Cambodia leadership Review
Thierry Tea is a Cambodian entrepreneur and investor committed to strengthening the Kingdom’s next generation of founders and enterprises. As CEO of Canadia Impact Fund (CIFC), he is leading a new chapter in Canadia Group’s long-standing support for Cambodia’s private sector, with a focus on impact-driven investments that combine financial return with measurable economic and social value.
With a strong belief in vision, perseverance, aligned interests, and responsible governance, he positions CIFC not simply as a source of capital, but as an open platform designed to guide ambitious founders through mentorship, strategic advice, and access to regional and global networks.
In this interview, he reflects on nurturing Cambodia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, backing execution-driven teams, strengthening collaboration across stakeholders, and advancing the internationalisation of Cambodian innovation over the next decade.
Leadership and the Vision Behind Canadia Impact Fund
Canadia Impact Fund marks a new chapter in Canadia Group’s long-standing support for Cambodia’s private sector. What motivated you to establish CIFC, and how does your leadership approach shape the fund’s focus on empowering Cambodian founders and next-generation entrepreneurs?
I believe there is a shift in Cambodia’s entrepreneurial landscape, with a new generation of bold, ambitious, well-educated founders.
Through several mentorship initiatives, I had the chance to talk to many young entrepreneurs, and I understood that most of them, at the early stages of their journey, need the right guidance, standards, and network to turn strong ideas into strong businesses. I also remember very well when I first started; even if you have experience, when you launch alone, it is hard.
In consequence, I am happy that Canadia Group’s shareholders believed in the mission to contribute and be an active part of growing this nascent ecosystem. And they fully supported our initiative to launch Canadia Impact Fund (CIFC).
I believe in vision, ambition, perseverance, transparency, aligned interests, and building an open platform.
So we let the founders operate while we provide advice and access to a global network. Overall, we are looking for shared values, synergies for value creation, and impact for the greater good.
Backing Cambodian Startups with Real Scale Potential
CIFC’s debut investment in Jalat Logistics signals a strong belief in locally founded, execution-driven startups. What stood out about Jalat’s business model and leadership team, and what does this investment say about the types of companies CIFC aims to support?
The story of our investment in Jalat reflects our investment philosophy. The founders are ambitious but flexible enough to be open to feedback and able to adapt.
When I first met them with our team, I understood and believed in their vision, but not in their 3–5 year strategy. I told them straight that we would not invest because we did not think it would work.
Then, they reviewed and adjusted their strategy, and we believed that their alteration created a stronger and clearer execution path. This highlighted their critical thinking and their business agility. And I liked that.
With CIFC, we aim to guide founders to grow and expand beyond their capabilities, to think out of the box, and to be different, while creating impact for their customers.
Ultimately, we invest in teams that share our values and are building businesses with integrity. We look for opportunities where we can create value through real synergies, and where the outcome includes financial return with positive, measurable impact for Cambodia’s economy and communities.
Beyond Capital: Building an Ecosystem for Growth
CIFC has emphasized partnerships with ecosystem players such as Khmer Enterprise, Smart Axiata’s Startup Space, Techo Startup Center, and Impact Hub. How important is ecosystem collaboration in helping startups scale sustainably, and how does CIFC add value beyond providing funding?
We strongly believe that collaboration will create stronger value, which will then help the country reach the next level of development and integrate better into the regional and global business ecosystems.
Everyone wants to shine and to lead, but we think that the real goal is to be sustainable as an industry and sector. That is when we can achieve real growth and real development. This is the reason why we need everyone’s contribution for positive developments.
There is a lot of space for everyone who wants to contribute, and we are very open to working with all existing and new players.
Looking Ahead: Cambodia’s Startup Ecosystem and Regional Ambitions
Looking forward, how do you assess Cambodia’s startup ecosystem over the next five to ten years, and what role can impact-driven funds like CIFC play in connecting Cambodian innovation with regional and global markets while ensuring long-term economic and social impact?
In my opinion, there are still many challenges that we need to address. Actually, this makes the Cambodian landscape very interesting.
I am strongly willing to help and contribute to building a stronger and more sustainable ecosystem, and a good brand image of Cambodia’s tech, innovative, and digital economy.
With CIFC, we have a strong foundation of stakeholders and shareholders who understand that patience and perseverance are key aspects in developing a successful journey of creating return on equity. We have assembled a lean, agile team, which combines young talents, both local and international, who have been founders and entrepreneurs themselves in Cambodia and abroad. We also have very experienced finance and accounting veterans who are complemented by young, talented analysts who studied at CamEd Business School or worked in firms like KPMG. Along the journey, it is also very important to help nurture and provide opportunities for wider exposure to our young talents.
Now, nobody knows how the ecosystem will be in 10 years, but I strongly believe in the continued growth and development of the Cambodian tech, innovation, and digital ecosystem.
I am very sure that the number of deals and pipeline opportunities will only keep increasing. We also strongly believe that we need to push for better and more internationalisation of our Cambodian products, services, companies, and people.
