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CULTURAL RECIPROCITY AND SUSTAINABILITY AMONG ONLINE

SMALL-TIME INDIGENOUS ENTREPRENEURS IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

WRITTEN BY: TRIXIE M TANGIT

Small-time Indigenous entrepreneurs in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, may face various challenges in securing their livelihoods and generating
income but many have learnt to successfully monetize their services and products. The key to their success is in the ongoing practice of
cultural reciprocity embedded in their traditional livelihood practices.. As families and friends seek to become clients of each other’s
businesses, they enact tolong-tolong (the reciprocal act of helping each other out in the Malay language) and the revolving act of care and
kindness is what strengthens the networks and connections in their communities.The aim of this paper is to illustrate the agency of Sabahan
Indigenous entrepreneurs in pursuing an online economy. Using participant-observation and in depth interview as methods, the author
engaged with several Sabahan Indigenous entrepreneurial individuals and online groups to illustrate the various challenges in the transition
from the offline to online economy involving cashless transactions and adhering to the online group’s Indigenous entrepreneurial image.
How Indigenous entrepreneurs ‘talk up’ their products and services in online advertisements are also analysed to demonstrate their savvy in
engaging potential customers in the online market. The study indicates the importance of familiar and familial networks and implies that the
small intimate business may be a useful model for the Indigenous entrepreneur particularly during hard times. The study was conducted
during the start of pandemic-hit years of 2020 and 2021.