CancerCo. Awarded 3,000 USD From Smart Axiata As Champions of Smartspark Cohort 9

Smart Axiata, through its SmartSpark program, has awarded CancerCo. a 3,000 USD grant to develop its enterprise of telemedicine solutions to cancer patients and their families.

SmartSpark, organized in collaboration with Impact Hub Phnom Penh, aims to build meaningful social ventures that will contribute to the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by introducing participants to the key concepts of social entrepreneurship.

Now in its final cohort, SmartSpark has enabled 224 young entrepreneurs to develop and launch social businesses that contribute to the sustainable development goals in Cambodia. Since 2018, over 27 thousand US dollars in funding have been disbursed to help the winning teams develop their enterprises further.

CancerCo. was selected from six other teams that made up Cohort 9 of SmartSpark, which focused on addressing the 17 SDGs. Participants presented solutions that focused on good health and well-being, quality education, infrastructure and sustainable cities and responsible consumption and production.

Over the course of three months, the seven teams developed their ideas and presented them to mentors and trainers, who provided feedback and asked questions to help refine their plans. In a live-streamed session on Facebook, the ideas were presented to a panel of judges comprising of H.E. Dr. Pum Huot, Undersecretary of State of Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ms. Solinn Lim, Founder of Saddha, Ms. Chhon Srors, Chairwoman of Board of Director of Mekong Valley, Ms. Socheata Tao of Smart Axiata and Ms. Kosoma Kim of Impact Hub Phnom Penh

“We are really excited and overwhelmed by this achievement, being the winning team of SmartSpark Cohort 9. We were exposed to new business strategies, teamwork, and communication from mentors that are experts in the respective fields. After this victory, our upcoming plan is to organize more workshops and campaigns to raise more awareness while also continuing to develop our app to bring it to the market soon,” said Kimsoung Eung, team member of CancerCo.

“The judges were impressed by your creativity, your teamwork and your bravery/courage in presenting your pitches. Some of the teams offered extremely well-thought out solutions to real-world business problems while some presented viable solutions to niche markets. I encourage you keep sharpening your business models, keep working on your ideas and don’t give up! The world needs your impactful solutions!” said Ms. Solinn Lim, Founder of Saddha.

“Witnessing the conclusion of yet another successful cohort of SmartSpark is amazing. Over the last four years, we have seen tremendous accomplishments of the entrepreneurs who have emerged from the program. It is highly encouraging to see such an innovative blend of technology and entrepreneurship take place and we have no doubts that these inspiring individuals will go on to become great changemakers in Cambodia. While SmartSpark may have trained its last cohort of entrepreneurs, Smart Axiata will continue to invest in local entrepreneurs through our variety of training and funding programs,” said Feiruz Ikhwan, Smart Axiata’s Acting Chief Executive Officer.

All seven teams will be invited to join Impact Hub’s alumni program – Hub Entrepreneurs Club – and continue to receive support: mentoring, masterclasses, space, and access to a strong community of innovators and leaders.
The other six teams are:

• KOMA is an e-commerce platform that assists parents in saving and finding a use for their unused kid’s product with the mindset of protecting the environment and reducing product waste.
• Movery is a moving service that aims to help reduce waste from moving such as plastic and no more extended use materials to be recycled. Beyond that, Movery also provides Eco-Boxes to eliminate cardboard boxes or plastic bags.
• Krodas Chnai is an initiative devised to recycle paper and utilize them by creating new products with recycled paper to reduce paper consumption.
• MeaKea is a mobile application that helps you prepare for the future and explore your passion faster and easier with a personalized guideline, better self-awareness, and broader experience.
• Local Lab is a biochemical company that aims to domestically produce and distribute materials, equipment, and scientific practices in educational facilities.
• ArcXTech is a website that tenderly serves the architecture sector by inserting construction designs to demonstrate and sell to customers at a suitable price with quick service, high quality, and safety.

Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities by following the Facebook page of Impact Hub Phnom Penh or Smart for Cambodia.