Media Release
BOB McMULLAN MP
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FRASER
EMBARGOED UNTIL 15:00 AEST THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2008
AA 08 25
3 April 2008
Australia encourages businesses to help reduce poverty in Cambodia
The private sector in Cambodia can now bid for Australian Government-funded grants
for projects that lift people out of poverty.
The Enterprise Challenge Fund for the Pacific and South East Asia provides grants of up
to $1.5 million for developing successful business ideas which improve livelihoods,
incomes and access to vital goods and services in Cambodia.
The grants will be awarded to business projects which directly address the challenge of
broad-based economic growth.
Phase one of the fund was launched in October 2007 in Fiji, Papua New Guinea,
Indonesia and southern Philippines.
The role of the private sector in poverty reduction should never be undersold. The
private sector is a key driver of growth in all countries. It generates wealth through profit,
creates jobs and lifts tax revenue so public services can be better funded.
Phase Two will enable innovative businesses in Cambodia, East Timor, Lao PDR,
Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to access grants for projects with pro-poor outcomes which
cannot obtain financing from commercial sources.
Providing access to employment and markets is vital to generate a sustainable reduction
in poverty. The Enterprise Challenge Fund aims to stimulate growth and ensure that the
poor are included in the benefits and opportunities provided by that growth.
The Australian Government will provide $20.5 million over six years to pilot the
Enterprise Challenge Fund for the Pacific and South-East Asia.
Media Contacts:
Sabina Curatolo 0400 318 205
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
NEWS 
