The construction of the National Incubation Centre of Cambodia (NICC) funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) began on Sept. 3 at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).

The groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and H.E. Dr. Park Heung-kyeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The three-stories building, scheduled to be completed by early 2023, will serve as training and mentoring spaces for Cambodian talented youth to tailor their potentials toward the digital age.

The centre will also provide an important opportunity as a meeting point between investors and our future entrepreneurs/ students.

The centre is a part of the Project for “Establishment of Business Incubation System between University and Industry in Cambodia”, signed on grant agreement between KOICA and MoEYS in 2019.

Drawing from the US$8 million earmarked for the Project, Mr. Rho Hyunjun, Country Director of KOICA Cambodia Office said KOICA will spend around US$2.7million on the construction of NICC including equipment.

He hopes this project will become another milestone to support the digital technology startups ecosystem and market network in Cambodia.

Speaking at the function, H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron said that the creation of the centre is an important element to support entrepreneurship and ecosystem for startups in Cambodia.

For his part, H.E. Dr. Park Heung-kyeong said Cambodia is one of Korea’s key ODA partner countries. Korea started with small scale of humanitarian aid for Cambodia in the early 1990s. Now our ODA partnership has expanded into 69 projects, covering such wide areas as education, industry, health, ICT, and culture, he added.

H.E. Ambassador continued that this project will be a model for Industry-Academia Collaboration and industrial diversification in Cambodia. He also hoped this project will be a good example of successful business collaboration between Cambodia and the Republic of Korea.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press