The resilience of African migrant entrepreneurs in China under COVID-19

Purpose As the impact of COVID-19 on businesses was impossible to predict, so is the future of migrant entrepreneurs - some of whom, before the outbreak, had to deal with immigrant status associated challenges Against this backdrop, this paper aims to focus on African migrant entrepreneurs in China, much less studied ethnic migrants who have always lived on the margins of Chinese society, to examine their entrepreneurial resilience under COVID-19 in China Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative design using a survey and semi-structured follow-up interviews as the primary data collection instrument The questions in the questionnaire guide were adapted from the Center for Global Development survey instrument designed to gauge the resilience of SMEs under COVID-19 Findings Although most business operations in China are impacted, African migrant businesses were very hit due to existing social challenges coupled with their informality (i e operating at a low level of organization), lack of contingency plans and lack of stimulus support COVID-19 is thus not only a force majeure that threatens the growth expectation of African owned-business but also presents a threat to their very existence in an already challenging society for Africans Research limitations/implications Although the study has achieved its intended purpose, the sample was relatively small due to the low return rate of questionnaires and the difficulties in reaching out to target respondents due to the restrictive measures on movements during the data collection period Originality/value This paper draws attention to the entrepreneurship-related challenges faced by ethnic migrants in China during a crisis The social challenges of Africans living in China became a global topical issue during the COVID-19 outbreak in China However, little is known about their entrepreneurship endeavors and the associated difficulties This paper helps our understanding of African businesses' resilience in China during uncertain times, such as the one created by COVID-19