Harrison White
TrueMoney Cambodia Acting CEO, Khuon Frandara spoke with CIR Leader Talks on her involvement in a leading financial services company as well as driving gender inclusivity within her organization and the broader Cambodian FinTech sector.
Blending her French and Cambodian heritage with over 15 years of commercial and financial experience, Frandara has held pivotal roles at organizations including Novus Technologies, Wing Specialized Bank, Royal Railways, and ANZ Royal Bank.
Read more: Cambodia Prioritizes Women’s Digital Literacy: A Key Strategy for Future Economic Success
As she champions women’s involvement in Cambodia’s FinTech sector, Frandara reveals how TrueMoney’s female-heavy leadership is a part of her broader strategy. “I have strongly encouraged women’s empowerment at work starting off with my Leadership Team,” she explains. “Being a mother at home and taking care of the house duties definitely helps ensure they also go through the same level of details at work by leading the troop.”
The entrepreneurship mindset is naturally given
Frandara believes women have a natural aptitude for the finance sector, born from their integral roles in Cambodian households. She elaborates, “In every home or Cambodian family, the husband goes out of the house to work and brings the money back home while the wife/mother of the family needs to manage the financials to ensure the family doesn’t miss anything to keep the social status. So, indirectly managing the family wallet is a natural instinct for every Cambodian woman, and the entrepreneurship mindset is naturally given which is a bonus in the financial sector.”
She believes this feminine perspective positively influences the offerings of FinTech companies like TrueMoney. Recognizing that a significant number of SME/MSME entrepreneurs in Cambodia are women, she says, “we regularly engage/survey our agents and customers to get insights and identify if as users they are facing any friction in the journey.”
For young Cambodian women aspiring to leadership roles in the tech industry, Frandara advocates ambition, resilience, and proactivity. “The sky’s the limit. Be hungry for knowledge. Mistakes are either key learning or lesson learned part of the experience. Have the GRIT (Passion in what you do and the perseverance to reach your goals). Be confident. Be proactive.”
Advocates ambition, resilience, and proactivity
Nevertheless, she anticipates challenges in her mission to increase female representation in TrueMoney’s workforce, particularly the societal perception that tech roles are highly technical and “not as glamorous as a frontline role.” She believes that creating awareness and rebranding the technical aspect can help overcome this challenge.
Meanwhile, TrueMoney continues to elevate its brand in the FinTech landscape with a new marketing campaign – “Make Every Move Count” – targeted at the Cambodian youth. Frandara outlines, “The new enhanced features that we are releasing and developing will help and inspire the young generation to spend their money wisely. ‘Make Every Move Count’ reflects our vision to provide not only convenient, fast, and secure financial services to everyone but also to make sure that the customers can benefit in every move.”
Frandara’s vision for the Cambodian FinTech sector is one where technology and innovation drive financial inclusion and social equity. As part of this vision, women not only become consumers of FinTech services but also key stakeholders and creators. It is a future that, under the guidance of leaders like Khuon Frandara, seems not just plausible but within reach.
