The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis that has caused a punishing economic impact on businesses, particularly due to many countries adopting measures such as the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of the COVID-19 disease. The impact hits the most on microentrepreneurs since they are not able to operate their businesses, of which the margins of profit and resources are relatively small. The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges faced by microentrepreneurs during MCO and their coping strategies used to overcome these challenges. This study utilized the qualitative case study approach and collected interview data among the identified microentrepreneurs that met the criterion sampling. The findings uncover that these microentrepreneurs typically faced challenges related to restricted cash flows, lack of customers and supplies shortage issues which impacted their income and business operations during MCO. These challenges were addressed using coping strategies, namely having the ability to control stress, developing a strong spiritual relationship with God, applying problem solving thinking skills, utilizing social capital (offline and online), and optimizing digital marketing. It is recommended that government agencies, NGOs, and social movement bodies contribute to microentrepreneurs by organising and engaging in digital empowerment programs to enable rural entrepreneurs to leverage on their access to digital commerce, internet marketing and alike.

• Anning-Dorson, T. (2017). Innovation development in service firms: A three-model perspective. International Journal of Services and Operations, 28(1), 64-80. doi: 10.1504/IJSOM.2017. 085905

• Asfaw, Y. A. (2016). Growth determinants of manufacturing micro-and small enterprises in Ethiopia: An empirical study of Tigray province. Enterprise Development and Microfinance, 27(4), 273–297. doi: 10.3362/1755-1986.2016.018

• Ataguba, J. E. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic, a war to be won: Understanding its economic implications for Africa. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 8(3), 325-328. doi: 10.1007/s40258-020-00580-

• Augestin, R., & Rathakrishnan, B. (2016, Mei 26-27). Relationship of humor and stress among lecturers in public university of Malaysia: Role of happiness as mediator. [Paper presentation]. Seminar Psikologi Kebangsaan-III. Sabah, Malaysia

• Barnard, B., & Herbst, D. (2019). Entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity: The creative process of entrepreneurs and innovators. Expert Journal of Business and Management, 7(1), 107–146. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.319591

• Buerah, T., Hussin, S., & Baharin, A. (2011). Keperluan latihan dan pendidikan berterusan ke arah pembangunan usahawan Muslim berteraskan nilai Islam di Malaysia [The need for continuous training and education towards the development of Muslim entrepreneurs based on Islamic values in Malaysia]. Jurnal Teknologi, 55(1), 121–144. doi: 10.11113/jt.v55.8

• Broman, G. I., & Robèrt, K. (2015). A framework for strategic sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140(1), 17–31. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.121.

• Castiglione, D., Deth, J. W. Van, & Wolleb, G. (2008). The handbook of social capital (1st Ed.). Oxford University Press.

• Chen, H. Y., & Boore, J. R. P. (2009). Translation and back‐translation in qualitative nursing research: methodological review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(1-2), 234 – 239. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02896.x

• Coleman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. The American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.

• Craig, G. (2002). Towards the measurement of empowerment: The evaluation of community development. Journal of the Community Development Society, 33(1), 124–146. doi: 10.1080/1557533020949014

• Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th Ed.). SAGE Publications.

• Dharatun Nissa, P. M. K. (2017). Strategi daya tindak dalam kalangan ibu tunggal kematian pasangan [The coping strategies of widowed single mothers]. [Doctoral thesis]. Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

• Drakakis-Smith, D. (1995). Third world cities : Sustainable urban development, 1. Urban Studies, 32(4/5), 659–677.

• Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911. doi: 10.1002/bit.2319

• Fletcher, J. K. (2007). Leadership, power, and positive relationships. In J. E. Dutton & B. R. Ragins (Eds.), LEA’s organization and management series. Exploring positive relation- ships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation (pp. 347–371). Lawrence Erlbaum.

