6 hospitality and catering social enterprises based in Cambodia are currently involved in the network.

Cambodia has seen impressive growth in the tourism sector in the last 15 years, with tourism being a key driver of the country’s development¹. The travel and tourism industry directly contributed to 14,1% of the Cambodian GDP and this contribution is forecast to rise by 5.9% per annum, from 2018 to 2028².

The population of the country is one of the youngest in South-East Asia. In 2017, 31% of the 16 million Cambodians were aged 0-14 years and one fifth aged between 15-24 years³. Worryingly though, lower secondary completion rates, at 42.7% in 2017, are significantly below the average for lower middle-income countries⁴. Overall, a very large share of the population is concentrated at the bottom of the income distribution. With over 90 percent of the workforce operating informally, the social insurance system based on the formal economy excludes the vast majority of workers, leaving them extremely vulnerable to life-cycle shocks and economic downturns.

¹ CAMBODIAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM, TOURISM STATISTICS REPORT 2015

² WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL, ECONOMIC IMPACT 2018, CAMBODIA

³ 2017 UN POPULATION DIVISION STATISTICS

⁴ UNICEF UPDATED SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN CAMBODIA, 2018