Worldbridge International, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are partnering to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, build resilient infrastructure and foster innovation in Cambodia.
“Economic development and future growth in Cambodia must be done in a way which is sustainable and has positive social impacts,” said Oknha Sear Rithy, Chairman of the Worldbridge Group. “By joining together with UNDP and UNIDO, we feel that we will not only be able to achieve our initial objectives but be able to go beyond them in order to bring more meaningful and sustainable results in our projects.”
The areas of cooperation will focus on existing Worldbridge Group projects in affordable housing, green logistics and fleet management, and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cluster development.
Worldbridge is recognized in Cambodia for its leadership in the transport and logistics sector. The partnership will focus on “Smart Growth” and promote sustainable and cleaner fuels, driver training, road safety awareness and more efficient planning of logistics services to improve efficiency. It will also look into opportunities for localized circular economies, waste management for reuse in industry, and micro-enterprise skills development.
Nick Beresford, Country Director for the UNDP in Cambodia, noted: “The MoU with Worldbridge serves as an example of the public-private partnership that is vital to UNDP’s goal to promote sustainable business practices and investment in areas with high social and economic impact. With an impact across multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this continued partnership and those like it, are important steps in achieving the SDGs by 2030.”
UNIDO’s collaboration will bring a strong focus to the urgent need to develop the SME agro-processing sector and to establish new, diversified manufacturing supply chains in Cambodia. The SME Cluster project envisioned by Worldbridge will seek to reduce the barriers faced by most SMEs in Cambodia today while providing new business opportunities for foreign manufacturing investment and local startup companies as well as enabling purposeful technology transfer into Cambodia.
The Royal Government of Cambodia and UNIDO have established a common framework for cooperation: the Programme for Country Partnership (PCP). Collaboration within the PCP will bring direct access to the expertise, experience, and initiatives that UNIDO has developed globally.
“This comes at the right time and aligns with our PCP,” said Narin Sok, UNIDO Country Representative in Cambodia. “It not only marks the first partnership with local private sector in the context of the PCP, but it also provides a framework where we can work more closely with the private sector to promote SME cluster development and ultimately inclusive sustainable industrial development.”
Worldbridge, UNDP, and UNIDO will commence their activities in August with the detailed planning of multiple activities, including of a SME Cluster Development workshop scheduled for mid-September in Phnom Penh.
Original source: UNIDO
Published on 17 August 2018
