Regional Economic Development Program, Cambodia

With a constant growth rate of around 7% the Cambodian economy is undergoing a rapid transformation towards growing industry and service sectors. However, it is mainly concentrated in urban areas; the rural economy still relies on agriculture and is plagued by low productivity, limited diversification and scarce market information. Especially in SDC’s focus regions in northern Cambodia, business development services supporting jobs and employment opportunities in agriculture or micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) are rare. Irregular migration to Thailand is often the only option for the local rural youth. 

A wide administrative decentralization reform has been adopted since the early 2000s with the aim of strengthening local government capacities, so that they can serve the citizens better and promote inclusive, sustainable development. In spite of notable progress, sub-national administrations (SNAs) need more capacities coordinate local economic development initiatives and promote an enabling environment for a prosperous economy.

The project comprises three outcomes:

• Good governance for local economic development (LED)
• Enabling local business environment for Micro, - Small, and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), including skills and employability of workers
• Promotion of agricultural value chains 

Risultati principali attesi:  

Output A: Authorities and councils at the provincial and district level are increasingly implementing measures for inclusive economic development oriented at the needs of the local population.

Output B: The local business environment is better aligned to promoting employment opportunities and economic development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Output C: Small and micro enterprises in the selected agricultural value chains improve their production and sales opportunities.

Risultati fasi precedenti:   By strengthening local governance, RED III has helped SNAs to improve their capability in running multi-stakeholder forums. About 450 regional economic initiatives have been carried out and a Matching Fund scheme has incentivized districts’ project development capacities. SNAs have improved rural households’ confidence in their own capabilities and the usefulness of participatory dialogue. RED III also contributed to upgrade agricultural value chains through introducing ecologically sustainable methods, marketing strategies, product diversification and extension services through the private sector. Innovations on agricultural technique have achieved a high level of acceptance among farmers and agricultural enterprises: more than 40,000 households (48% women) have directly been reached by training activities, about 18,000 households were rated as “innovation adopters” and experienced a total annual income growth of approximately USD 5 million. A survey confirmed a citizen satisfaction increase with SNAs’ performance on RED-related measures, from 40% in 2015 to 84% in 2017.

Fase 2 01.01.2019 - 31.03.2022   (Completed)