Artisans d'Angkor
Artisans d’Angkor first operated in 1992 as a non-governmental organization and in 2003 officially registered as a company co-owned by French investors, the Association of Artisans Angkor employees, and the Royal Government of Cambodia.
The company currently has two business lines: producing ancient Cambodian arts and crafts (core business line); and providing décor services for hotels, national institutions and private houses, and stone restoration for temples.
The company has a strong CSR program providing arts and crafts training for disadvantaged people in rural areas, and recruits some of them as company staff. Since 1992, the company has trained 5,000 people, of whom 1,200 were still staff in 2019. Over the last three years, the company has trained annually about 300 women and men. Beyond the trainees it recruits as laborers or suppliers for itself, Artisans d’Angkor does not provide job placement support for those trained. It also does not know the level of earnings of the artisans that they have trained but work outside of Artisan Angkor.
Artisans d’Angkor qualifies as an Inclusive Business model. However, to have stronger systemic change impact, the company could substantially increase its social impact through three ways. First, it could transform its training activities, currently provided as a CSR activity to form its own staff, into a separate commercial business line. The new training business line would provide training for other companies, place skilled people in well-paid jobs, and help trained people to set their own business. Such approach would help generate a systemic impact in Cambodia’s craft sector. Secondly, it could try to scale up its own business (this may be limited) and drive efforts to improve the quality and enlarge the markets for other business too. Thirdly, it could expand its geographical reach beyond Siam Reap.