Becoming the First Cambodia

Every few months, someone asks: "When will Cambodia become the next Singapore?" Or the next Vietnam. Or the next fill-in-the-blank success story from somewhere else.

The question itself reveals the problem. Why would we want to be the next anything? Cambodia should be the first Cambodia.

What "First Cambodia" Means

It means building a tech ecosystem that reflects who we are — our strengths, our context, our pace. Not importing someone else's playbook and hoping it translates.

Cambodia has unique advantages. A young population hungry to learn. A strategic position in Southeast Asia. A growing digital infrastructure. A culture that values relationships and long-term thinking. These aren't weaknesses to overcome — they're foundations to build on.

Digital Sovereignty Starts with Infrastructure

You can't have digital sovereignty if all your tools, platforms, and infrastructure are owned elsewhere. That's why we've spent fifteen years building from the ground up.

KOOMPI gives students and developers affordable, open-source hardware — 63 school computer labs and counting. KOOMPI Cloud provides homegrown cloud infrastructure. Selendra offers an EVM-compatible blockchain network built for Cambodian use cases: land registration, loyalty programs, supply chain transparency. Baray unifies Cambodia's fragmented payment providers under a single API so developers can build without navigating a dozen integrations.

These aren't flashy products. They're infrastructure. The roads and bridges of a digital economy. You don't notice good infrastructure — you just build on top of it.

Room for Multiple Models

One thing I've learned over fifteen years: there's no single right way to build a tech ecosystem.

Silicon Valley's model — venture-backed, hyper-growth, winner-take-all — works brilliantly in certain contexts. It's produced some of the most important companies in history. We're not against that model.

But it's not the only model. In Cambodia, patient company-building often makes more sense. Profitability over growth-at-all-costs. Sustainability over speed. Serving 10,000 customers well rather than chasing a million you can't support.

There's room for both approaches to coexist. Some Cambodian companies will pursue venture-scale growth as the market matures. Others will build steady, profitable businesses that serve communities for decades. Both create real value.

The mistake is thinking you have to choose one religion. You don't. Match your strategy to your context.

The Full Portfolio as Evidence

Our ventures span hardware, blockchain, fintech, AI, education, e-commerce, sports tech, and services. That breadth isn't lack of focus — it's ecosystem-building.

KOOMPI and Weteka handle education and hardware. Selendra and KOOMPI Cloud provide infrastructure. Baray and Jabaram serve commerce. Nimmit brings AI to the future of work. SmallWorld Realty and Virtual Office support the business layer. StadiumX and Riverbase serve specific verticals.

Each venture fills a gap in Cambodia's digital infrastructure. Together, they form something greater — a foundation that future builders can stand on.

What We're Actually Building

We're not building the next unicorn. We're building the soil that unicorns grow from.

The kids in those 63 KOOMPI labs across the country — they'll build Cambodia's next generation of tech companies. They won't need to import solutions from elsewhere because the infrastructure will already be here. Homegrown. Fit for purpose.

That's what "first Cambodia" means. Not a rejection of what works elsewhere, but a commitment to building what works here. Infrastructure first. Education alongside. Sovereignty as the outcome.

Sometimes the best thing an entrepreneur can do is plant trees they'll never sit under. In Cambodia, we're still planting.