A new partnership between e-commerce marketplace CambodiaTrade.com and DHL Express (Cambodia) Ltd aims to create an easier and safer means for the Kingdom’s smaller businesses to sell locally-made products abroad.

The two parties signed a partnership agreement on July 13 to connect DHL’s international transportation network to the Ministry of Commerce’s CambodiaTrade, and allow for the logistics company to share knowledge in freight forwarding with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) registered on the e-commerce platform, and train them in the necessary competencies.

Officially launched in September following a pre-registration period, CambodiaTrade is an online platform with integrated marketing solutions regarded as a key component of the Cambodia e-Commerce Development Project (Go4eCAM).

Go4eCAM is financially supported by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the government, and is to be implemented by the ministry over the period date July 2020 to June 2023.

Ministry secretary of state Tekreth Kamrang said that under the deal, DHL Cambodia would provide a “highly-reliable” delivery system that facilitates economic opportunities for SMEs in the Kingdom.

By linking DHL’s network with CambodiaTrade, local entrepreneurs on the platform will be able to expand their sales and marketing reach, bring in greater revenue, and hence “drive financial inclusion and further digital progress in the country”, she claimed.

DHL Cambodia country director Prayag Chitrakar affirmed that the company is “ready” to work with the ministry to achieve the goals of the partnership agreement and expand e-commerce opportunities for SMEs through CambodiaTrade.

Speaking to The Post, ministry spokesman Penn Sovicheat noted that this was not the first time that CambodiaTrade has cooperated with DHL Cambodia, saying that the two entities have worked together “for some time” on both internal and external freight operations.

Sovicheat explained that the ministry’s overriding goal for CambodiaTrade, to boost the export of locally-made products, was the chief reason it chose to work with DHL, a renowned international company that provides express delivery services across Asia and beyond.

“If there is a lot of demand, we’ll need to sign with other companies to ship within the country as well as to encourage the export of more Cambodian products. The signing of this partnership agreement will facilitate some of the conditions between the two sides,” he said.

Keo Mom, the CEO of Ly Ly Food Industry Co Ltd (LyLy), one of the Kingdom’s largest food processing enterprises, shared with The Post that LyLy-branded products have been listed on CambodiaTrade since its inception and are now exported to 13 countries.

“Collaboration between the CambodiaTrade marketplace and DHL will further facilitate the delivery of Cambodian products to local and international customers, especially in smaller packages,” she said.