What if a small business generates little income but still changes the life of the person running it?
In this episode of Disruptors for GOOD, we examine new research from Prof. Lin Ong of Cal Poly Pomona and Melati Nungsari of the Asia School of Business. The researchers spent a year following eight Afghan refugee women participating in an entrepreneurship program in Malaysia.
Most of the women did not report significant monthly income from their businesses. However, six rounds of interviews revealed meaningful changes that conventional financial metrics often overlook, including greater autonomy, confidence, resilience, purpose, and community belonging.
The episode explores the researchers’ 3P framework for evaluating impact among displaced and transitory populations. It also asks a larger question for funders, social enterprises, and impact investors: Are we measuring what is easiest to count, or what actually matters to the people being served?
IN THIS EPISODE
- Why revenue, profit, and job creation provide an incomplete picture of impact
- The conditions facing Afghan refugee women building businesses in Malaysia
- Ten non-monetary outcomes identified across the study
- How entrepreneurship affected personal agency, practical capacity, and community relationships
- The meaning of proximate, portable, and preparatory outcomes
- Why funder reporting requirements can unintentionally distort organizational priorities
- How the 3P framework could apply beyond refugee entrepreneurship
- Why entrepreneurship should not be treated as a substitute for legal rights or essential services
- The limitations of the study and the need for additional research
THE TEN NON-MONETARY OUTCOMES
The researchers identified ten outcomes that appeared consistently across the six interview rounds:
1. Independence and autonomy
2. Confidence and self-worth
3. Mental well-being
4. Skills development
5. Purpose and aspirations
6. Social recognition and belonging
7. Family and spousal collaboration
8. Work-life balance
9. Social contribution
10. Adaptability and resilience
These outcomes developed over time. Autonomy and confidence often appeared first, followed by deeper changes involving family relationships, community participation, and resilience.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
The study followed eight Afghan refugee women living in Malaysia. Participants completed a six-month entrepreneurship program combining classroom instruction with one-to-one mentoring. The researchers conducted six rounds of interviews during and after the program.
The average participant was 29 years old and had already spent approximately six years in Malaysia when the research began. None had the legal right to work. Their businesses included catering, tailoring, garment repair, handicrafts, and the resale of household goods and cosmetics.
This was a small qualitative study conducted in one country and one program. Its findings should not be treated as representative of all refugee entrepreneurs. The research relied on self-reported experiences and does not establish that entrepreneurship caused every change participants described.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Prof. Lin Ong and Melati Nungsari, “Proximate, Portable, and Preparatory: Non-Monetary Performance Measures for Social Enterprises Working with Transitory Populations.” Published in Sustainable Business Practices and Social Entrepreneurship by Springer Nature, 2026.
Full research chapter:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-7437-7_8
Tarkington Business Futures Institute:
https://www.tarkingtoninstitute.org/
ABOUT DISRUPTORS FOR GOOD
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