Walking down the street these days, the exhaust fumes from the motorbikes are enough to make your eyes sting, but things are buzzing over on Diamond Island in Phnom Penh. In mid-September, a three-day digital trade forum is kicking off there. Ministry of Commerce officials have been locked in daily prep work, setting a forward-looking theme aimed straight at digital trade in 2030, with the goal of getting local business owners and tech folks together to figure out how to take their trade further afield.
According to local media, the Commerce Minister will turn up on opening day to deliver remarks, focusing mainly on nuts-and-bolts topics like policy and e-commerce operations. Alongside the panel discussions, the venue will host a range of sessions tailored for micro-enterprises, women entrepreneurs, and youth—from workshops on using AI for marketing to university debates on the country’s digital future. On top of that, a live-stream shopping event is planned for the duration of the forum to drive a surge of online sales right then and there.
Over the past couple of years, local corner shops and young people have really started shifting their businesses onto their phones. Officials aren't just pushing people to open online stores anymore; they're also focused on building long-term trust, rolling out e-commerce codes of conduct and homegrown shopping platforms. This upcoming forum is essentially bringing policy, tech, and commerce under one roof to see how local digital business can push ahead over the next few years.
