Rising Giants

Jovany joins us this week bringing decades of experience navigating real estate markets in the USA and Southeast Asia. Since arriving in Cambodia in 2014, Jovany has quickly established himself as a leading figure in the real estate community. As the Managing Director of DA&G, Jovany is building a one-stop shop for real estate investors looking to interface with Cambodia and get the most out o...

This week, we have Jazmyn from Women in Tek Network joining us for a fascinating conversation about her journey into the incubation space in Cambodia. WTN is one of the few incubation programs in the country fully dedicated to advancing women's entrepreneurship. Jazmyn is Cambodian-Canadian, having also lived and worked in Canada, Laos, and Thailand. She is intent upon making a big difference in t...

This week we have the pleasure of speaking with David of EMC.  David has built EMC into a leading regional consulting firm that uses international best practice methodologies and hard-won local knowledge to help clients answer their most difficult strategic questions when operating in the frontier markets of Cambodia and Laos. David is originally from the UK, with an extensive background that...

This week we are welcoming Sofia Perez on the podcast. Sofia is originally from the Philippines, having lived and worked in Cambodia since 2006, witnessing firsthand the radical change the country has been through. Sofia is the Managing Principal of the Idea Consultancy having built it into one of the leading names in the design consultancy space in the country. The Idea is a social company with a...

This week on the podcast we are diving into Myanmar, to give our audience an update on the investment situation in the country. Robbert has been on the ground in Myanmar, running incubation and investments for One to Watch since 2017, witnessing firsthand the rapid development and investor interest the country experienced in recent years. Prior to Myanmar, Robbert has worked in Nepal and Mexico, h...

In this week's podcast, we are joined by a very special guest, Bora Kem. He is one of the key names in the investment community in Cambodia, currently directing the Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund (SADIF), a $5m fund dedicated to investing in early-stage technology ventures in the country with a total of 10 portfolio companies. Bora has led SADIF in investing in some of the most innovative co...

In this week's episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Kim Tan-Am, Chief Digital Strategy Officer at Prudential in Cambodia. Kim shares her remarkable journey moving to California at an early age from Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge. After graduating from Pepperdine and working at Wells Fargo, Kim returned to the Kingdom to join a microinsurance firm which led her to join Prudential in Camb...

Today we have Jussi Salovaara on the show, he is the Co-Founder of Antler and leads their operations for Southeast Asia as well as being the Co-Host of the podcast 'Antler VC Cast'. Prior to Antler Jussi worked at McKinsey and Nokia. Antler is a venture generation firm working across Southeast Asia to nurture the best human capital in the region and give them the support to build fantastic busines...

Chris is welcomed on the podcast as a seasoned frontier markets impact investor. He has worked across the frontier market investment space for over a decade now in Africa and Asia. Chris arrived in Cambodia in 2018 working with one of the leading early-stage impact investors in the country, Insitor Partners. Chris is passionate about spurring investment in essential ESG sectors such as energy, env...

Today's podcast guest is Monkol Sok, the Co-Founder & CEO of Codingate, the preeminent technology consultancy and SaaS firm in Cambodia. Monkol is a passionate entrepreneur, never settling for sitting still and being at the forefront of digital transformation in Cambodia as the country rapidly moves in this direction across many sectors we discuss including e-delivery, e-commerce and edtech.&n...

This week we are joined by Bridget of EnergyLab, a clean energy pioneer, who has been involved in the space in Cambodia and across Asia, from an investment, incubation and policy perspective since the early 2000's, when it was still a very nascent and unrealized concept in the region. She is currently leading EnergyLab Cambodia, which is the go-to organization in the country for anything clean ene...

In this episode we are joined by Matthew Tippetts, Co-Founder & CEO of Clik. Matthew founded Clik in 2016 and is one of the most well funded startups in Cambodia having raised $4M since inception. As the CEO of Clik, Matthew aims to provide brick and mortar businesses with consumer insights beyond what is available online. By bridging the gap between merchants and their customers, Clik enables...

This week's guest is Chy Sila, one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Cambodia, who has been at the forefront of digital innovation in the country for the last two decades. He is known as the first Cambodian, to fully become adept at computer science, spurring a generation of new entrepreneurs that have followed in his footsteps.  What we discuss: - The immense challenge of starting an...

