Social Innovation Program

Women Entrepreneurs' Challenge: Solving Social Issues through Entrepreneurship Vol. 2 – Passion for Cambodian Coffee

AGRO AGAPE: Supporting Women Micro-Entrepreneurs through 'Farm to Table, Table to Farm' Coffee Business

Sasakawa Peace Foundation

April 9, 2024

AGRO AGAPE founder Sureipouv Tan, with café employees.

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) has been implementing the Cnai (innovation in Cambodian) Accelerator Program in Cambodia since 2022. Cnai is modeled after the SanThit (innovation in Burmese) Accelerator Program, which was jointly developed with Emerging Market Entrepreneurs (EME), a Myanmar-based venture capital (VC) firm in 2021. Cnai also adopts the curriculum of Village CAPITAL, a world-renowned VC investing in early-stage entrepreneurs. The first phase of the pilot program was implemented in collaboration with SPF's partners; Cambodia Investors Corporation (CIC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) Frontier, and EME. Cnai has a gender perspective and provides a level playing field for women entrepreneurs so that they can participate on an equal footing with male entrepreneurs^[^1]. This is an innovative initiative in Cambodia's entrepreneurship support ecosystem in that the investor serves as the implementing agency and has a gender perspective. Participating entrepreneurs are selected at each stage, receive funding, and expand their businesses with support and guidance. The four finalists in this year's program are all led by women entrepreneurs. We interviewed them about their stories, challenges, and passion for their businesses, and how they are contributing to the empowerment of women in Cambodia through their businesses.

[1] Although the Cnai Accelerator Program targets not only women but also male entrepreneurs, it has a gender perspective from the design stage of the program. For example, the image character of the accelerator's website is a female entrepreneur. In addition, Cnai's website has a gender-sensitive language and writing style. In addition, many entrepreneurship support programs hold pitch events in front of large groups of people, which can be a disadvantage for women who have limited opportunities for public speaking in society. This program places the greatest emphasis on the entrepreneur's attitude of participation and commitment to the program. Pitches are also made in front of a few judges rather than to a large audience, with 15 minutes for the presentation and 30 minutes for the Q&A session, replicating the situation that might occur when actually speaking to investors. In addition, participating entrepreneurs will be set a gender index, and how they can make a gender impact through the implementation of their projects will be considered during the judging process.

Ms. Sureipouv Tan, at her Cafe.

When you land in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, you will see cafes everywhere. From global chains like Starbucks in the U.S. and Amazon Café in Thailand to local favorits such as Brown Coffee and numerous local cafes and coffee stands, coffee has become a part of the daily life for citizens. In Cambodia, only a small amount of coffee is grown mainly in Mondulkiri Province, and 90% of coffee consumed in Cambodia is imported. In the second segment of our series, we introduce you Ms. Sureipouv Tan, founder of AGRO AGAPE, nestled near the bustling Russian Market, a beloved tourist destination in Phnom Penh

The company cultivates coffee beans, sources them from local farmers, provides training to enhance farming practices, roasts the beans, and repurposes coffee bean waste into fertilizer, which is subsequently distributed to farmers. Upholding the ethos of "Farm to Table, Table to Farm," Sureipouv oversees the entire coffee production supply chain tailored for local consumption. Beyond her role, she fervently supports fellow women, particularly those venturing into micro-entrepreneurship, drawing from her own experiences navigating barriers in the male-dominated entrepreneurial landscape.

―― Please tell us how AGRO AGAPE was founded.

Sureipouv's cafe by the Russian Market, a popular tourist destination (Photo: Agro Agape)

My uncle operates a coffee plantation in the Koh Kong province of western Cambodia. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a market, the coffee goes unharvested, with all the beans ending up on the ground, destined for disposal. Despite taking three years to grow, the inability to sell the beans leads to their abandonment, resulting in wastage. In Cambodia, this kind of story is not only seen in coffee, but also in other agricultural products such as mangoes, leaving farmers in a difficult situation. Ironically, Cambodia relies on imports for many agricultural products, and 90% of coffee beans are imported. Many coffee farmers sell their harvested coffee beans to Vietnamese companies. The Vietnamese companies that buy the beans make coffee powder as Vietnamese coffee and sell it back to Cambodia. There are also middlemen, and the farmers are exploited. I wanted to do something about this situation, but at the time I had no knowledge of coffee. I told a friend about my uncle's coffee farm, and he introduced me to a person who could roast coffee and I learned from him. Simultaneously, through extensive research on the internet and YouTube tutorials, I bought a small coffee machine and opened my first café in 2018 near my children's school. I then opened a café next to the Russian Market, a popular tourist spot, in 2020.

In Cambodia, women are generally expected to take care of their children, so I opened our café near the school of my children to do business while raising them. In order to acquire the business skills to hire people and run the café, I received a scholarship to participate in the incubation program of She Investments, an organization that supports women micro-entrepreneurs. I started with no business experience whatsoever but was fortunate to meet Park (Mr. Park Juonkwons), an experienced entrepreneur who later became my business partner.

―― What is the business model of AGRO AGAPE?

