Technology startups gathered in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to pitch their business models and vie for a singular spot in a prestigious regional competition.
The Echelon Top 100 Cambodia Qualifiers, hosted by local telecommunications company Smart Axiata and tech media platform e27, was held to shine a spotlight on Cambodia’s tech scene and the competition’s organisers stressed the importance of the event for promoting Cambodian startups on a regional scale.
Most of the 21 competing teams were founded by Cambodians, however all were beat out by Myanmar-based startup Goama, which advertised itself as the “Netflix of games for emerging countries”.
Four Cambodian startups also received recognition at the event and will be flown out to experience the regional competition in Singapore as part of their rewards, but only Goama will be given the opportunity to compete at the event.
Mohani Belani, CEO and co-founder of e27, said at the start of the event that he had decided to bring his company’s startup competition to Cambodia for the first time because he was inspired by the potential of the country’s youth.
“The ecosystem here is great, because a lot of the population is very young,” he said, addressing the crowd before the final judging. “This is the time for the young generation to take charge here, to localise and execute their ideas.”
The Cambodian startups that were runners-up to Goama were Spare, which facilitates booking of available office space in Phnom Penh; Demine Robotics, which builds robots to rid the Cambodian countryside of landmines; and BookMeBus and CamboTicket, both of which provide online bus and train ticketing platforms in the Kingdom.
