I wanted to jot down a few reflections on 2025 and what I’m looking forward to in 2026. As far as I’m concerned, 2025 can get in the bin. It’s been the worst year of my life. Between the financial losses related to the closure of USAID,
I’ve spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of tech for good, tech for development, and ICT4D, helping bring technology solutions to countries, communities, and people that I genuinely believed could benefit from them. But lately, I keep asking myself: what’s the point of all this?
I started my company over a decade ago with a single, clear idea: to build the capacity of Cambodians in the tech sector. At the time, there wasn’t much of a tech industry here, only one or two universities were even offering computer science degrees. Most students were studying
In the middle of a tough pivot after losing 80% of our projected funding, I stumbled on a stat that surprised me: we increased teachers’ salaries by 48% last year.
The school bell rang—though here, it wasn’t a bell at all. It was the shuffle of wooden planks under small, eager feet, the creak of doors swinging open, and the high-pitched laughter of children spilling out into the late afternoon sun. They ran with the same urgency as
An exploration of the effects of the recent USAID global stop work order on small businesses in the development sector, with insights into the challenges and potential paths forward.