Profiling the AI Readiness Baseline in Cambodia's Manufacturing SMEs

Profiling the AI Readiness Baseline in Cambodia’s Manufacturing SMEs starts with a simple but urgent problem: in Cambodia, conversations about AI often swing between hype and dismissal, yet there is little firm level evidence showing what manufacturing SMEs actually understand, have in place, and can realistically use. The book treats that missing evidence as a policy and competitiveness risk, because moving up the manufacturing value chain depends on basics like skills, data discipline, and operational systems, not just ambition. It frames the whole study around one grounding question: what is the current state of AI awareness, readiness, and adoption among manufacturing SMEs, and what would help them move from early digitization to meaningful AI use.