Market-based approach to development
Phav Daroath recently became the first Cambodian to be selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for social entrepreneurship. The Post’s Matthieu de Gaudemar sat down with Daroath, the managing director of the local nonprofit organisation WaterSHED, to talk about the value of market-based solutions for solving the country’s social problems. Can you describe what WaterSHED does? WaterSHED is an NGO that is trying to use a business approach to tackle sanitation issues in Cambodia. In a developed country, if you want to buy a toilet you can just go to the shop. However, it is not so simple in Cambodia, especially in rural areas. Our job is to work with local sanitation businesses to help them develop solutions that they can sell to Cambodian villagers. We work with suppliers, and we also work with local authorities, both in Cambodia and Vietnam.
