“All we have is this beautiful place. But we don’t have the money”: The effect of foreign direct investment and global power structures on local female entrepreneurship in Coron Town, the Philippines

Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the global South indicates both to create and obstruct local entrepreneurship opportunities in host countries. However, foreign business owners' large capitals, and global development policies encouraging FDI in the tourism industry play a significant role in this relation. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines how foreign ownership in the tourism industry in Coron Town, the Philippines, along with global power structures, is affecting local female entrepreneurship opportunities. The Filipino female entrepreneurs' perceptions and perspectives are further analyzed through the theories and concepts of global power structures, westernization, feminist economics, and capital. The result showed that the increased competition with foreign investors may have a negative effect on local female entrepreneurship; hence, the opportunities for entrepreneurship are considered to decrease due to the presence of foreign-owned businesses. Moreover, although the industry empowers women through increased entrepreneurship opportunities, traditional gender norms of the area remain, thus, affecting women's capacity to manage their enterprises simultaneously with household- and reproductive work.