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Clint O’Connell Quoted on Cambodiatrade.com: An E-commerce Tool for Small Business

Clint O’Connell (Partner, Cambodia Deputy Managing Director & Head of Cambodia Tax Practice) was recently quoted in the Phnom Penh Post article “Cambodiatrade.com – A springboard for small businesses to global commerce.” Cambodiatrade.com is an e-commerce platform that was launched on March 31 as part of Go4eCam, a public-private pilot project to boost Cambodia’s internet economy.

As the Phnom Penh Post wrote: “The platform is enabling artisans, retailers, social enterprises and manufacturers to make the transition from conventional business operators to global entrepreneurs.”

The project has so far received positive feedback, especially from our tax expert Clint, who called Cambodiatrade.com a “fantastic concept” and praised its ability to serve as an “SME incubator and a learner pool.”  “In other words, rather than just dumping a SME in the e-commerce marketplace ocean with all its associated perils and uncertainties, this scheme provides training and support in a learning environment so that SMEs are well equipped when operating in the real world,” he was quoted as saying in the Phnom Penh Post. “The idea of starting out with reasonably small numbers and creating ‘champions’ makes sense and we all hope that those SMEs that make a success of their business through the platform will show the way for other SMEs to follow.” Clint said the entire Cambodian economy would benefit from the opportunities provided by the platform and the new skills it would bring. “The infrastructure, while not currently perfect, is being quickly put in place and this can be seen via the collaboration between the platform and local banks and fintech firms to provide payment solutions, in particular cross-border payments.” Clint continued: “[As for] logistics improvements, [there are] collaborations with Cambodia Post and DHL Cambodia to upgrade the postal IT infrastructure, and standardization of key legal documents such as privacy and consumer protections”. He told the Phnom Penh Post the postal and delivery system had been integrated into the Automated System for Customs Data World tax-management portal and interfaced with the Universal Postal Union Customs Declaration System.

As Clint put it, this means businesses and customers will have an easier time buying, selling and shipping products over the internet.

Read the article to find out more: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/special-reports/cambodiatradecom-springboard-small-businesses-global-commerce

Clint O'Connell
Partner, Managing Director
Cambodia
Clint O'Connell is a Partner and Managing Director of DFDL in Cambodia.