Cambodia Investment Review
Cambodia’s only Singapore-owned commercial bank – Phillip Bank Plc –continues to strengthen its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts by awarding scholarships to four high school students to study under the unique E2STEM academic initiative.
E2STEM Education is a non-profit STEM education provider working in a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia.
E2STEM was developed and launched by Dr. Seet Ai Mee, Singapore’s former Minister of State for Education, with the vision to train thousands of Cambodian students who aspire for a better Cambodia and have dreams for a better world, to be independent learners and thinkers and be the future scientists, engineers, and technologists of Cambodia.
E2STEM is committed to assisting Cambodia to achieve the ambitious vision to become an upper-middle-income nation by 2030.
Awardees thankful for Phillip Bank’s CSR
Phillip Bank provides financial scholarships each year to four disadvantaged but deserving students to study in E2STEM’s rigorous academic program. Two of the students awarded Phillip Bank scholarships were Sinat Ratana and Soy Hok.
Sinat Ratana said “Three years in this school made me become a confident person, brave to try and to learn new things by myself. E2STEM is a school that I dreamed of for a long time and this school could be in Cambodia because of you, our sponsor.”
“I really appreciate your kindness that changed my high school life, helped me to become a good person, and helped Cambodia to have a brighter future. I’ll become an architect to help my country’s buildings or places to be better and more beautiful,” she said.
Soy Hok also thanked Phillip Bank for the sponsorship that allowed him to study at E2STEM for the past three years. “I am writing to express how much I appreciate your generosity. Before I enrolled in E2STEM, I knew nothing about Phnom Penh and I didn’t even know how to use technology. I had no idea about teamwork, how to engage and communicate with people, and what a STEM career was,” Soy Hok said.
“What I learned from this project are also soft skills like cooperation, communication, how to explore new subjects, and I feel satisfied to teach other students how this project works. Your generosity has helped me have a good education at E2STEM and it allows me to pursue a professional career,” he explained.
Phillip Bank Improves Financial Inclusion in Cambodia
Phillip Bank also works with Koampia Phum Yoeung (KPY) a local NGO that takes a broad and holistic approach to financial inclusion.
The organization seeks to live up to its name – which means in English Caring for Our Village – by ensuring that disadvantaged families and children in the villages and communities served by Phillip Bank are empowered to gain access to the full range of financial services and economic opportunities as anyone else.
KPY works under the concept of taking the mystery and confusion out of financial services by equipping, guiding, and empowering disadvantaged families through a highly participatory process of group learning, discussion, coaching, and practical problem solving. They teach the basics of financial literary: how bank accounts work, the basics of budgeting including creating and maintaining a budget, understanding interest rates, and strategies for saving money.
Phillip Bank Cambodia is the only Singapore owned commercial bank in the Kingdom with more than 80 branches across the country. The Bank offers a wide range of financial services and products catering to Corporate, SME and Retail customers. The Bank is a member of PhillipCapital Group which is headquartered in Singapore and established since 1975.
