Nas sells meat while her husband cruises the city streets in his tuk-tuk as a driver.

I asked her why she chose to sell meat in the market rather than sell clothes. She said it is easier to sell meat because she doesn’t need to pay for the supply upfront (unlike clothes where you need to buy the merchandise). She only pays the distributor after she’s sold the meat. This made it easier to enter the trade and get started with earning an income.

Micro-enterprises offer the unskilled labour force an opportunity to earn money without educational qualifications. One study found that women migrants to Phnom Penh primarily work as garment workers (32.2%) which could be in factory, microbusiness owners (23.4%), domestic workers (11.1%), and service/entertainment workers (10.3%).

Shopkeeper Stories is a photo-documentary of small business owners and their trades around the world, sharing their insights, stories and views. You can see all the posts on Instagram and Facebook @ShopkeeperStories