Grow Startup Ecosystem

With the rise of technology, many countries try to become the next Silicon Valley.

Vietnam is promoted as the rising star of ASEAN, producing many startups and much talent each year. The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are all doing well.

With respect, none of them is close to Silicon Valley. Each is different in its own way, because no place on earth can be another Silicon Valley.

Cambodia shouldn't try to be Silicon Valley or Vietnam, because we won't be. They are what they are because of what they did long ago. Silicon Valley's roots go back more than 100 years, and its foundation reached critical mass in the 1960s and 1970s. Vietnam invested in talent and infrastructure for decades to build its foundation.

We shouldn't compare ourselves too much. We should look inward, understand our strengths and what Cambodia should focus on, and then put our full effort into it.

Celebrate those who have done well, and learn from them. But we can't replicate what they did in a different time and place. We can learn from their past; we can't live in it. We must focus on our future.

Ecosystems can't be built. They have to be grown. What grows takes time but lasts. What gets built shows quick results but rarely lasts.

To study successful countries, look at what they did 10 to 20 years ago, not at their current results.

For our startup ecosystem to grow, we must work with what we have and be patient. Look at what the world will need in 3, 5, and 10 years, then grow our talent and resources to be ready for it. Define what makes us different, and our strengths.

Everything moves fast, so we can't build ecosystems for today. The internet levels the playing field: even with gatekeepers like Apple, Google, and Amazon, we can enter the global market. AI and blockchain are reshaping everything. AI spreads access to intelligence; blockchain spreads access to trust. Both are leveling those gatekeepers again.

Training startups to build mobile apps for quick money leaves us a decade behind those who focus on the future. Successful mobile apps like Uber were built between 2007 and 2013. That window has closed.

Look at what we have: resources, talent, and what Cambodia was given by nature. Work with our natural strengths, not against them. Hard work with the right skills and tools, not hard work alone.