Cambodia Unveils M&E Plan to Boost Informal Economy
The Royal Government of Cambodia has marked a transformative milestone in its efforts to formalize the informal economy with the official launch of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the National Strategy on Informal Economy Development (NSDIE) 2023-2028.
Developed through technical cooperation between the Ministry of Industry Science Technology and Innovation (MISTI), with support from the International Labour Organization, UNDP and the Australian-funded CAPRED programme the new system will track implementation progress of NSDIE across all 28 ministries and 25 provinces. This includes expanding a diverse range of services, structure and protections to its informal economy, ranging from access to health insurance, skills development courses and affordable finance.
A key initiative in this regard was the launch of the online platform CAM-IE in December 2024. CAM-IE is an online platform where informal business can register and access services. It is accessible through mobile app, web portal, and importantly partner bank branches nationwide. To date, the platform has received over 119,183 applications.
Speaking at the launch event, which gathered over 350 government officials, development partners and private sector representatives H.E. Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry and CCDIE Chair, noted: “Our phased approach recognizes informality’s diversity – from street vendors needing simplified registration to home-based enterprises requiring financial literacy training. The M&E system helps tailor interventions.”
The launch also featured demonstrations of a new digital dashboard that will track real-time usage of services on CAM-IE, including enrolment in social protection schemes, monitoring access to skills development programs and measuring business registration through partner banks.
In pursuit of the latter, partnerships with three additional banks were forged at the event, bringing the total number of partner banks up to eight and significantly increasing the government’s ability to reach out to informal businesses.
With women constituting 87 per cent of informal workers, 62 per cent of micro-enterprise owners and a majority of vulnerable groups, the M&E framework specifically tracks women’s enrolment in social protection schemes, female participation in business formalization programmes, and gender-disaggregated access to digital onboarding through CAM-IE.
“This isn’t just about measurement, it’s about dignity,” emphasized ILO National Coordinator Tun Sophorn. “When we track women’s access to social protection or vulnerable groups’ enrolment in skills programs, we’re making inclusion measurable.”
https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/cambodia-launches-comprehensive-me-framework-accelerate-informal-economy