The developer of Banhji, a locally developed accounting platform aimed at small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is in talks with investors to secure fund to expand the application beyond Cambodia. According to Sim Chankiriroth, the platform’s founder, some 300 companies with combined assets over $100mn are currently using Banhji, which was officially launched in October after a four-month beta testing period. While the basic use is free, users may pay to access certain modules. Banhji hopes to grow the platform in Cambodia and expand to at least three other countries in the region by the end of 2017, starting with Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore, with its developer expecting to turn a profit by mid-2018. A recent survey conducted by CamEd Business School on 275 firms that use accounting software found 46 different platforms in use in Cambodia, but 42% of the firms used the international software package Quickbooks. The software’s widespread use could prove a challenge to Banhji’s efforts to carve out a market share. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)