What makes a business successful? In today’s economy, having the right skills is crucial to stay competitive and achieving sustainable growth. However, female entrepreneurs in Cambodia face a structural barrier when it comes to accessing those resources. The Up.Skill 2.0 training programme aims to addresses these challenges.
In Cambodia, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up around 98 per cent of all businesses, contribute about 58 per cent to the country’s GDP, and provide 73 per cent of total employment. While economic growth has been strong, its benefits have not been evenly distributed. Over half of the country’s businesses are owned and operated by women, yet they still face a persistent pay gap and limited digital literacy.
One of the biggest challenges for many women-led businesses remains access to finance, because performance data is often not captured or analysed well enough to prove results. The Up:Skill 2.0 training programme, organised by the Digital Transformation Center Cambodia, together with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) and implementing partner DICHI Academy, responds to this exact pain point. It equips women with the skills needed to use data analytics and visualisation to strengthen confidence, competitiveness, and career readiness.
Starting in July 2025, 30 women professionals and entrepreneurs were selected from over 150 applicants. Over eight weeks, the participants learned to collect, analyse, and visualise their business data, translating numbers into insights that support data-based decisions and sustainable growth. The aim was to provide the women with the technical tools and knowledge to place them in a stronger position to seize new economic opportunities and lead the growth of their communities and businesses.
So far, this programme has been a great experience for me. I’ve had the chance to meet women from different backgrounds, industries, and generations. It’s more than just a bootcamp, it’s a space for networking, sharing experiences, and growing together.
The past three sessions have influenced how I view data and shaped my future opportunities by encouraging me to think more critically through data analysis and market research before making decisions, including using data to predict future trends. I’ve also learned new Excel functions that support informed decision-making, enhance business strategies, and improve data-cleaning skills for reliable results. While I once saw data as complicated, I now realise it becomes much easier to understand and apply effectively when explored with the right tools.
This course is highly relevant to my professional development. I aimed to strengthen my skills in data visualisation and analysis, so learning Power BI (Editor’s note: Power BI is a Microsoft tool that analyses and presents data in interactive visualisations to support better decision-making.) was a highlight. Data analytics is essential because it transforms raw information into actionable insights, enabling better decision-making and enhancing the quality of my work. Ultimately, I hope to leverage these skills to make my research more impactful and to prepare for future business opportunities where data-driven strategies are critical.
The programme also aligns with broader efforts to upskill Cambodia’s workforce, address the skills gap, and prepare citizens for an evolving labour market driven by technology, productivity needs, and economic transitions. Combining theory with hands-on practice and real-world case studies, allows participants to develop data-driven solutions that tackle real business challenges. They learn to create business strategies based on solid quantitative data, interpret customer behaviour, and make smarter decisions.
But the training programme is not only a place to upskill women’s capacities and workforce readiness for decent employment, it’s also about community and building a professional network. By empowering women to capture, visualise, and communicate their data effectively, Up:Skill 2.0 offers them the tools to negotiate better, plan smarter, and grow faster—turning skills into economic progress for Cambodia.
