Movement Control Order and its impact on the livelihood of Muslims mompreneurs: a qualitative study

• Main Authors: Mohd Yusoff, Syarah Syahira, Hassan, Rusni
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: HG3368 Islamic Banking and Finance
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/87473/4/87473_Movement%20Control%20Order.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87473/5/87473_Movement%20Control%20Order_slide.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87473/6/87473_Movement%20Control%20Order_programbook.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87473/; https://www.iium.edu.my/institute/iiibf/online-conference-isfpcps-september-2020

Purpose This empirical paper investigates how the mompreneurs deal with their businesses during the Covid-19 lockdown and how does the pandemic affect their family. The role of a mother in a family encompasses from the livelihood of the family members, which extends to the financial standing of the family. In Malaysia, it was reported in 2018 that 60.2% are housewives while the balance has joined the workforce. However, it is believed that with the high demand of living cost especially in urban areas, many women are working at home and become an entrepreneur who is homed-based especially during this unprecedented pandemic i.e Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an exploratory qualitative study whereby seven (7) mompreneurs who are operating their businesses at home were interviewed to understand how the pandemic and the lockdown has affected their lives. This paper further examines their coping mechanism in dealing with their business and financial income during this crisis. Mompreneurs’ financial literacy is also unravelled in this paper to explore their financial understanding. Research limitations/implications This research is an exploratory study and it only provides general ideas on how the home-based businesswoman survive and cope during the lockdown. Practical implications The findings from this paper is suitable to be used as a benchmark for an extensive quantitative study in the future to further understand the behaviour of the mompreneurs, especially in Malaysia.