AFRICAN FEMALE NASCENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MACAO S.A.R.

Abstract

AFRICAN WOMEN FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND SOCIAL CLASSES, FROM THOSE SEEKING REFUGEE STATUS TO DIPLOMATS AND PEASANTS' DAUGHTERS, HAVE BEEN ARRIVING IN INCREASING NUMBERS ON CHINESE SHORES SINCE THE 1980S. THE AMAZING STORIES OF SOME OF THESE "INVISIBLE" BUT DYNAMIC WOMEN HAVE BEEN IGNORED, YET THEY REVEAL GREAT DIVERSITY AND DESERVE SCHOLARLY ATTENTION, AS THEY PROVIDE RICH MATERIAL FOR STUDIES ON THE AFRICAN DIASPORA IN CHINA. THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES ON AFRICAN MIGRATION TO MACAO, A FORMER PORTUGUESE COLONY AND PRIMARY MIGRATION DESTINATION IN THE PEARL DELTA RIVER REGION, WHICH CURRENTLY HOSTS THE DENSEST AFRICAN POPULATION IN CHINA. IT EXPLORES BOTH THE MORE RECENT AND THE RELATIVELY LONGER-TERM MIGRATION OF AFRICAN WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO MACAO, AND EXAMINES THE INTERSECTION OF THESE COMMUNITIES RESULTING FROM THE OVERLAP BETWEEN THE ONGOING GLOBAL MOVEMENTS OF AFRICAN DIASPORAS AND NEW AFRICAN MIGRATORY TRENDS TO CHINA. THE ARTICLE DRAWS ON THE LIFE STORIES AS WELL AS THE EDUCATIONAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN WOMEN IN MACAO, AND INVESTIGATES THE RELEVANCE OF ETHNIC NETWORKS OF TRUST AND RECIPROCITY FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES' SURVIVAL. THIS ARTICLE PLACES SPECIFIC EMPHAIS ON THE EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN WOMEN, RECOGNIZING THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE FACE OF MULTIPLE INTERSECTIONS OF RACISM AND SEXISM ON THE PART OF BOTH STATE AND SOCIETY, AND REVEALS HOW THE WOMEN EMPLOY A RESISTANCE STRATEGY BY REINFORCING ETHNIC MIGRANT NETWORKS.