Eurocham and Swisscontact’s SPEC Program will begin on August 17 and Z.O Import Export looks to be the latest SPEC Champion to be added to the list of businesses set to benefit from the program.
SPEC Project Manager Visal Chourn and Senior Communications Officer Brian Badzmierowski visited the company’s owner, Jeff van Zijderveld, at his office in Koh Pich on July 6 to discuss the future of e-commerce and the challenge of exporting Cambodian-made products to Europe and beyond.
Van Zijderveld’s newest venture is Anne.biz, an e-commerce platform that aims to set the standard for sustainable e-commerce marketplaces in the Kingdom. One of the ways Anne.biz sets itself apart is by having a contract with a third party to select goods from potential vendors to ensure they are produced sustainably and ethically, as well as ensuring that employees are paid a fair wage.
Jeff says his goal is to help uplift Cambodian vendors by offering a stable and streamlined platform to sell their locally produced goods domestically and across borders. By building a trusted network of suppliers, wholesalers, and logistic operators, he said Anne.biz could be the e-commerce provider that puts Cambodian-made products on the map.
Vendors can get started with just a mobile phone and an internet connection, with Zijderveld and his team taking care of the rest of the logistics. For vendors interested in live streaming, the Anne.biz team can also provide equipment to make it a reality.
“Our dream is two-fold,” he said. “Number one, we aim to make our clients’ lives easier by taking charge of the sourcing, quality control, and all other production aspects in Cambodia.”
“Number two, we want to make Cambodia shine by bringing to the world its products with the right social responsibility mindset and practices. Most are and will be certified but all are 100% verified at the source.”
Zijderveld was born in The Netherlands and spent over 20 years as an underwater engineer before shifting gears and jumping into international trade. He discovered this passion while purchasing various items at auctions during his diving offseason each year, and realized re-selling some of these items represented a market with explosive growth potential.
“At that time, e-commerce was still in the early stage. It grew exponentially in a short period of time, as well as my expertise in that field,” he said.
“We came up with the idea of constructing a multivendor platform with live stream features after meeting many beautiful people in Cambodia and learning about their inspiring products. They were in need of a gateway to an international market.”
“Our Z.O. Import-Export company is the backbone of our new to be B2B and B2C platform, run together with my wife and team members. We are a mix of corporate experts, young talents in multimedia, seasoned quality controller, and buyers, for example.”
After starting domestically, Zijderveld plans on expanding to Europe and beyond while building Cambodia’s image as an ideal sourcing country for a wide range of unique high-quality products.
“We want to be the one-stop-shop of sustainable and eco-friendly products; the ‘Amazon’ of honestly produced products from Cambodia”.
The EuroCham team looks forward to working with Zijderveld as he and his team look to provide a new and exciting platform to Cambodia’s growing e-commerce ecosystem!
