A Study on Indonesian Female Migrant Initiating Entrepreneurship Overseas

The Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998 experienced by Indonesia produced an imbalance in the labor market that created a gap between demand and job availability. Job competition for employment takes place in both formal and informal sectors. Skilled workers in the informal sector make the situation more challenging, resulting in a rugged case for unskilled workers, especially women. This situation encourages women to choose an overseas low-skilled job over the unemployed. They decide to leave the country for a better life, support their family's finances and job opportunities overseas with higher wages, gain property motivated by the success stories of other female migrant workers, and be influenced by family members or friends who have worked or are working abroad. However, on their way, the reality is not to the expectations. Some of them experienced many bad things unmentioned, so they decided to shift their careers into entrepreneurs. This paper presents findings on the crucial factors behind the decision to shift the job from their life stories, efforts to initiate the venture, and obstacles in starting and running the business in the host country with a different cultural background. Qualitative research was used in the study. In-depth exploratory interviews were conducted with three Indonesian female worker migrant entrepreneurs to obtain data related to this study proposed approach