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Empreendedorismo · Redes de Empreendedores, Desenvolvimento Regional e Microempreendedorismo

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Título

Afro-entrepreneurship among Northeastern Migrant Women in Rio de Janeiro: Identity, Exclusion, and Adaptation in a Racialized Opportunity Structure

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Palavras-chave

Afro-entrepreneurship Migration Inequality
Agradecimento: This research was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), through the Jovem Cientista do Nosso Estado program (Grant No. E-26/204.608/2024). I am deeply grateful for FAPERJ's continued commitment to fostering scientific development and innovation in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Autores

  • Nathalia Zanella
    UNIVERSIDADE DO GRANDE RIO PROFESSOR JOSÉ DE SOUZA HERDY (UNIGRANRIO)
  • Roberto P Q Falcao
    UNIVERSIDADE DO GRANDE RIO PROFESSOR JOSÉ DE SOUZA HERDY (UNIGRANRIO)
  • Eduardo Picanço Cruz
    UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL FLUMINENSE (UFF)

Resumo

Introdução

This study examines the Afro-entrepreneurial trajectories of Northeastern migrant women in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on how race, gender, and territorial origin intersect to shape opportunity structures. Framed by the Mixed Embeddedness theory and intersectional critiques, the research investigates how cultural identity, community networks, and informal strategies are mobilised to overcome exclusion, enabling these women to construct businesses that generate income, affirm identity, and challenge systemic inequalities.

Problema de Pesquisa e Objetivo

How do Northeastern Black and Brown women entrepreneurs in Rio de Janeiro navigate systemic barriers such as racism, regional prejudice, and limited institutional access? This study aims to analyze their entrepreneurial practices as responses to exclusion, focusing on how identity, culture, and informal networks shape strategies for survival, recognition, and social mobility within racialised and peripheral urban contexts.

Fundamentação Teórica

The study builds on the Mixed Embeddedness framework (Kloosterman & Rath, 2001), which links individual agency, market dynamics, and institutional structures. It incorporates intersectional critiques (Ram et al., 2017; Brieger & Gielnik, 2021) to address racialised and gendered barriers. Contributions from Sabino & Pinheiro (2022) and Matos (2021) position Afro-entrepreneurship as both cultural strategy and political action, enabling reinterpretations of marginality, identity, and belonging in urban economies.

Metodologia

This qualitative research is based on 19 semi-structured interviews with Black and Brown women from the Brazilian Northeast who migrated to Rio de Janeiro. Snowball sampling was used to reach participants. The data were analyzed using the Gioia method (Gioia, Corley & Hamilton, 2013), organising first-order terms, second-order themes, and aggregate dimensions, with analytical focus on micro (individual), meso (community), and macro (structural) levels of opportunity and constraint.

Análise dos Resultados

Participants reported drawing on cultural identity, informal learning, and strong social ties to build their businesses in hostile environments. Entrepreneurship emerged as a strategy for generating income, achieving autonomy, and asserting symbolic affirmation. Although their experiences were shaped by barriers such as racism, sexism, and regional prejudice, digital tools, street fairs, and community support facilitated economic mobility, increased visibility, and fostered political agency. Identity was not merely a background element—it became integral to the business model.

Conclusão

Afro-entrepreneurship among Northeastern migrant women is more than a response to poverty, it is a strategy for affirmation, resistance, and transformation. Their trajectories show how identity and culture become economic assets in racialized contexts. The findings suggest the need to expand classic frameworks to include symbolic dimensions of exclusion. Entrepreneurship, in these cases, is a tool of agency, enabling self-recognition and community reorganization amid structural inequalities.

Contribuição / Impacto

This research contributes to the theoretical expansion of the Mixed Embeddedness model by incorporating race, gender, and regional identity as critical filters within opportunity structures. It offers valuable insights for the development of inclusive public policies that address both economic and symbolic forms of exclusion. The study underscores how marginalised entrepreneurs creatively redefine success and transform urban peripheries through culturally rooted and politically engaged business practices.

Referências Bibliográficas

Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31.
Kloosterman, R., & Rath, J. (2001). Immigrant entrepreneurs in advanced economies: Mixed embeddedness further explored. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(2), 189–201.
Brieger, S. A., & Gielnik, M. (2021). Understanding the gender gap in immigrant entrepreneurship: A multi-country study of immigrants’ embeddedness in economic, social, and institutional contexts. Small Business Economics, 56(3), 1007–1031

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