Entrepreneurship and Economic Sustainability: Contribution of Migrant Entrepreneurs in Qatar

While migrant business is everywhere in Qatar and possibly in other neighboring countries, migrant entrepreneurship remains an extremely understudied topic, especially among migrant worker. This is, perhaps, because migrant entrepreneurship is predominantly seen as a phenomenon in the West, with the economic activities of immigrants and ethnic economies in the United States (Light, 1984) and Western Europe (Ward, 1983). This study will offer empirical knowledge about migrant workers’ entrepreneurial activities, and thereby, explore their contribution to Qatar. By looking at migrants working as shoe repairers, watch repairers, food-cart owners, hair dressers, and the like, this study seeks to understand the following questions: 1. How do the migrant entrepreneurs find business opportunities and thereby, contribute to the host society? 2. How do migrant workers manage to set up their business within the restrictive ‘kafala system’ that makes the migrants almost completely dependent on their sponsors? 3. What role do networks with other migrants and local population play in the business operation and how?