Sophy is a 48-year-old mother of four living in Kandal province, Cambodia. A micro-business owner, Sophy’s primary household income has been the grocery business which she has ran from her house for 12 years. Sophy started with a working capital loan of US$5,000 and a home improvement loan of US$10,000. With her income increasing by 60%, she has been able to provide a higher standard of living for her family and was even able to send her children to university.

Through IIX’s WLB2, Sophy recently obtained a loan of US$15,000 which she used to buy a van so that her and her husband can deliver food to customers even during the pandemic and sustain their business. This aligns with IIX’s mission to empower women entrepreneurs to be pillars of COVID-relief, recovery, and resilience.

Champei is a smallholder farmer who cultivates organic and sustainable rice. Before being formally integrated into the supply chain of rice exporters funded by WLB2, Champei’s weekly income was highly unpredictable as she lacked a stable market to sell her rice and was subjected to highly volatile prices offered by middlemen. After becoming a formal supplier, Champei benefits from a 20% increase in yield per harvest as a result of organic and climate-smart farming training she has received.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IIX WLB2 has enabled women smallholder farmers like Champei to continue to increase her income through fair pricing and access to markets. These women now earn premium prices for her organic products which have further increased by 12% during COVID-19 as a result of the surge in demand for organic rice. This story epitomizes the critical role women play in accelerating Cambodia’s economic recovery from the pandemic and advancing global food security.