Cambodia Investment Review
Smart Axiata and Impact Hub Phnom Penh (IHPP) proudly announces the winners of the 2024 SmartStart Unipreneur Learning Platform (ULP) National Student Hackathon, recognizing the brightest student entrepreneurs from across Cambodia.
The hackathon, held from September 25 to 28, 2024, brought together 16 teams of students from 16 universities for an exciting 4-day event in Siem Reap province, culminating in a final pitch at Angkor University on September 28th which was presided over by his excellence So Visothy, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, along with representatives from Smart Axiata, Impact Hub Phnom Penh, local authorities and key players in the Siem Reap entrepreneurial ecosystem. These talented individuals stood out for their innovation, creativity, and commitment to creating meaningful change through their entrepreneurial ventures.
Read More: Smart Axiata Scores Double Awards for HR and B2B Excellence
The vibrant entrepreneurial spirit in Cambodia
This year’s hackathon saw strong competition among the participating teams from various provinces within Cambodia, with innovative ideas that demonstrated the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit in Cambodia. The winners of the 2024 SmartStart ULP Hackathon are:
- Overall Excellence: Junivers from CamTech University. Their solution: an innovation hub designed to offer authentic local experiences in Cambodia
- Best Performing Team: Loung Chet from University of South-east Asia (Siem Reap). Their solution: Cambodia’s first anonymous mental health app, connect users through shared experiences and fosters a supportive community for personal well-being.
- Best Innovation and Creativity: Linkifiq from Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology. Their solution: an app that helps local handicraft businesses to promote their products by providing low-cost promotional advertisement.
- Best Social Impact Idea: Youth Connect from ACLEDA University of Business. Their solution: a recruitment center focused on helping underprivileged youth in Siem Reap access education and necessary skills.
- Best Prototype: Khmer Rice from Build Bright University – Siem Reap. Their solution: an enterprise dedicated to processing organic Cambodian rice, infused with local herbs to promote health and well-being of Cambodian people.
Junivers from CamTech University who was crowned for the “Overall Excellence” category, took home the grand prize which is the regional tech trip outside of Cambodia where they will be exposed to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, innovative spirit and exciting trends within the neighboring country.
Sok Sreylaksmy, a member of Jurnivers, from CamTech University expressed her excitement for winning the “Overall Excellence” category saying “SmartStart ULP has helped and exposed us to the young entrepreneur world and boost our confidence and skills in order to make our projects run smoothly. We are very proud and deeply thankful to have been awarded the Overall Excellence, as it reflects our hard work over five days. Our message for the next innovators – fall in love with the problems, then the solution”.
The other four winning teams were awarded a cash prize of 250 USD per team, which will help them refine and enhance their prototype, bringing them closer to a viable solution.
Smart Axiata’s Chief Executive Officer, Ziad Shatara, expressed pride in the success of the SmartStart ULP, stating, “At Smart Axiata, we’re passionate about empowering Cambodia’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Our support for SmartStart Unipreneur Learning Platform (ULP) reflects our commitment to fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. By providing aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to succeed, we’re investing in Cambodia’s future. ULP aligns perfectly with our vision of a digitally empowered and economically thriving nation.”
Impacting more than 2,750 students across Cambodia
Since its inception in 2019, the SmartStart ULP has promoted entrepreneurship among Cambodian youth, impacting more than 2,750 students across universities from various Cambodian provinces. The program, which combines classroom learning with practical field experiences, is designed to foster entrepreneurial mindsets and provide students with the tools needed to succeed. The hackathon marks the culmination of months of hard work, mentoring, and learning for the students.
“It had been almost five years since the first implementation of the SmartStart Unipreneur Learning Platform university entrepreneurship curriculum. It proved to be such a game changer in equipping university students with practical skills and entrepreneurial mindsets to thrive in this new digital age,” said Chhim Tithamatak, Program Manager and Lead Trainer of SmartStart ULP of Impact Hub Phnom Penh.
SmartStart ULP is being carried out in conjunction with the 16 universities: the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology, University of Puthisastra, Royal University of Law and Economics, Build Bright University in Phnom Penh, Build Bright University in Siem Reap, Royal University of Agriculture, Angkor University, Svay Rieng University, CamTech University, ACLEDA Institute of Business, Phnom Penh International University, University of South-East Asia, Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia in Siem Reap, Build Bright University in Banteay Meanchey, National University of Battambang and Build Bright University in Battambang.
The success of SmartStart ULP presents a great opportunity for universities to integrate the entrepreneurship program into their curricula and take ownership of this crucial field of education. This will allow them to equip students with essential entrepreneurial skills, fostering the next generation of innovators who will drive economic growth through unlimited innovation.
