Cambodia's startups have a chance to build digital-first businesses from scratch, but a patchwork of overlapping laws is making compliance difficult for young founders. That is the view of Sovathana Ann, co-founding partner at Ann & Associates Law Firm, who spoke with EuroCham Cambodia about regulation, entrepreneurship and the country's technology outlook.
The interview, published by Cambodia Investment Review, comes as Cambodia prepares several pieces of digital legislation that Ann believes will shape market access and foreign investment for years to come.
A Lawyer Who Also Teaches and Advises Founders
Ann lectures at the Royal University of Law and Economics and the National University of Management. His teaching covers law and e-commerce, banking law, and banking institutions and regulatory frameworks within a French cooperation master's program in risk, insurance, banking and finance.
He said that while studying the theory of digital law, he observed that startups and digital platforms in Cambodia were moving far faster than conventional legal advisers could follow. That gap convinced him that lawyers serving the digital economy needed broader skills, prompting him to earn additional finance and tax qualifications, including through Cambodia's National School of Tax.
Building a Multidisciplinary Firm
Ann & Associates was set up with three branches from the start: business consulting, law and an academy. The firm now offers legal, tax, consulting, digital marketing and IT support services.
Ann said the aim was to give digital businesses everything they need in one place, from company formation and corporate structuring to the tax questions that arise when operating in online markets.
Leapfrogging as Cambodia's Main Opportunity
Ann described leapfrogging as the country's biggest opening. Because Cambodia is small, with limited tax infrastructure and human resources, new companies can adopt digital models immediately rather than retrofitting older systems.
He pointed to the government's Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework as giving startups, SMEs and young entrepreneurs the backing to plug into cross-border payments, digital marketing and other support infrastructure from their first day of operation.
Overlapping Laws Create Friction
The principal obstacle, in Ann's assessment, is regulatory friction. Drawing on his work mentoring founders and supervising university theses, he said talented young professionals often struggle to meet obligations spread across different laws.
He noted that telecoms rules differ from banking rules, while consumer protection can overlap with e-commerce and competition law. Combined with a tax regime he called sophisticated enough to require expert guidance, these inconsistencies mean the real challenge for startups is achieving agile compliance rather than mastering technology.
Why the Digital & Technology Committee Matters Now
Ann is an active member of EuroCham's Digital & Technology Committee, having engaged with the chamber since working at a previous firm. He said he brings more than fifteen years of experience with businesses, plus five years of involvement with government and academia.
With laws on personal data protection, cybersecurity, cybercrime, artificial intelligence and cloud policy expected, he argued that the precedents set now will influence digital market access and foreign direct investment for the next decade. He wants the committee to act as a leading private-sector voice so new rules encourage innovation instead of slowing it.
From Collaboration to Co-Creation
Ann called for an ecosystem in which regulation is not imposed from the top without industry input, arguing this makes rules more inclusive and better at managing risk. He also stressed that startups need customers as much as technical support, warning that relying on a single sandbox with a small consumer base is not enough.
Citing a figure that more than 90 percent of startups fail within three years, he said early-stage companies need sustained backing. "Cambodia may have one potential unicorn today, but we need to build more," he said.
What It Means for Founders and the Ecosystem
Ann's firm is planning breakfast-style talks, seminars and an expert discussion club, along with programs linking students to professionals as a form of career succession planning.
For founders in Cambodia, his message is that legal readiness is becoming a competitive factor. As data, cybersecurity and AI rules take shape, companies that engage early with policymakers and build compliance into their operations may be better placed to grow beyond their first fragile years.
Source: Cambodia Investment Review
