Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cambodia Schools Not Making Entrepreneurs

A young business leader says Cambodian universities must do better to develop young entrepreneurs, rather than teaching students to become good employees.

"In schools, they teach young people how to find jobs, but why don't they teach them how to run their own businesses?" said Chy Sila, president of the Junior Chamber International Cambodia, as a guest on "Hello VOA" Monday.

JCIC was created last year to help train and provide business opportunities for business leaders aged 18 to 40 and now has more than 100 members.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of students graduate each year, with few of them able to find jobs, said Chy Sila, who has a range of businesses from CD shops to IT services.

"If we can develop those youths to become business people or what we call young entrepreneurs, then we have a better chance of alleviating poverty in our country," he said.

In Cambodian curriculum, students are often encouraged to study hard so that they can penetrate a narrow job market as employees for private companies or government institutions. Rarely are they taught how to become their own boss.

Chy Sila said young people need more opportunity to be trained in how to best decide on starting up a business.

"Starting a business does not really requires huge capital, but it takes knowledge and an understanding of the market's needs and the social environment around us," he said. "There are always risks in running a business, but no pain, no gain."

Thursday, 12 May 2011
Schools Not Making Entrepreneurs: Business Leader

Pich Samnang
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh

Find this article at:
http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/Schools-Not-Making-Entrepreneurs-Business-Leader-121714214.html

Youth Leadership programs

It is not the case that young people in Cambodia do not want to participate in social activities, but the problem is that the possibility and opportunity for their participation is still not widespread, according to a young leadership champion.

"Youth's access to information seems limited," said Chhem Pe, a 2009 champion of Youth Leadership Challenge, a local reality TV show. " Both scholarship and community activity-related information by non-governmental organizations, governmental organizations and the government itself appears inaccessible to most young people," he said on Hello VOA on Monday.

Chhem Pe, however, also said the lack of information about the country's development has resulted from the ignorance of youths themselves too.

"Some youths enjoy themselves too much" said Pe. " They are enjoying extreme materialism and love affaire at young age, so they are distracted from the country's development issues, the community situation and their own future goals also," said the 21-year-old student of sociology at Royal University of Phnom Penh.

"They seem to be ignorant of important information for their self development although they have internet and facebook," he said.

Hou Sidany, acting coordinator of Youth Council of Cambodia, which organizes the Youth Leadership Challenge show, said young people need more opportunities to participate in social activities in order to become real leaders of their country.

"We need to implant them to value and get involved in community activities such as fund raising to help orphans, collecting books for community library or figuring out community problems and needs," she said on Hello VOA on Monday.

So, more of such Youth Leadership programs should be paid attention to so as to engage more young people in community services so that they can develop both themselves and their community, she said.

"In order for a country to be both economically and politically strong and powerful, youths' human resources are needed, so they need to be invested on," said a caller, Mr. Sen, from Siem Reap province.

Opportunity, Possibility for Young Leaders Limited in Cambodia: Youth Leader

Pich Samnang
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh

Find this article at:
http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/Opportunity-Possibility-for-Young-Leaders-Limited-in-Cambodia-Youth-Leader-120706434.html

Students must read and research

Mao Chansoknea is a 21-year-old graduate of Sonthor Mok high school in Phnom Penh. After graduation, she received a scholarship to the United World College in Hong Kong, which offers a pre-university program to help students prepare for further studies.

She went on to study at St. Lawrence University, in New York, majoring in economics and global studies.

She told VOA Khmer recently that the systems of study in Cambodia, Hong Kong and the US "are totally different."

"If the student doesn't study hard, in Cambodia he or she can bribe to pass," she said. "However, in Hong Kong and the US, if the student does not study, he or she will definitely fail. There is no way to help them pass besides to study hard by themselves."

In the US, she said, students must read and research. "This work makes them gain knowledge gradually," she said, "while in Cambodia, students usually sit still, listening to teachers and lecturers, taking notes and not doing much research."

