Digital marketing skills are crucial to bridge the digital gender gap and bring more women into the world of entrepreneurship according to women business leaders speaking at a recent online panel hosted by Facebook to commemorate International Women’s Day.
In the online panel Business Chats with Facebook moderated by CEO of Camsolution Technology Omuoy Heang, the entrepreneurs Sreymom Hok and Am Veasna shared their experiences of running a business and stressed the importance of a strong online presence and using digital marketing.
“There is a big gap in digital literacy between men and women, many still think that women cannot manage a business, should stay home and the man brings the money. Sometimes women also think that the word “digital” means IT, which is hard to learn. All this causes the lack of digital literacy,” said Sreymom Hok, the co-founder of an education company The Khmer Lesson.
Sreymom recently became a trainer with #SheMeansBusiness, a programme launched by Facebook and PACT’s WE Act Project, with the support of USAID, to deliver free digital marketing training to 1,700 women entrepreneurs across Cambodia through a series of workshops and online and offline training.
The #SheMeansusiness initiative presents an opportunity for women entrepreneurs to gain the skills necessary to expand and improve their business, and to extend their network.
The owner of BCS Computer, Veasna Am, who has successfully completed the #SheMeansBusiness digital marketing training, has worked in sales and marketing for eight years, training and coaching others as a technical specialist and products manager. With the gained expertise, she decided to start her computer shop.
Thanks to her newly-acquired knowledge, she has been adapting to the online market to keep her business running during the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I believe that women can be leaders and achieve success. When the Covid -19 pandemic hit, my business has suffered enormously, but thanks to my digital marketing skills, I managed to increase online sales and we are prospering again. My conviction is to never give up, even if I didn’t have enough knowledge in the beginning, I kept learning and struggling and always tried to learn from every experience,” Veasna said.
As of January 2021, 600 entrepreneurs have been trained under the #SheMeans business programme and by 2023, this number will be at least 1,700.
“At Facebook, we are committed to creating an environment that fosters entrepreneurship among women. In Cambodia, we partnered with PACT’s WE Act Project to deliver the SheMeansBusiness digital marketing training and equip the entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to run businesses on digital platforms.” said Pheakdey Heng, Facebook Public Policy Manager who also participated in the online discussion.
To learn more about the #SheMeansBusiness initiative, women in business and digital marketing, you can watch the entire online discussion here: Facebook live.
Entrepreneurs interested in #SheMeansBusiness digital marketing training can register here.
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