The UK-ASEAN Trade Mission, part of the UK Government-funded UK-ASEAN Collaboration on Women’s Economic Empowerment, will connect women entrepreneurs from ASEAN with UK consumers on 18 and 19 November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Organised in partnership with the International Trade Center (ITC) and Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Network (CamWEN), this initiative will be followed by another series of business-to-business engagement for women entrepreneurs in Jakarta, Indonesia later in the week.

This mission follows the second annual UK – Cambodia Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF) – held just a week earlier – to bring the UK and Cambodia public and private sector together to discuss ways to achieve sustainable growth, through trade and investment, in the face of complex global challenges.

In Cambodia, the trade mission will facilitate opportunities between women-led UK and Indonesian companies in sectors such as textiles and apparel, handicrafts and footwear sectors. Eight UK companies and 75 Cambodian women-led businesses will participate. This mission aims to strengthen trade connections and empower women in business across the UK and ASEAN as part of the UK Government-funded SheTrades Programme in ASEAN.

Cambodian women-led businesses will also have the opportunity to engage directly with the UK delegates. On the second day, the UK companies will visit the women-led businesses sites in the textiles and apparel, handicrafts, and footwear sectors across Phnom Penh and surrounding areas that offer an opportunity for further business discussion.

In Phnom Penh, the mission opens with a ‘meet the buyers’ session with 75 women-led businesses and remarks from Minister of Commerce of Cambodia H.E. Chom Nimol, Chair of ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (AWEN) and President of CamWEN Lct. Dr. Eng Lykuong, as well as the British Ambassador to Cambodia, H.E. Dominic Williams MBE. This event underscores the UK’s commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs and fostering stronger trade links in Cambodia.

British Ambassador to Cambodia, Dominic Williams MBE said:

It’s fantastic to speak up in support of gender equality, and I encourage everyone to do so. It’s even better to go one step further and offer practical support to women doing amazing things in all walks of life.  So I’m delighted that the British Embassy is doing just that – offering amazing women-led SMEs a platform to showcase their products to commercial buyers, who have flown out especially from the UK to source Cambodian products to sell back home.

I hope this trade mission helps women-led businesses to increase their revenues and to grow and leads to more UK consumers having the opportunity to purchase wonderful Cambodian products.

UK Ambassador to ASEAN, H.E. Sarah Tiffin said:

Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for fostering inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The UK-ASEAN Trade Mission provides a platform for women-led business to connect, collaborate, and thrive in new markets. We are committed to supporting these dynamic entrepreneurs as they contribute to the prosperity and resilience of both the UK and ASEAN economies. This mission not only strengthens our trade ties but also underscores our shared commitment to gender equality and economic empowerment.

ITC is also launching an ‘export procedure handbook’ during the event to facilitate women-led businesses in Cambodia with market information to enter textiles and apparel, footwear, handicrafts, and accessories to the UK markets, leveraging opportunities of the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).

Earlier this month, the SheTrades Programme in ASEAN also organised a workshop with the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (AWEN) in Phnom Penh to strengthen women business voices in the region and develop a strategic vision to support women entrepreneurs in the ASEAN region through trade over the next 10 – 20 years.

After Phnom Penh, the UK-ASEAN trade mission continues to Jakarta, Indonesia where the UK delegation will continue to explore new business opportunities with women entrepreneurs in another ASEAN Member State.

About the SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme

Funded by UK International Development and launched in April 2018, the ITC SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme aims to foster an enabling gender-inclusive business ecosystem by promoting inclusive policy and data and engaging business support organisations, private-sector partners, and women-led businesses in the Commonwealth countries and their key trading partners, including the ASEAN region.