant input and recommendations from key stakeholders, governments institutions, ministries and experts from across the region.
Digital Cambodia 2020, also called DC 2020, will run from
March 20-23.
Channmeta said that with the government targeting the transition into a digital economy for further growth, there was the need for preparations, greater input from stakeholders regarding policy and guidelines for implementation, as well as strengthening human resources.
“The event will boost youth focus on digital technology, which will drive Cambodia’s development of a digital economy. We have already confirmed that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth will preside over the opening of DC 2020.
“We will also invite Asean digital ministers and experts from across the region to the event, where the private sector can talk directly with ministers and have contact with businesses from across the region,” Channmeta said.
Digital Cambodia 2019, which was held from March 15-16 this year, gathered more than 100 tech companies and startups from across the country and the region, along with IT industry stakeholders.
In October, the government formed an inter-ministerial committee to compile drafts on frameworks for the digital economy and policies on e-government. This followed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s announcement in March of a $5 million a year fund to support startups with regards financing, technical expertise, marketing, production and training.
According to the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia, Cambodia had 19.5 million mobile subscribers across six operators last year. Of these, 13.6 million people accessed the internet from their mobile phones, while around seven million had Facebook accounts.