Growing pains hit Cambodia’s businesses for good

A balancing act: A seamstress is seen working at her sewing machine at the Outland Denim factory in Kampong Cham. Social enterprises struggle to scale up their operations while providing the right opportunities for their target group. — Reuters

A SNIPPET of Leakena’s life is written on a pair of jeans. It marked the high point in a tale of redemption: from being exploited and ostracised to working a steady job making US$250 (RM1,041) jeans for a boutique manufacturer in rural Cambodia, with enough spare time and money to raise two children.

And then the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, stepped off a plane in Australia last year wearing a pair of “slave-free” Outland Denim jeans, into which was sewn the story of a faraway seamstress like Leakena, adding a new twist.