The impact of COVID-19 on refugee women’s entrepreneurship in Jordan

Purpose This study aims to extend the current debate on refugee entrepreneurship in Jordan. It empirically investigates the impact of COVID-19 on refugee women’s entrepreneurship, highlighting their experiences, constraints and opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The study design is epistemologically grounded in the heuristic 8Ms extended gender-cognisant entrepreneurship framework. An interpretive qualitative approach was used involving 30 semi-structured interviews with refugee women entrepreneurs across Jordan, with manual thematic data analysis. Findings Some of the main opportunities available to refugee women were linked with high levels of resilience and push and pull factors. The constraints were mainly pandemic induced and included access to funds; mobility restrictions; access to business knowledge, training and online learning platforms; rising xenophobia and discrimination; exhaustion; and stress. Practical implications The study findings can be used by non-governmental organisations to support refugees in realising their full potential. They also provide practical insights into refugee women entrepreneurs’ lived experiences for better policymaking. Originality/value This empirical study contributes to the existing knowledge on refugee women entrepreneurs’ constraints and opportunities by presenting a sensitive, in-depth analysis of their current trends and dynamics in the context of Jordan. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically test the extended 8Ms entrepreneurship model to capture the voices and shared experiences of Jordanian refugees.