AGRO AGAPE is a series of supply chain players in Cambodian coffee production. I own my own coffee farm, and I provide training and solar dryers to local coffee farmers to improve the quality of their coffee, and I buy high quality coffee beans from them. I sell those beans wholesale or serve them in my café. We also make biochar fertilizer from coffee bean waste and sell it to coffee farmers. Biochar, when applied to the soil, is said to be effective in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and improving farmland soil, thus contributing to environmental conservation. In this way, the company aim to benefit the entire supply chain of Cambodian coffee by being involved from the production of the beans to the reuse of the waste.

Sureipouv's Coffee Farm (Photo: Agro Agape)

(Photo: Agro Agape)

―― How did you come to participate in the Cnai Accelerator Program and what has been your most impressive learning experience so far?

Upon discovering the Cnai accelerator program through LinkedIn, I was intrigued and decided to apply. While I had previously engaged with programs offered by She Investments, the Cnai program offered a fresh perspective. It not only provided valuable insights into marketing and finance, but also delved into the investor's mindset, offering crucial insights into the prerequisites for securing investment. What set Cnai apart was its practical approach. The program was structured with a focus on addressing real-world challenges, providing a platform for interactive discussions and Q&A sessions. As a busy entrepreneur juggling familial responsibilities, the convenience of accessing all this knowledge online was invaluable to me. I appreciated the flexibility it offered, enabling me to balance my professional and personal commitments effectively.

Using innovation funds provided to selected companies at Cnai, we purchased coffee beans from farmers and set up a mobile coffee booth. We then provided training on coffee shop management and business management to two small women entrepreneurs who run coffee shops. This enables these women to earn a living by running a coffee shop at a location of their choice while doing housework and childcare. AGRO AGAPE will sell coffee beans to these women. If these two cases are successful, we would like to expand this coffee booth model nationwide in the future. With this model, we would like to provide the people of Cambodia with safe and delicious coffee at an affordable price, and to economically empower the women who run the coffee shops.

Coffee booth funded by Cnai. One of the women entrepreneurs working at the booth (Photo: Agro Agape)

At Cnai, we have many peer discussions with other entrepreneurs participating in the program, and I was inspired by the other participating entrepreneurs. Particularly, I was very impressed with the women entrepreneurs from ACT (women entrepreneurs working on new education in Cambodia, see the previous article here). Three women from different backgrounds worked together and I felt they were a very strong team. Women are stronger when they work together as a team. I believe in the potential of women, and I believe that women can help each other, overcome challenges together, and grow together.

―― What are the challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Cambodia?

The company employs women to select the beans. (Photo: Agro Agape)

Women entrepreneurs face many challenges based on religious and cultural norms. In particular, the availability of family support is key. According to traditional Cambodian values, men must work, and women must do both housework and childcare. On the other hand, in the current economic situation, it is not easy for a man alone to take care of the family finances, and women are also expected to work while engaging in unpaid domestic labor. I come from a poor rural family, but my parents wanted my male siblings to go to school and did not encourage me to go. Rural families still favor boys and girls are expected to do domestic work, and women miss out on many opportunities in society. I also believe that there is a mentality problem where many women feel inferior to men, accepting the status quo as their fate and not trying to change it. As a woman, I also face major challenge in doing business in the male-dominated agricultural sector. Not many women are starting businesses in this sector. In Cambodia, many farmers have lost trust in intermediaries. In order to gain the trust of farmers, I aimed to produce my own products and become a model farmer. That is why I do everything myself, from production to sales.

―― What is the next step for AGRO AGAPE?

Agro Agape's roastery

I would like to move forward with what we can do while taking care of my children. We would like to continue to provide jobs for many people in the communities, such as sorting coffee beans, of which 70% are women, and packaging products that employ people with disabilities. We would also like to create jobs by expanding our coffee booths nationwide. We also would like to do our part to address the issue of climate change by selling and promoting biochar fertilizers. I hope to support the growth of other women while AGRO AGAPE continue to grow.

―― Editor's Postscript

In Cambodia, there are many women social entrepreneurs like Sureipouv who are deeply passionate about addressing social issues while developing their businesses. The Gender Investment and Innovation Program aims not only to empower women entrepreneurs but also to solve social issues by connecting such women entrepreneurs to investments and expanding their businesses. Sureipouv's journey underscores the importance of finding investors who align with her values. While seeking partnerships with investors, she emphasizes the significance of shared values, particularly in the realm of equity investments. She has encountered situations where she had to decline investment opportunities due to misaligned values. For Sureipouv, it's imperative to collaborate with investors who are not solely motivated by financial returns but also share a commitment to creating positive societal impacts. Moving forward, the key lies in cultivating partnerships with investors who are dedicated to collaborative efforts aimed at driving meaningful social change. By prioritizing shared values and mutual goals, entrepreneurs like Sureipouv can forge impactful relationships that transcend mere financial transactions, ultimately leading to sustainable and transformative outcomes for society.

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Women Entrepreneurs' Challenge: Solving Social Issues through Entrepreneurship Vol. 2 – Passion for Cambodian Coffee

AGRO AGAPE: Supporting Women Micro-Entrepreneurs through 'Farm to Table, Table to Farm' Coffee Business

―― Please tell us how AGRO AGAPE was founded.

―― What is the business model of AGRO AGAPE?

―― How did you come to participate in the Cnai Accelerator Program and what has been your most impressive learning experience so far?

―― What are the challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Cambodia?

―― What is the next step for AGRO AGAPE?

―― Editor's Postscript

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