{"id":340289,"date":"2017-05-07T23:30:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T15:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1470182"},"modified":"2017-05-07T23:30:09","modified_gmt":"2017-05-07T15:30:09","slug":"a-buzzfeed-would-be-is-paving-the-way-for-startups-in-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/a-buzzfeed-would-be-is-paving-the-way-for-startups-in-cambodia\/","title":{"rendered":"A BuzzFeed would-be is paving the way for startups in Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know Cambodia has its own BuzzFeed?<\/p>\n

Well, now you do!<\/p>\n

(And, yes, do note that I\u2019m assuming you know of Cambodia and where it is located<\/a> in the world.)<\/p>\n

In a country renowned for world-famous\u00a0temples<\/a>\u00a0and fresh, spicy food<\/a> \u2014 not to mention communist politics and one of history\u2019s most atrocious\u00a0genocides<\/a> \u2014\u00a0lives\u00a0Mediaload, a six-year-old online media company that harbors aspirations of becoming the local language equivalent of BuzzFeed across\u00a0Asia. Mediaload\u00a0has news websites in Cambodia, its home country, and neighboring Myanmar, with a desire\u00a0to go much further.<\/p>\n

Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country, isn\u2019t exactly known as a startup hotbed so you may be surprised to learn that Mediaload is hitting an impressive 40 million page views per month from a base of over seven million unique visitors. That\u2019s across its two mainstream news\u00a0sites which cover a range of topics\u00a0in native languages: Khmerload<\/a>\u00a0(Cambodian) and Myanmarload<\/a>\u00a0(Burmese).<\/p>\n

Thriving in emerging markets<\/h2>\n

Those are pretty incredible numbers. The popularity of both sites is testament to ever-increasing internet access in emerging markets over the past few years, particularly in Southeast Asia. The region\u2019s total internet population is tipped to grow from around 260 million people today to at least 480 million by the year 2020, according to a report co-authored by Google<\/a>, with 3.8 million people coming online for the first time each month. The same report estimates that the region\u2019s online media space could reach $20 billion by 2020, thanks to a projected growth rate of 18 percent year.<\/p>\n

With digital representing far less than five percent of advertising spend in Southeast Asia \u2014 and below\u00a0one percent in some places \u2014 there\u2019s plenty of untapped potential from a business standpoint.<\/p>\n

But that report and those numbers just over the region\u2019s main countries. Cambodia and Myanmar aren\u2019t among the top six economies in Southeast Asia, which means that they frequently fly under the radar for technology companies and investors. That\u2019s despite significant internet adoption in both countries. Facebook\u2019s own estimates suggest Cambodia has more than five million users of the social network, out of a population of 50 million,\u00a0while there are an apparent 15 million in Myanmar, which counts just over 50 million people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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The majority of\u00a0visitors to the Khmerload website are on mobile devices<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mediaload\u2019s websites are monetized via advertising. The editorial focus is on entertainment, celebrities\u00a0and lifestyle, not unlike BuzzFeed, but in contrast to\u00a0its U.S. role model, politics \u2014 a tricky subject for media across Southeast Asia \u2014 is off the table and has been since the start.<\/p>\n

Primarily the content is written stories, but the company is increasing its efforts on video and multimedia which, beyond being more lucrative revenue-wise, have greater potential to go viral and growth the sites\u2019 audiences,\u00a0CEO and co-founder Vichet In told TechCrunch in an interview. The team is also looking to run more interviews and explore areas that include women\u2019s issues and talk show topics.<\/p>\n

Igniting startups in Cambodia<\/h2>\n

Aside from hatching a promising media business,\u00a0Mediaload is celebrating after it became\u00a0the first Cambodia-based startup to land investment from a U.S.-affiliated VC firm.\u00a0500 Startups announced in March<\/a> that it invested $200,000 in the company via\u00a0its $50 million Southeast Asia fund \u2018500 Durians\u2019<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 its first investment\u00a0in Cambodia. The deal\u00a0values\u00a0Mediaload at several million U.S. dollars, In told TechCrunch although neither the company nor 500 Startups\u00a0gave an exact valuation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s some way from BuzzFeed \u2014 which has raised over $440 million from investors<\/a> like Comcast NBCU, SoftBank and\u00a0Andreessen Horowitz \u2014 but it might just have helped put Cambodia on the map for investors in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0wasn\u2019t charging into Myanmar\u00a0and Cambodia to make investments,\u201d 500 Durians partner Khailee Ng\u00a0told TechCrunch. \u201cBut\u00a0the ecosystem has woken up in a big way.\u201d<\/p>\n