R ECONOMIC RESILIENCE OF RETURNING MIGRANT WORKERS: OPTIMIZING SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS NETWORKS

Abstract

Abstract

The phenomenon of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) returning to their homeland is often fraught with complex economic reintegration challenges, where the failure to manage remittances frequently triggers re-migration. Upon their return, former migrant workers (PMI-Purna) face persistent challenges regarding financial and social vulnerability. This community service initiative aims to analyze the economic resilience strategies of PMI-Purna by optimizing social capital and sustainable business networks. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, data were gathered through in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis involving PMI-Purna. The results indicate that social capital—manifested as trust, norms, and networks (such as community associations)—serves as a crucial socio-economic safety net. Optimizing this social capital enables PMI-Purna to access limited resources, expand market reach, and share business risks. Furthermore, the establishment of sustainable business networks—facilitated by collaboration among PMI-Purna, partnerships with supporting institutions like MEBP-PDM (Muhammadiyah Regional Board’s Council for Economy, Business, and Tourism) and AUM (Muhammadiyah’s charitable business entities), as well as the use of appropriate technology—has proven to enhance the adaptive capacity of PMI-Purna. These findings underscore that economic resilience relies not merely on financial capital (remittances) but on the ability to convert social capital into structured entrepreneurial action. The initiative concludes that strengthening community-based business networks can transform PMI-Purna from vulnerable economic actors into resilient, independent entrepreneurs, while simultaneously supporting village-level economic empowerment.

Keywords: Economic Resilience, PMI-Purna, Social Capital, Business Networks, Empowerment