Mao Chansoknea said she hopes to continue in economics, where she said Cambodia is lacking. More students of economics would be a great benefit to the country, she said.

She encouraged Cambodian students to study hard and commit to broad research.

"If we don't develop ourselves," she said, "how can we develop the country?"

Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Student Finds New Systems of Study Abroad

Huy Samphors,
VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C

Find this article at:
http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/education/Student-Finds-New-Systems-of-Study-Abroad-126276798.html

Entrepreneurs in Indonesia

Internet growth in Indonesia is surging and a new generation of young entrepreneurs is hoping to build the next global brand. Their businesses are a mix of innovative solutions to local problems and copycat models of other, proven ideas, but they are optimistic about a local entrepreneurial climate that some say is the best in the world.

The next Silicon Valley?

Andy Sjarif, 40, founder of Sitti, says the next billion-dollar company will come out of Indonesia. Sjarif is one of many local entrepreneurs hoping to take Indonesia's many small enterprises that are already powering the economy, and boost their business by connecting them online.

"I think we are a hotbed in technology growth right now. To say could we be the next Silicon Valley, I think we are in a different format," said Sjarif.

Sjarif's company is trying to emulate Silicon Valley success by placing advertisements on websites. The ads are written in Bahasa Indonesia, a language understood by most of the country's estimated 45 million Internet users, but not supported by Google's similar advertising program, AdWords.

Reworking ideas for the Indonesian market

With the rising popularity of social media, other entrepreneurs are joining in Indonesia's tech boom. They say their companies, while not always innovative, are modifying and adapting a proven model to fit an Indonesian context.

Selina Limman is the creator of Urbanesia, an online directory that offers points to users who write reviews and share information.

"I'm not going to lie. I'm not saying this is a new innovation. I know about Yelp, and Citysearch. I can see the need, the demand. There's a hole there. Right now there's nothing like this here in Indonesia," Limman explained.

Western angel investors already reaching out

With more than 700 startups already online and as many as seven launched each week, Sjarif is only one of many calling Indonesia the next Silicon Valley. The country's biggest bank, Mandiri, extended $5 billion to early entrepreneurs last year and will soon launch a program focused on what it calls "technoprenuers."

But the proliferation of budding businesses is not limited to those online. More than 500 hopeful business owners recently participated in a competition held by the U.S. State Department's Global Entrepreneurship Program, which helps link entrepreneurs to mentors and financing.

The eight finalists included a natural cosmetics business, waste recycling, micro turbine electricity generation, and winners Indomog and Go-Jek.

Indomog is trying to help the 88 percent of Indonesians who do not own a credit card to be able to buy goods and services online. The service started out as a video game site before moving into online payments.

Go-Jek is a transportation and delivery service focused on improving the efficiency of Jakarta's disorganized and chaotic motorcycle taxi system. Using a call center, online maps and cell phones, Go-Jek matches available jobs with nearby drivers. The service promises speedier deliveries for its customers and better paychecks for its 200 drivers.

Founder Nadiem Makarim, 27, a Harvard Business School graduate, says a pragmatic approach to doing business is the way of the future for Indonesia.

"If you want to do good there needs to be a business model behind it," said Makarim. "If you want sustainable impact then you need a market incentive to do that. I firmly believe that business and just straight up rational business growth, profitable business growth and social impact are not mutually exclusive."

Entrepreneurs welcome

Entrepreneurs comprise less than 0.2 percent of the workforce in Indonesia, compared to 11.5 percent in the United States and 7.2 percent in Singapore. Economists say Indonesia will need to boost its ratio to at least two percent if it hopes to narrow the wealth gap in a nation where half the population still lives on less than two dollars a day.

Although Indonesia's current growth rate of six percent makes it one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, youth unemployment remains chronically high.

