For this week’s interivew, EuroCham Communications Intern Henry Henderson met with Ms. Sopheap Im, Chief Impact Officer at Digital Divide Data.

Over the course of a wide-ranging conversation, the pair discussed Sopheap’s journey with DDD, from her start as a work-study associate to her leadership position overseeing key aspects of the organisations operations. The future of tech industries and Cambodia’s dynamic young workforce were also key topics during the meeting.

Henry: Can you share your career journey and what led you to your role at DDD?  

Sopheap: I was born and raised in Battambang, and I have only lived here in Phnom Penh since 2013. After high school, I applied for public primary teacher training, and I did two years in the program. I graduated and worked in a public school for about a year or two, and then I found out about DDD through my computer teacher. 

I worked for about two years as an associate and then I got promoted to project leader. About two years later, I was promoted to be the general manager of the Battambang office. Then I decided I wanted to continue my education abroad, so I made a deal with DDD, and I got a scholarship to study at Portland State University in Oregon State.  

When I came back, I continued my work at DDD and transitioned into a new role, Chief Impact Officer. I support the whole workforce of DDD based in Cambodia and I lead all the social impact programs and fundraising actions. 

Henry: For those unfamiliar with Digital Divide Data, could you share how your mission as a digital services provider empowers underserved youth? 

Sopheap: DDD is a global business outsourcing social enterprise. We transform lives through an impact sourcing model, which means we empower young people from low-income or underprivileged backgrounds to access training, employment, higher education, and a path to successful careers in the future. 

At DDD, we have a work-study model where students are recruited through our training program. They get paid employment at DDD. They have access to different structured learning journeys and can continue their higher education in different fields of their choice. This learn-to-work model bridges the gap between what people learn and what is actually needed in the workplace.  

At the same time, we deliver high-quality digitisation and ML/AI-related services to clients worldwide. We have more than 150 clients around the world who choose us not only because we deliver operational excellence, but because they want a provider that creates an impact.  

Henry: What services does DDD specialise in and what priorities is DDD focusing on for the future? 

Sopheap: In the early stage of DDD, we specialised in content digitisation. You have the hard copy of material – for example, a student newspaper, or a research form or an academic form – and it needs to be digitised in different formats. We had a lot of clients in the university space and also public organisations. 

In the past five years, we moved into machine learning, AI, and data annotation, which we have grown successfully in terms of expanding the client base in the US, and in Europe as well. Now, we are expanding our focus into agentic AI systems where artificial intelligence can perform autonomously without human intervention or human oversight. 

Our clients range from banking and capital investment, agriculture, publishing, e-commerce, public organisations or government, and big commercial companies as well. 

To stay competitive, we have a global team. We have key client delivery in Cambodia, Laos, Kenya, India, the Philippines. We invest in automation, tools, and technology; we invest in vertical expertise in each service line so that we always have skilled people to provide solutions to the client. Our operating model is 24/7 because we have different locations. We are local, but we carry global standards and operating procedures. 

Henry: How would you define success in your role as a business executive right now, as a leader within this mission-driven organisation? 

Sopheap: We stay true to our three pillars of growth. The first pillar is making sure our work is profitable – if there is no profit, then we cannot create an impact. The second pillar is sustainability – we strive to see long-term growth. Finally, the last pillar is inclusivity – everybody at DDD should experience growth. It’s not just a group of people working together; we are a team. As a business, we measure success through these pillars.  

In my role, it’s very important to focus on talent management at all levels and how we design strategic approaches: when we should grow internally, when we should recruit talent from outside, and how our recruitment strategy supports client demands. 

Without proper talent management and without a high-performing team and an engaged workforce, it is hard to stay competitive. That is something I define as one of my successes in my role as well. 

Henry: What competitive advantages does Cambodia have in terms tech-enabled business services and what are some of the biggest challenges facing companies in this space? 

Sopheap: In terms of the workforce, it’s a very young population with a lot of potential. The young workforce is very dynamic and also very hungry for success. We can tap into that. 

In terms of talent readiness, I see this as a challenge because there’s still a gap between what people learn at school and what is needed in the workforce – especially in the fast-growing technology industry where DDD operates. But we invest a lot into getting them ready. We have a job readiness training program to teach basic technology skills, technical skills that are required for work, as well as soft skills and interpersonal skills.  

In terms of infrastructure, the challenge that I see is that internet costs are still very expensive. Since we work in the digital space, some of the real-time work requires a lot of bandwidth. But we do see a lot of expansion going into the infrastructure in terms of the internet. 

I see there’s a lot of progress from the government in terms of moving Cambodia toward Industry 4.0. I see a lot of effort from different ministries in terms of digitisation and making Cambodia a digital economy. I think it would be very beneficial to commercial business and the public sector if the government could centralise the processes to reduce time and money spent on manual paperwork between different ministries. 

Another thing is that the social enterprise model is now better known in Cambodia, but It would be helpful to have more incentive programs from the government, for example, lower tax rates, or subsidies, because of how much we invest in the community.  

Henry: How does DDD contribute to both the tech ecosystem and the development of a future-ready workforce? 

Sopheap: DDD is very unique in that we use an impact sourcing model. We are the primary organisation – not just in Cambodia, but also globally – that uses this model to provide opportunities for underserved populations through digital employment. We are not just a service provider in this country, but we also bring best practices and business principles that you would see in more developed countries. 

But since we are a global organisation we also bring in talent from other countries to help us stay competitive. We have global headquarters in the US as well as other satellite offices. This allows us to build more competitive expertise in the country. For example, autonomous driving and robo-taxis – people could not imagine that we have 500 young people sitting in the office in Cambodia doing data annotation, linear sensor detection on a computer screen in Cambodia, and then the robo-taxi runs on the street in the US. It’s bridging the divide that geography creates.  

In terms of how we build the future workforce in Cambodia, we are not just an employer. We lead people down a path with structured training, a path to higher education, mentorship, and career development for their future careers.  

DDD takes the risk of training them to grow them within our work-study program for two to three years. For the companies who employ them after they grow up – they are like gold compared to candidates they might hire fresh from university. 

Henry: What inspires you most about DDD’s work with young people and emerging talent in Cambodia? What advice would you offer those aspiring to take a leadership role in the country’s tech or business sectors? 

Sopheap: What really inspires me the most is DDD’s mission to transform lives. I see it in my own experience, but also in people who I observe from the day they start with us to the day they graduate. Later, they become role models – not just for their families, but for other young people as well. 

My advice to young people: there’s no shortcut to success. People need to work hard and as they become older, they learn from their mistakes, they become wiser and smarter. Young people need to refrain from making major life decisions based on emotions but instead become informed and choose the right path for themselves. 

Last but not least, stay relevant. Whatever occupation you choose, technology will be an important element going forward. Young people should leverage technology to improve how they work and also improve their knowledge.