• Forsido, S. F., Mitiku, F., Lemessa, F., Tolemariam, T., Belew, D., Berecha, G., Garedew, W., Bekele, Y., Geda, F., & Eneyew, A. (2020). COVID-19 probable impacts on Ethiopian agriculture and potential mitigation and adaptation measures: no food-no health-no life. Jimma University. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29988.4288

• Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. (2020). Laporan pergerakan pendapatan peserta 2YEP tahun 2019[Report of income movement of 2YEP participants in 2019]. Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. http://www.jkm.gov.my

• Klopper, H. (2008). The qualitative research proposal. Curationis, 31(4), 62–72. doi: 10.4102/curationis.v31i4.106

• Krishnakumar, B., & Rana, S. (2020). COVID 19 in India: Strategies to combat from combination threat of life and livelihood. Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 53(3), 389-391. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2020.03.02

• Kuratko, D. F. (2016). Sources of capital for entrepreneurial ventures. In D. F. Kuratko (Ed.), Entrepreneurship theory process and practice (4th Ed., pp. 497–535). Cengage Learning.

• Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.

• Lyons, M., Smuts, C., & Stephens, A. (2001). Participation, empowerment and sustainability: (How) do the links work? Urban Studies, 38(8), 1233–1251. doi: 10.1080/0042098012503

• Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2011). Designing qualitative research (5th Ed.). Sage Publications.

• Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. John Wiley & Sons.

• Mohd Hasril, A., Siti Norain, J., & Noorazman, A. S. (2017). Tahap pengetahuan, kemahiran dan kebolehupayaan pelatih pendawaian elektrik dalam pembentukan usahawan teknikal di Giatmara Negeri Johor [Level of knowledge, skills and abilities of electrical wiring trainees during the developmental process of technical entrepreneurs in Giatmara Johor]. Sains Humanika, 9(1–5), 109–117. doi: 10.11113/sh.v9n1-5.118

• Mohd Rasdi, R., Hamzah, S. R., & Yean, T. F. (2020). Exploring self-leadership development of Malaysian women entrepreneurs. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 22(2), 189 - 200. doi: 107.171/1775/213524324223223020990077048

• Mondal, W. I., & Jimenez, L. (2015). Teaching entrepreneurship and micro-entrepreneurship: An International perspective. Journal of International Education Research, 11(3), 189–196. doi: 10.19030/jier.v11i3.937

• National Entrepreneur & SME Development Council. (2012). Ringkasan pelan induk PKS 2012-2020 (Edisi disemak 2014). SME Corporation Malaysia. Retrieved November 19, 2019, from http://discoverylib.upm.edu.my/discovery/Record/569854.

• Neck, C. P., & Manz, C. C. (2010). Mastering self-leadership: Empowering yourself for personal excellence (5th Ed.). Prentice Hall.

• Odhiambo, J., Weke, P., & Ngare, P. (2020). Modeling Kenyan economic impact of Corona Virus in Kenya using discrete-time Markov chains. Journal of Finance and Economics, 8(2), 80–85. doi: 10.12691/jfe-8-2-

• Ozili, P. K. (2020). COVID-19 in Africa: socio-economic impact, policy response and opportunities. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. doi: 10.1108/IJSSP-05-2020-0171

• Pappas, E. C. (2013). Individual sustainability: Preliminary research. Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE, 1631–1636. doi: 10.119/FIE.2013.6685115

• Pappas, J. B., & Pappas, E. C. (2015). The sustainable personality: Values and behaviors in individual sustainability. International Journal of Higher Education, 4(1), 12–21. doi: 10.5430/ijhe.v4n1p12

• Prime Minister Office of Malaysia. (2020). Langkah tambahan bagi Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi Prihatin Rakyat (Prihatin)[Additional steps for the People’s Concerned Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin)] (pp. 1–10). Prime Minister’s Department. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://www.pmo.gov.my/2020/04/langkah-tambahan-bagi-pakej-rangsangan-ekonomi-prihatin-rakyat-prihatin/

• Ramadhan Odhiambo, A. (2019). Effect of entrepreneurial competencies on the survival of small and medium enterprises in Kenya. [Doctoral thesis]. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Juja.

