Career fair encourages students to consider their own business

The Fulbright and Undergraduate State Alumni Association of Cambodia (FUSAAC) hosted the 9th Major and Career Fair 2018 last week, offering participants an opportunity to interact and attend a panel discussion and gain insights into choosing a future career path. While the main theme was entrepreneurship, participants had a chance to consult experts on some 70 majors.

The panel discussion examined the topic “Should Students Consider Entrepreneurship as Their Future Goal?”

The topic was chosen to encourage Cambodian students to consider entrepreneurship as their future career and seek opportunities to maximise their potential, rather than sticking to a paid job in an institution.

. .

According to Ambassador William A. Heidt, who spoke at the fair, the key factor in becoming an entrepreneur is have an entrepreneurial spirit and being persistent. That means finding something you love, pursuing it, and not giving up. Cambodia has many young entrepreneurs these days doing just that in the technology, tourism, and services fields, he said.

“We especially enjoy supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Cambodia. Studies show that when women thrive, so do their communities. According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, 65 percent of all Cambodian businesses are women-owned.

However, 96 percent of them employ fewer than four persons. So there are many women-owned businesses, but almost all of them are small,” Mr Heidt said.

To grow their businesses, female entrepreneurs in Cambodia not only need access to capital, they also need to improve their entrepreneurial skills, broaden their networks, identify business best practices, and learn from role models and mentors, Mr Heidt continued.

He added: “We are helping some of Cambodia’s best businesswomen become role models and build connections with other female entrepreneurs around the world. In November, we sent a delegation of seven Cambodian female entrepreneurs to India to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The GES is the world’s most prestigious entrepreneurship event, convening over 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors, and policy makers from all over the world.”

Article by Khmer Times