Research on refugee entrepreneurship has largely focused on external factors influencing refugees' entry into business, often overlooking their entrepreneurial agency. Furthermore, studies rarely consider how refugees’ multiple identities interact and shape their entrepreneurial paths. Forced displacement into a new environment imposes a collective identity—such as the “Ukrainian refugee”—which may conflict with their pre-existing identities, leading to a need for identity work and reconstruction. This research addresses these gaps by analysing 30 semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian female refugees who, following the Russian invasion in 2022, established businesses in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The study explores two key questions: “How does forced displacement challenge refugee’s existing identities?” and “What enables refugees to engage in entrepreneurship and construct a new entrepreneurial identity?” Findings reveal that while the collective identity of a refugee may threaten previous identities as mothers and professionals, it also enables leveraging their Ukrainian heritage within the entrepreneurial context. Engaging in business activities helps mitigate identity threats and allows these women to reconstruct their identities.
