Why We Built Cambodia's First Laptop
In August 2018, we launched KOOMPI at BarCamp ASEAN. It was Cambodia's first locally-designed laptop, but that's not why it mattered.
What mattered was the name: KOOMPI means "book of knowledge" in Khmer. That's what we were building—access to knowledge for students who couldn't afford the $1,000+ price tags of imported laptops.
The Problem We Were Trying to Solve
When I visited schools around Phnom Penh, I saw computer labs full of machines that didn't work. Donated computers from abroad, broken with no spare parts, no technical support, and no budget for repairs. Schools were scared to use them because once they broke, that was it.
Students were learning "computers" on paper—or worse, not learning at all because their school couldn't afford a computer lab at all.
Starting With What We Had
We didn't have a massive manufacturing facility. We didn't have millions in venture capital. What we had was:
- A team of engineers who believed Cambodians could build hardware
- A Linux distribution we could customize for education
- A distribution network through schools we'd already been working with
- The humility to start simple and improve iteratively
The first KOOMPI wasn't perfect. But it worked, it was repairable, and it was one-fifth the price of imported alternatives.
The Shift to Education
Something interesting happened as we deployed KOOMPI to schools. We realized the laptop was just the delivery mechanism. The real value was in what was ON the laptop—and in the training we provided teachers.
We've now set up 63 computer labs in schools across Cambodia. Each lab comes with:
- KOOMPI laptops pre-loaded with educational software
- Teacher training on basic troubleshooting
- A commitment to maintenance and support
The hardware became the Trojan horse for a much larger education mission.
What We Learned
Building hardware in Cambodia is hard. Supply chains are fragmented. Customs is unpredictable. Volume discounts that hardware companies in other regions take for granted don't exist here.
But those constraints became advantages. We had to design for durability, not planned obsolescence. We had to build computers that could be repaired with basic tools. We had to create software that worked offline because internet connectivity wasn't guaranteed.
These constraints made KOOMPI better for the schools we serve—not worse.
KOOMP I isn't trying to compete with MacBook or Dell on specs. It's trying to solve a specific problem for a specific market: Cambodian students and schools who need reliable, affordable access to technology.
That focus is why it works.