Cultivating entrepreneurial capital: Building on Bourdieu as a basis for entrepreneur development in Cambodian higher education

The rapid expansion of Cambodia's economy and its higher education sector has unlocked new opportunities for many Cambodians, yet stark inequalities persist for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. While entrepreneurship is promoted as a vehicle for social mobility, current Cambodian university programs often focus too narrowly on technical business skills and fail to equip students with the necessary capital needed for success. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a more holistic framework in the form of entrepreneurial capital. Drawing on Bourdieu’s capital theory and Becker’s human capital, entrepreneurial capital is framed as a field-specific composite of human, economic, social, and cultural capital. Based on a multi-stage Delphi study with 12 actors in Cambodia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, this study identifies a holistic set of entrepreneurial competencies and attributes in a Cambodian context that offers holistic learning while fostering more equitable outcomes. While integrating a capital-based approach requires a pedagogical shift, it also presents a pathway for Cambodian HEIs to create sustainable economic and social value in their programs.