Women are Boosting the Economy — Meet Cambodia’s Socheata Touch, Founder of InoTED

Farah Kim
Farah Kim
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

New to entrepreneurship, but determined to make a dent in the universe, Socheata is the founder of InoTED — a business initiative that provides ICT solutions to address challenges of the private sector and non-profit organizations in education, tourism and agriculture industry.

A new entrepreneur who’s trying to find her way, but has not let her fears, limitations and lack of experience deter her ambitions. Here’s her story, in her words.

1. Please tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur. What made you want to start your own business and what were the initial challenges you faced?
There were multiple reasons that brought me towards entrepreneurship, but primarily it was the desire to drive social change and promote economic growth in my country that was my main motivation.

I believe the role of women has significantly changed nowadays. They are not only doing household chores but are also working or/and running businesses which contribute to the economy. I am a woman and I always asked myself, “what can I do more?”. Throughout my half life, I have devoted my time working in non-profit organizations and I believe this has contributed to my desire to create a business that can create more jobs for women, thus, empowering them. I launched my business in August 2017 by the name of, “Innovative Technologies for Education, Tourism, and Development-InoTED”.

Talking about challenges, right from the first start, I encountered many issues because I am quite new to a business world. I do not know how entrepreneurship works and how to begin a company and go about processes like legal registration, marketing, business plan development, and so on.

2. Currently, what are the problems you’re facing and what kind of help are you looking for?
While I am running a company, I have joined many business associations and networks in Cambodia. I have volunteered to work for Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association as vice-chair of the Capacity Building Committee. This experience has helped me build my business acumen and obtaining valuable learnings from other businessmen and women. However, I am still facing other challenges, for instance, access to a wider market and access to finance. The human resource in Cambodia’s ICT industry is expensive and very competitive.

3. Where do you see yourself or your business five years from now?
Frankly speaking, I see myself leading InoTED not only in Cambodia but also in other neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. I also have another vision to export local Cambodian products to other companies. I am already working at this on a smaller scale and hope to take it further in the future.

4. Give us a day in the life of Socheata.
I am single which allows me flexibility in terms of working hours! I take up the operation roles of business by conducting daily planning sessions with my management team and staff. I have time for my family members and friends during weekends and holidays. Normally I allocate lunch and dinner times for business networking. I spend at least 60mn at the gym every two days.

5. What kind of support would you like from a network like Woomentum?
I appreciate the establishment of the Woomentum community, which I think can provide extensive support to people in a region like mine. It would be much appreciated if Woomentum could connect me to investors who are interested in ICT solutions addressing social issues in education, tourism, and agriculture.

I like to empower women in the community to have an independent income; a goal that I’m trying to fulfill with the exportation business. I am engaging indigenous women in two provinces of Cambodia to sell their local products and secure a livelihood. If possible, Woomentum could help me find ways to sell local products from Cambodia to other countries and teach me how to set up homestay business for indigenous women.

6. Any valuable lessons that you would like to share with entrepreneurs out there?

I wanted to share a good lesson I learned. I never gave up my business dreams and I believe in the law of attraction. I finally can make my business ideas visible even though they are not growing very well yet. Without teamwork and good leadership in the business cycle, I cannot be who I am today.

Key Takeaways from Socheata’s Story

- Dive into it, even if you don’t have the experience. If your heart and mind are set in the right place, you’ll learn as you go through it, step by step.

- Network with people and work for organizations that can help you learn, grow and build your business.

- Always give back to the community. There is no better reward than that!

Every week, we share one member’s ideas and stories to learn that one thing we always ask about — starting and managing a business. To meet someone like Socheata, and learn how she does it, join Woomentum today.

Woomentum

First-time entrepreneurs go-to platform to learn, grow & enter new Asian markets

Farah Kim

Written by

Farah Kim

A passionate storyteller, I believe that words have the power to shape cultures and drive societies towards progressive change.

Woomentum

Woomentum

First-time entrepreneurs go-to platform to learn, grow & enter new Asian markets

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