OCIC Group and French Partners Unveil Plans for Cutting-Edge Coding School in Koh Pich

• 31 January 2024
• Local News
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In a landmark collaboration, OCIC Group, a prominent Cambodian real estate developer, has joined forces with French company Platform Impact to establish a world-class coding school in Koh Pich, Cambodia. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed during the Cambodia Delegation visit to France, in the presence of Prime Minister Hun Manet, at Medef, as reported by CIR news on 30 January 2023.

Following the signing ceremony, key stakeholders, including School 42’s Managing Director Ms. Sophie Viger, OCIC Group’s Vice President Thierry Tea, and Platform Impact Chairman Wisal Hin, met with HE Sun Chanthol, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, to discuss the progress and vision for creating an innovative institution in Cambodia inspired by the success of School 42 in France.

School 42, founded by Xavier Niel in 2013, revolutionized computer programming education by offering a free, diploma-free learning model based on peer-to-peer collaboration. The collaborative effort between Platform Impact and OCIC aims to replicate this successful model in Phnom Penh, providing diverse opportunities for young talents, especially females and underprivileged youth, to acquire digital and technical skills.

Ms. Sophie Viger expressed a strong commitment to fostering diversity in the tech industry and addressing the pressing need for digital education among Cambodia’s youth. The school will be housed in Connexion, a community center developed by OCIC as an exemplary “adaptive reuse” project, repurposing an unfinished shopping center into an educational hub in the heart of Koh Pich.

As part of the delegation’s visit to Paris, OCIC Group had the opportunity to explore leading tech institutions like Station F and School 42, both founded by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel. Xavier Niel, ranked as France’s 10th wealthiest individual, has made an indelible mark as a tech, telecom, and media magnate, and dedicated philanthropist. In 2013, he laid the foundation for Ecole 42 (School 42), a premier coding school in France, offering a groundbreaking, diploma-free learning experience. Subsequently, Niel continued to shape the landscape of innovation by launching Station F in 2017, which has emerged as Europe’s largest startup incubator, occupying a vast 51,000 sqm campus in Paris’s 13th district.

Station F, under Niel’s visionary leadership, has achieved extraordinary financial milestones, surpassing the entire startup ecosystem of Cambodia. With 30 startup programs, 35 public administrations, 150 Venture Capital (VC) Funds, and four mentorship offices hosting over 600 events annually, Station F has become a thriving hub for entrepreneurial development. Notably, in the year 2023 alone, startups incubated at Station F collectively raised an impressive sum exceeding $1 billion in funding.

The incubator at Station F witnessed a historic moment in 2022 when it produced its first Unicorn—a privately owned startup valued at over $1 billion. This achievement underscores Station F’s significant contribution to fostering successful and high-valuation startups. To date, 25 startups in France have attained Unicorn status, showcasing the robustness of the French startup ecosystem. A comparative analysis reveals that while the United States boasts over 600 Unicorns, China has over 300, and India surpasses a count of 100.

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