Cambodia Isn’t a Good Place for Solopreneurs
I remember getting off the plane in Siem Reap. It was about 9:30 PM, I was tired, I didn’t have Wi-Fi. It sucked and I hated it, lol. It took me about 20 minutes just to get out of the airport and to a Grab Taxi. It would take another 40 minutes to get to my hotel, a small guest house about a 30 minute walk from the main, bar street (it’s trash and very small). I settled in, went out to the night market about 20 minutes away, and got something to eat. The weather was good, the girls were cute, and the tourist were few. It felt like a great place, much better than Thailand, tbh.
Then I wanted to start a business.
Cambodia, Land of Greased Palms…
If you’re a broke boy expat, college student out on a gap year, or just passing through, then Cambodia is great. It’s cheap, there’s few police around to hassle you, and the beer is cheap. You will never, or rarely, experience any sort of corruption because you’re a tourist and stick to typical tourist activities. You might get scammed by a TukTuk driver, ladyboy, or some of the kids that beg and sell trinkets, but that’s fairly normal. You really don’t notice the corruption until you start a business and have to deal with the government.
Paying bribes is common for everyone doing business in the Kingdom of Wonder. It’s a big problem that the government is trying to fix, but the depressed economic state of Cambodia doesn’t make it easy. You should be heavily prepared to pay off officials, gangs, and everyone in between. This added cost of doing business often makes it not worth it for solopreneurs. They won’t mess with the big guys, just you, the little guy. I didn’t want to deal with it, so I went to Hong Kong and Taiwan instead.
The Good News?
Cambodia has a number of laws that make doing business appealing, but it mostly benefits big corporations, not you. They have eliminated custom duties (tariffs) from the United States, starting in 2025, sweet. Could this benefit you? Sure, as a trader, but those savings will just be eaten up in bribes or other costs, kind of why Cambodia eliminated them in the first place. I was looking into exporting cashews and peppers from Cambodia, but I didn’t like the idea after doing a bit of research.
Bars and Restaurants
You could open a bar, a restaurant, or manage some Airbnbs…that would actually work out pretty good and the shake down from local police wouldn’t be that bad. The returns are absolute butt, maybe 5-10%? It’s worth it if you want to get a work visa, have some cash, and want to be involved in the tourism industry. I’ve seen several older expats take this route after running into problems in Thailand (never invest in Thailand, you don’t own anything outright, you’ve been warned). Owning a few food carts, a pop up bar, or a hostel can be a decent option, if you can tolerate the drama that drunk tourist bring….
Better Options
I understand that some ambitious expats want to start a business, get involved in the local community, and make some money. Southeast Asia (excluding Singapore, obviously) still has a long way to go before it’s actually a good place to invest in for solopreneurs. Countries like Cambodia lack the proper judicial structure to make it a safe, long term country to invest in. Large corporations are the only ones that can absorb the added cost of doing business—bribes, lost inventory, finding good talent, legal issues, etc.
I went to Hong Kong and Taiwan, but countries like Malaysia and Singapore are great options, Singapore especially. Both countries have solid judicial structures, sophisticated logistics, and an emerging middle class. Singapore has a solid middle class and they do spend money, lots of it. So, before you decided to dump your life savings in Cambodia, take a look at some better options. It could save you a lot of headaches in the future.