• Ratnasingam, J., Khoo, A., Jegathesan, N., Wei, L. C., Latib, H. A., Thanasegaran, G., Liat, L. C., Yi, L. Y., Othman, K., & Amir, M.A. (2020). How are small and medium enterprises in Malaysia’s furniture industry coping with COVID-19 pandemic? Early evidence from a survey and recommendations for policymakers. Bioresources, 15(3), 5951 - 5964. doi: 10.15376/biores.8.3.5951-596

• Ricalde, R. R. (2020). COVID-19 and labour law : Philippines. Italian Labour Law E-Journal, 13(Special Issue 1), 3–7. doi: 10.6092/issn.1561-808/10800

• Roseland, M. (2000). Sustainable community development: Integrating environmental, economic, and social objectives. Progress in Planning, 54(2), 73–132. doi: 10.1016/S0305-9006(00)00003-

• Scarborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management, global edition (8th Ed.). Pearson Education.

• Shah, A. U. M., Safri, S. N. A., Thevadas, R., Noordin, N. K., Rahman, A. A., Sekawi, Z., Ideris, A., & Sultan, M. T. H. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 97, 108 - 116. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.09

• Samah, B. A., Omar, S. Z., Bolong, J., & Salleh Hassan, M. (2018). Predictors of entrepreneurial intention among youths in Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 26(T), 19-30.

• Swanson, K. K., & DeVereaux, C. (2017). A theoretical framework for sustaining culture: Culturally sustainable entrepreneurship. Annals of Tourism Research, 62, 78–88. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2016.12.00

• Tunggak, B., & Zoolhilmi, A. (2015). Pengaruh faktor latar belakang terhadap orientasi sikap keusahawanan dalam kalangan usahawan belia bumiputera muslim [The influence of background factors on the orientation of entrepreneurial attitudes among Muslim Bumiputera youth entrepreneurs]. Akademika, 85(02), 29–43. doi: 0.17576/akad-2015-8502-03

• United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals learning objectives. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://www.bne-portal.de/sites/default/files/downloads/publikationen/unesco_education_for_sustainable_development_goals_learning_objectives.pdf

• Utomo, H. S. (2020). The effect of Muslim religiousity and innovation capability on firm survival: A study on small entreprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Iqtishada, 13(2). 179 - 196.

• World Bank Group. (2020). Assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 and policy responses in Sub-Saharan Africa, 21(April), 1-119. doi: 10.156/978-1-4648-1568-3

• Yee, L. L., Johari, S. B., Emang, D., Thoo, P. Y., Muhammad, & Hasan, L. (2019). Motivational factors of women to become social entrepreneurs in Lundu district, Sarawak. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 7(5), 75-81.

• Yi, V. Z. (2020). Struggle of Malaysian SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic: A policy brief. KasiAsia. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://kasi.asia/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/KSI-Policy-Brief-Struggle-of-Malaysian-SMEs-During-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf

• Zimmerman, M. A. (2000). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational and community levels of analysis. In Rappaport, J. & Seidman, E. (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology, (pp. 43–63). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

• Zulkifli, M. al-B. (2016). Al-Kafi #477: Wujudkah pembahagian Ulama’ dalam isu takdir?[Al-Kafi #477: Is there a divided concept of predestination among Muslim scholars?]. Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from https://muftiwp.gov.my/artikel/al-kafi-li-al-fatawi/1409-al-kafi-li-al-fatawi-ke-476-wujudkah-pembahagian-ulama-dalam-isu-takdir.

• Zulkifli, M. al-B. (2018). Irsyad Al-Fatwa Ke-2: Maksud Qada’ & Qadar?[Irsyad Al-Fatwa No. 2: The meaning of Qada ’& Qadar?]. Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from https://muftiwp.gov.my/artikel/irsyad-fatwa/irsyad-fatwa-umum/2011-2