This report is about designing a microcredit scheme - financed by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Korea - in Cambodian rural area, and consulting the pilot project of microcredit program (called Korea Microcredit Project) to reduce the rural poverty and enhance the rural income activities in Cambodia.
The above 80 % of Cambodian people are living at the rural area and 35% of Cambodian is trapped at the absolute poverty. In the Cambodian rural area, there are lacks of income activities except small scaled self business projects. Therefore, microcredit program could play an important role on enhancing off-farm income sources so that Cambodia government carries out various microcredit programs and extends those programs.
In the above situation, Korea government has launched a pilot project of microcredit program in Cambodia rural area, especially focusing on self-cooperation, learning by discussion and sharing information, peering monitoring system, which are core concepts of the Saemaul movement. And KREI has devised the KMP mechanism, and monitored and consulted implementation process with Cambodian Ministry of Rural Development.
This report consisted of five chapters. The first chapter is explaining the brief summary about the necessity of microcredit program in Cambodian rural areas, and the whole picture of this report. Current situation of pilot areas and brief history of KMP will be presented in the second chapter. The third chapter is introducing the mechanism of KMP and its unique characteristics. In the fourth chapter, the borrowing and lending situation, and impacts and effects of KMP will be presented. Finally, we will evaluate the performance of KMP.

Researchers: Kim, Kyeong-Duk; Bae, Jong-Ha; Kim, Jeong-Seung
and Cho, U-Rim
Research period: 2009. 4. - 2010. 4.
E-mail address: kdkim@krei.re.kr