Due to a lack of awareness and human resources, small and medium enterprise owners could suffer from competition as ASEAN moves toward economic integration, industry insiders say.

Chan Virath, an organiser of a career forum over the weekend, said that most small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, in Cambodia still lack business strategies.

“Even though we have tried to call and invite them to join the event, nobody was interested in the program,” Virath said. “Most of them are family operated and do not understand the advantage of an enhanced brand or recruiting quality human resource.”

SMEs are playing increasingly important role in Cambodia as engines of economic growth. Nguon Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said that SMEs also provide job opportunities for low-cost workers.

SMEs operate almost entirely in the unregistered, informal sector, according to the Federation of Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia.