Rural Entrepreneurship as a Sustainable Livelihood Alternative for the Returnee Migrants: Reviewing the Potentials and Challenges

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the earnings of migrant workers decreased due to joblessness and the lack of new work. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to look at the potential of rural entrepreneurship as a form of financially managing the insecurity and vulnerabilities caused by the pandemic. The literature review shows that although international migration has played a crucial role in economic growth in Bangladesh, remittance has been underutilized and not translated into investment usually. The qualitative research methodology of the paper followed the thematic analysis design method to apprehend and explain the research findings. The findings of the study indicate that despite several challenges, rural entrepreneurship can indeed be a sustainable livelihood alternative that improves the resilience of returnee migrants. The right kinds of skillsets and adequate measures to tackle the infrastructural and socio-political barriers can boost rural entrepreneurship appreciably. Other recently published research works also highlight that entrepreneurship can be an effective tool for the reintegration of returnee migrants. This paper concludes that the sustainability of rural entrepreneurship will require engaging local development organizations, forming incubation and support centers, and organizing peer support groups.