Canadia Impact Fund’s CEO Thierry Tea
While larger economies like Vietnam and Thailand often dominate Southeast Asian tech headlines, the burgeoning Cambodian startup ecosystem is rapidly demanding attention.
Home to just over 200 startups, Cambodia offers a landscape ripe for first movers and rapid technological adoption. The Canadia Impact Fund (CIFC) wants to be at the forefront of this growth and to back founders whose technologies can drive meaningful progress and help local industries scale to international standards.
In this interview, CEO Thierry Tea discusses CIFC’s strategic focus, the power of Cambodia’s digital-native youth, and why the country is poised to become one of ASEAN’s most dynamic emerging innovation hubs.
Prioritising impact and efficiency
CIFC’s investment strategy is explicitly designed to create long-term value for Cambodia’s economy and its communities. The fund prioritises five key sectors where innovation can directly improve the quality of life and strengthen national competitiveness: education, healthcare, logistics, technology and AI, and sustainability.
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The choice of these areas is often driven by current inefficiencies and potential for immediate improvement. For instance, costs in the logistics sector remain high compared to other regional markets, which present significant opportunities for efficiency gains through technology. This strategic focus is evident in the fund’s debut investment in Jalat Logistics.
While Cambodia serves as CIFC’s home base, its vision is regional. It actively seeks startups across ASEAN whose solutions can support Cambodia’s development, transfer knowledge, and introduce new capabilities.
Leveraging the digital generation
One of Cambodia’s most compelling advantages is its demographic profile: 65 per cent of the population is under 35, and internet penetration exceeds 80 per cent. This young cohort represents a digitally native, ambitious, and globally connected generation that forms the foundation for scalable businesses.
CIFC’s role extends far beyond merely providing capital; it aims to cultivate the next wave of Cambodian founders. The fund supports this generation by investing in startups that can scale with, and be powered by, young Cambodian talent. It collaborates closely with leading institutions, including CamTech University and Connexion innovation hub, to strengthen essential skills in AI, engineering, product development, and digital entrepreneurship.
Ultimately, CIFC seeks to connect these emerging founders with regional opportunities and international partners.
Pillars of the startup ecosystem
The health of any innovation hub depends on its supportive infrastructure, and Cambodia’s landscape is strengthened by local entrepreneurship hubs such as Techo Startup Centre and Impact Hub Phnom Penh.
CIFC actively participates in the ecosystem alongside these crucial institutions. Key players include Khmer Enterprise, which has supported over 900 grant recipients since 2020, and Techo Startup Centre, which delivers multi-week accelerator and digital platform programs vital for early-stage founders. CIFC complements the work of these organisations by sharing insights, engaging directly with founders, and supporting programmes designed to strengthen the early-stage environment.
Furthermore, the fund’s involvement extends internationally through collaborations with global partners, such as Plug and Play and Seedstars, which provide founders access to global best practices, networks, and new opportunities. The broader ecosystem is also advancing through initiatives such as Khmer Enterprise’s partnership with Seedstars, which is now entering its second cohort dedicated to increasing the investment readiness of Cambodian startups.
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Additionally, Techo Startup Centre, in collaboration with UNIDO and NGIN, has completed two cohorts of the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme, fostering founders who develop innovative environmental solutions.
Integrating measurable impact
The global focus on impact-driven innovation, spanning greentech and inclusive finance, is central to CIFC’s mandate. For CIFC, impact is defined as “solving real problems for real people while building sustainable, scalable businesses”.
In the Cambodian context, this definition often translates into measurable outcomes related to accessible education, improved healthcare and wellbeing, digital and financial inclusion, more efficient resource usage, and supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and communities as they enter the digital economy. Clean energy is also a critical focus, with solar power rapidly becoming an increasingly important part of the country’s electricity mix.
CIFC encourages founders to embed these measurable outcomes into their operations early on, viewing this not as a constraint, but as a “strategic advantage that strengthens resilience, trust, and long-term competitiveness”.
Dispelling misconceptions and attracting capital
Compared to more mature markets in the region, Cambodia remains at a foundational stage. However, this early stage creates a unique set of attractions for discerning investors.
Cambodia offers a rapidly growing digital economy, a young and dynamic workforce, improved infrastructure, and a business-friendly environment. Its early development stage creates significant room for experimentation, first movers, and rapid technology adoption.
Crucially for investors, startup valuations tend to be more attractive compared to those of regional peers, offering opportunities for those willing to engage at the grassroots level.
A common misconception held by foreign investors is that Cambodia lacks the necessary talent or ambition. CEO Tea is quick to counter this: “In reality, we see high-quality founders, many with international experience, developing products that show significant progress and clear potential to evolve toward regional standards.” While the ecosystem is young, its momentum is undeniable, and investors are starting to recognise this fundamental shift.
The ASEAN gateway
As ASEAN integration and capital mobility accelerate, Cambodia is strategically positioned to serve as a gateway or, more specifically, a flexible, fast-moving testing ground. Here, founders can validate solutions quickly and cost-effectively.
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Sectors such as agri-innovation, logistics, healthtech, and AI-driven applications remain underpenetrated, generating substantial opportunities for impactful business models. With its improving infrastructure and young talent pool, Cambodia is attracting founders keen to test and refine solutions in a dynamic, fast-adapting market. Successful local models can then mature and create pathways for collaboration with regional partners.
CIFC is instrumental in supporting this regional ambition, assisting startups like Nham24 and BookMeBus, which are already scaling beyond national borders. Through Canadia Group’s networks and partnerships with regional corporates and global technology companies, the Fund helps founders connect across ASEAN, understand complex market-entry pathways, and facilitates access to specialised expertise in areas such as logistics, payments, engineering, and AI. The goal is to ensure Cambodian startups can engage confidently with regional ecosystems when the timing is appropriate.
Looking ahead five years, the aspiration is clear: for Cambodia to evolve from a peripheral market into a regional investment destination for institutional investors.
The desired headline for the future is: “Cambodia becomes one of ASEAN’s most dynamic emerging innovation hubs, as local startups strengthen their capabilities, and global investors increase their involvement”.
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