The Cambodia Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework sets out a long-term framework aimed at promoting and orienting the digital transformation in Cambodia successfully through defining and implementing policy measures that reflect and respond to the current situation in Cambodia as well as in line with regional and global trends.
Cambodia's Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework has the vision of “Building a vibrant digital economy and society by laying the foundations to promote digital adoption and transformation in all social actors including the state, citizens, and businesses, to accelerate new economic growth and promote social welfare in the new normal”. At the same time, the objective of this policy is to “build a digital economy to become both a new growth driver, as well as an ecosystem to contribute to increasing economic productivity and efficiency, and improve the welfare of the people of Cambodia's digital society”.
To achieve the above goals, all stakeholders shall be prepared and involved in the development of basic infrastructures, usage and acceptance of digital undertakings, and self-development through the strengthening of knowledge and skills on various digital technologies. The digital transformation starts from the center of institutional reforms based on digital technology, which includes the design of digital platforms and the use of data resulting from the interaction of key stakeholders in promoting and developing the digital economy and society.
To accelerate the adoption and take advantage of the advancement of digital technology aimed at promoting the development of digital economy and society, the Royal Government has identified three main principles, including “Building Digital Foundations - Digital Adoption – Digital Transformation”. Establishing clear principles, coupled with clear policy measures and action plans, will allow the process toward the development and building of the digital economy and society to be more effective during implementation, based on a coherent and correspondent implementation progress. At the same time, this policy framework defines an implementation period of 15 years from 2021 to 2035.
Cambodia is a country that has achieved high growth in the region with a dynamic and demographic potential to continue to promote the development of the country, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the digital transformation. In the process of digital transformation, readiness is a prerequisite that countries have been developing and launching strategic policy frameworks to maximize the benefits of the digital economy. Based on the implementation practice in various countries, the capture of the digital economy and society focuses on the following key components:
Although Cambodia's Internet infrastructure has better coverage and affordability, especially in large cities and towns, the overall quality is still limited, which requires further strengthening. Therefore, developing infrastructures will focus on expanding the high-speed Internet network, setting up digital payment systems, and setting up logistics systems and last-mile delivery to support the digital socio-economic development process.
Cambodia remains vulnerable to cyber-attacks as Cambodia's legal and institutional framework for supporting and ensuring digital security and safety remains limited. Building reliability and confidence in the digital system focuses on building legal systems and raising awareness of digital security that will contribute to increasing reliability and confidence of relevant stakeholders, and encourage a wider participation in the digital socio-economic development process.
In Cambodia, human resources such as leaders, workers, and all citizens have made significant progress, especially concerning digital adoption, but such progress remains limited compared to other countries in the region. Therefore, to maximise the benefits of digital economic and social transformation and increase competition with countries in the region, the Royal Government will focus on developing digital knowledge and skills by prioritising three specific areas: digital leadership, a pool of digital talent, and digital citizens in both the public and private sectors, particularly penetrating the local community level.
Digital government is a necessary player in the preparation of digital economy and society. The Royal Government shall take the lead in the use of digital technologies to create direct demand and to enable businesses and citizens to adopt the digital sector. Therefore, the Royal Government focuses on building digital government through digital public services, common technical standards, digital performance enablers, and data-based governance.
In the past, the adoption and use of digital technologies, as well as ICT of enterprises in Cambodia were seen to be low in almost all sectors and almost all sizes of enterprise. Thus, to promote the digital adoption of enterprises at all levels and in all sectors, the Royal Government focuses on promoting digital business in three areas: digital transformation of enterprises, entrepreneurial and startup ecosystems, and enhancing the digital value chain.
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