U.S. officials say they support entrepreneurship as a way to create jobs and strengthen social and political stability.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who spoke before a crowd of hundreds of young Southeast Asian entrepreneurs during the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations' summit, says she hopes U.S. efforts to foster investor groups and push for policy changes will encourage more startups.

Currently the biggest challenge for new businesses is the lack of access to financing, along with unfriendly regulations and paltry infrastructure. Many new companies, like Go-Jek, are trying to make money by solving these obstacles. Others are using the growth of the Internet to start their businesses online.

It helps that Indonesia has a culture that is fairly supportive of self-starters.

Leonard Theosabrata, the co-founder of Whiteboard Journal, an online space that helps young designers promote their products and connect them to customers, says although copycat companies are common, there is huge potential for new ideas.

"If you're a pioneer here most likely you can succeed, because so many concepts haven't been done," said Theosabrata.

The potential for success and the ability to shape the market is drawing back many Indonesians who have gone abroad to study. Many of their businesses are now attracting attention from domestic and foreign investors eager to establish a foothold in Indonesia.

With a middle class of around 30 million people and a young population that is tech-savvy and anxious to try new things, Indonesia is ripe for business.

Economists and business people say the most important thing now is to encourage young people to innovate by establishing the business networks that will connect them with funding.

As part of the global entrepreneurship program, a visiting 11-member delegation of top U.S. entrepreneurs held sessions where young start-ups pitched their business ideas.

Investor Arthur Benjamin, who recently committed funds to Go-Jek, says he was impressed with what he saw.

"Based on the 19 and 20 years olds that I've seen here and their hunger for success, I need to go and light a fire on some of the American youth to get moving again," noted Benjamin.

There are now more than 10 places in Indonesia where entrepreneurs are getting mentoring, help with marketing, and even office space.


Sara Schonhardt | Jakarta
July 27, 2011

Find this article at:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/finance-detail/Internet-Sparks-Business-Growth-in-Indonesia-126252253.html

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Toastmasters Club Phnom Penh - Public Speaking

Public Speaking Tips: Five Tips for ESL (English as a Second Language) Speakers

http://blog.jvf.com/2008/04/01/public-speaking-tips-five-tips-for-esl-english-as-a-second-language-speakers/

==

PUC Toastmasters Club Official Facebook Site
We are the Cambodia Toastmasters Members
The club always starts on Sunday from 12 PM until 2 PM
We always come to the club to improve:

1) Public Speaking Skill
2) Communication Skill
3) Leadership Skill

We appreciate outsiders to participate in our club.

http://www.facebook.com/CambodiaTMC
http://www.facebook.com/PUCTM?sk=info

=

There are already 2 Toastmasters clubs in Phnom Penh.
What is Toastmasters Club International ?
http://www.toastmasters.org/

ANZ Royal
Est: 10/21/2009
ANZ Royal Bank
Tuol Kok Branch
855 23 999 000
Meeting Time: 7:00 am, Friday

PUC Toastmasters Club
Est: 09/12/2006
Pannasastra University of Cambodia
No 92-94 Vithei Somdech Sothearos
855 12 325 909
Meeting Time: 12:00 pm, Sunday


==

Friday, July 1, 2011

How to raise money to build schools in 3 Hours

TEDx JuanDeFuca

How to Build a School in 3 Hours

Taylor Conroy unveils a new online platform using social networks
to quickly raise money to build schools in Africa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC02SmuOxYI

http://destroynormalblog.com/we-built-a-school-in-3-hours

http://teninthree.com/

http://www.springwise.com/non-profit_social_cause/schoolinthreehours

Cloud Computing

Ever wonder about Cloud Computing ?

What Does Cloud Computing Mean for You?
Everyone's talking about cloud computing.
But what is it, who's competing for it,
and what will it mean for everyday users?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2320619,00.asp

Cloud Computing and Google Docs
Why Cloud Computing?

http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2010/12/cloud-computing-and-google-docs/