Our IBD project was to develop a business plan for a shrimp farm in Cambodia for the DK Kim Foundation. We arrived in Siem Reap from SFO and were able to see Angkor Wat, Bayon, and the various temples there.

We then made the long trip down National Highway 4 to the coastal town of Sihanoukville, seeing many of the poorer parts of the country along the way.

It was in this beach town where I developed my greatest feel for Cambodia and its people. In addition to spending time along beautiful coastline, we visited a shrimp processing facility, met with local government officials, and went to a local shrimp farm. We learned a lot about the shrimping business, but also had a lot of fun there. We enjoyed the Filipino band at our hotel every night, rode a lot of tuk-tuks, and ate many Khmer meals together.

I was sad to leave Sihanoukville, but we had to go to Phnom Penh the following week for a face-to-face meeting with our client as well as to conduct meetings with two companies that we were looking to partner with in starting the business. These meetings helped to solidify our research and square away our final strategy for building the business. After a fun weekend trip, it was time to buckle down and finish our report in our final week in Cambodia. We only have a day left here, and while I am looking forward to coming back to the US, I will definitely miss my time here in Cambodia. I have learned a lot about the country, its people, shrimp farming, starting a business in an underdeveloped country, but most all I have developed deep friendships with my teammates and had an experience that I will never forget.

—Brandon Yahn

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