WOMEN in provincial Cambodia are set to receive extensive training in running small enterprises after the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) on Wednesday secured funding for the second phase of its strategy to empower women through training in business skills.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) pledged its financial support for phase two of MoWA’s “gender mainstreaming” project in a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh.

The project will give women practical training in commercial aspects of running businesses, such as farms. The advice will cover financial management, securing loans, negotiating with the “middleman” and computer skills, according to MoWA planning and statistics deputy director, Te Vouchlim.

“Women already have a lot of traditional knowledge and training [in farming]. The project will provide nontraditional training through a farmer field school,” Te Vouchlim said.

“The project also involves advocating people in the village to support women to attend the training,” she said.

Though the focus is on empowering women, men will also be able to attend the training, and up to 1,000 people are expected to benefit in the initial stages, Te Vouchlim said.

The five-year project will initially launch in Kampong Cham province in the next two months, with a view to spreading to other provinces in the future. Five other ministries are involved in the project.

Phase one of the scheme cost US$2 million for a five-year research programme.