Widening horizons: digital technologies and social capital for female migrant entrepreneurs

Purpose This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of how digital technologies enable self-employed African female migrants in the United Kingdom to operate in the face of socially constructed disadvantages. Female migrant entrepreneurs are often characterised by their ethnicity and gendered expectations, which can ultimately constrain the nature of their business offering. In this paper, the authors look to how female migrant entrepreneurs use digital technologies as a way of overcoming social disadvantages. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on longitudinal qualitative data from 16 female migrant entrepreneurs in the Northeast of Scotland over four years, presenting a narrative of their engagement with digital technologies as they re-cast their social identity at a time when conventional social interaction became limited. A social capital and intersectionality lens allows for the construction of emerging categories and analytical themes, as the nature of the entrepreneurs’ social capital is seen to evolve over time. Findings The authors argue that the adoption of digital technologies transforms expected entrepreneurial processes, enabling these entrepreneurs to break out of ethnic silos and gendered stereotypes, broadening their horizons. Aside from providing a remedy for social isolation, the findings demonstrate a variety of ways in which digitalisation has altered respondents’ business context, from overcoming intersecting forces of oppression to enabling business continuity and deeper social connections that widen enterprise horizons. Originality/value This work contributes to the literature by offering a better understanding of how socially marginalised female migrant entrepreneurs use digital resources to address the disadvantages of their intersectional identities. As such, the authors argue that digital adoption for these entrepreneurs has a more meaningful impact than simply a means of communication.