In this episode we interview Trisha Mani, Fund Associate and ESG Lead at Uberis Capital, an Impact Investment Fund in Cambodia that supports social entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia. Trisha's work primarily focuses on investing and supporting innovative businesses committed to serving the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) and the Planet in the region. We really enjoyed learning about how Tri...

In this episode we interview Frederic Proulx of Haystack. Fred is a vision evoking entrepreneur and investor, having had a successful career in venture in Canada, whilst keeping a passion for Southeast Asia alongside his Khmer wife Linda Phou that has been a strong pillar in his success. Fred has now turned his attention fully to Cambodia, where he is intent upon creating a leading venture builder...

In this episode we interview Kenny Matthews, the CEO & Founder of Cambodia's first commercial dairy farm; Moo Moo Farms. Kenny started Moo Moo Farms in 2015, he has had a fascinating entrepreneurial journey since then to both bring about social and economic change to the country, supporting a key industry that is set to see rapid development in the coming years.  What we get into: - Why d...

In this episode we interview Kounila Keo, a leading figure in the media and marketing community in Cambodia and the region. She has had a formative career spanning media (working for leading global and local publications) whilst also working in international development and most recently launching her own communication and marketing firm, Mekhala Radiant Communications. Kounila was also the recipi...

In this episode we interview Rithy Thul, a true tech pioneer in Cambodia, acting as a role model for the new generation of tech entrepreneurs in the country. He founded SmallWorld Venture (VC firm) in 2011, Codingate in 2013 (tech development), Selendra (blockchain) in 2016, VitaminAir (ecoliving) in 2017 and Koompi (computer hardware and software) in 2018.  What we get into: - Rithy's early...

In this episode we interview Indranil Roy, a really experienced entrepreneur having worked across a varying array of geographies and sectors. He is currently leading efforts for alternative protein entrepreneurship in Cambodia, with a bold ambition to 'feed the next billion' through an innovative approach to insect farming, carving out a place in this quickly evolving business area globally. ...

In this episode we interview the one and only Jim Rogers, a frontier market pioneer, that had a formative career on Wall Street alongside George Soros at The Quantum Fund, after which he turned his attention to becoming a first mover in many of the most exciting emerging market success stories of today, committing with foresight as others were unable to recognise the long term opportunities. ...

In this episode we interview Hassan Hajam, a social business early pioneer having been a mentee of Muhammad Yunus, originally from Tunisia, working currently in the impact accelerator space in Cambodia, having previously worked in Haiti and India.  What we get into: - The similarities and differences in building social businesses in various frontier markets - Sectors in Cambodia that look poi...

In this episode we interview Omar Sher, an entrepreneur in Cambodia, originally from Pakistan, working in the energy space in Cambodia, having lived and worked all over Asia.  What we get into: - Pioneering smart grid solutions in Cambodia  - Understanding of factors at play in the energy market in Cambodia - Ability of smart grids to reduce electricity costs in Cambodia and catalyze inv...

In this episode we interview Tomas Gimenez, a business operator in Cambodia, originally from the USA, working in the FMCG space in Cambodia, having previously worked at BCG in New York.  What we get into: - Strategies for FMCG market entry into a frontier market - Understanding the unique customer profile of the Mekong region - Novel approaches to cross-cultural marketing and sales

In this episode we interview Cheryl Ng,  startup incubator manager and international consultant for UNDP in Cambodia, originally from the Greater Toronto Area, working in the startup incubator space in Cambodia, having previously worked at Microsoft and Power Unit Youth Organization in Canada. She is also Co-Founder of Gen I and the Impactful Work Podcast, empowering audiences to create impac...

Welcome to the Rising Giants Podcast with your hosts Max Thornton (FM VC Investor) and Dominic Kalousek (FM Impact Investor). Max grew up in the UK and currently works at OBOR Capital, previously at Oxford Business Group and Sharpe Capital. Dominic grew up in the US and currently works at Sevea and UBERIS Capital, previously at Bank of America. Max & Dom begin the podcast by interviewing...