Debt Inc. - The Cambodian Microfinance machine

The film is an investigative documentary exposing the role of international and European financial institutions in Cambodia’s microfinance crisis.

Investigative journalist Claire Stam exposes the human cost of Cambodia’s booming microfinance sector and the role of European banks in fueling it. With a loan portfolio equal to roughly 30% of the country’s GDP, the sector has driven more than 167,000 households to sell land to repay microloans, alongside documented cases of abuse and suicides.

The film features interviews with human rights representatives (FIAN Germany, OECD Watch), leading academics (Dr. Frank Bliss, Dr. Milford Bateman), journalists (Jack Brook, Gerhard Klas), Cambodian victims, and European investor Mirjam ’t Lam (Oikocredit).

By combining on-the-ground stories with the perspectives of those financing the system, the documentary reveals the full scope of a crisis that is both financial and deeply human.

WHY NOW?
Following reports of predatory practices, European investors began divesting from the sector. While acknowledgement of over-indebtedness and predatory debt collection practices is common, little is being done to remedy the harm to borrowers, and divestment continues.