The end of my mission in Cambodia

As part of a steering committee within the Econocom group to assist Passerelles numériques, I have been in Cambodia for the last two weeks to volunteer and bring value in the fund raising business model of PN. During these two weeks I have coached local managers on their commercial skills and strategy and helped the sales team to increase efficiency in their local fund raising activity.

This mission has been of a strong interest to me and from the feedback I’ve received from PN Cambodia I know that this feeling is shared. As a first time being in Asia and a first time working with an NGO, I have been pleased to notice the possible bridges between private and non-profit organizations.

I would like to emphasise the fact that, before departure, I have been very well supported (both on content and logistic) by the PN team in Paris and was warmly welcomed by the local staff and students. If you add this to the natural friendly behaviour of Cambodian people towards
                                   foreigners, it makes this mission an unforgettable experience to me.

The main achievement of this mission is that the PN scholarship is turning into an offer for their local companies; that PN Cambodia can deliver added value to the local businesses and can sell it. The first steps in this direction have already been taken by the design of the scholarship offer, my mission has mainly been focused around the commercial skills and the changes for the commercial department organization to be taken.

After having made some company visits, I am positively surprised by the booming market of Cambodia. I am convinced that Passerelles numériques will benefit from this situation and become one of its main IT related NGO players.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Passerelles numériques in general for opening the organization to external people and give them the room to contribute. And of course a warm thank you to the staff and students of PN Cambodia without forgetting the Econocom people involved in this mission for their appreciated support.

Finishing the mission, I have the strong feeling that this is only the beginning of a long story...

From Charity to Investment

In business I have noticed that it’s quite a common belief that the opportunities of collaborating with non-profit organizations is seen as a one way direction: the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) ask private companies for funds, so they can achieve their mission in the field. And these companies usually provide them those funds in order to reach their Corporate Social Responsibility goals. According to this vision, it’s quite obvious that NGOs are often seen as in a pleading position.

What people do not know is that – and even more often than believed - NGOs can offer a varied range of services and benefits to the private sector. The programme ‘PN Scholarship’ designed by Passerelles numériques is a
                                             meaningful example of a fundraising strategy, that is mutually worthwhile for
                                             both NGOs and their collaborating companies.

The mechanism is simple: the company supports one or more students by paying 25% of their study fees during their training (2 years). Thanks to this contribution, the company will automatically profit from benefits such as;

• a 4-month internship(s) at the end of courses (free of allowance),
• an annual report on social impact indicators,
• interns and employed students’ performance follow-up via PN’s tutorship programme.

Moreover, in the Cambodia fast-growing and changing market, where one of the main concerns of companies is the continued employees turnover, PN ensures a minimum of 12 months loyalty from the recruited students and refunds 50% of the scholarship if these terms are not respected.

“From charity to investment”, as part of PN’s Company department mission, is to promote this new approach.

During my stay in Phnom Penh, I have the opportunity to work with the ‘Enterprise Relation Department’ and more closely with Saroem Run, who works as a Project Manager at PN Cambodia. Acting as a sales man for the NGO, Saroem’s main goal is to create new partnerships with IT related companies through the ‘PN Cambodia Scholarship’ program.

Spreading the idea of a fundraising strategy, that can turn out in a convenient investment for companies, is a daily and ambitious challenge for Saroem. Especially in a country like Cambodia, where the idea of Social Responsibility is still quite unknown in the local market. However, I am convinced that this creative approach will bring success and enables PN Cambodia to switch to new ways of raising funds!