Toward a theory of transformative entrepreneuring: Poverty reduction and conflict resolution in Rwanda's entrepreneurial coffee sector

• This paper conceptualizes transformative entrepreneuring in poverty–conflict zones.
• We examine the relationship between poverty and conflict in Rwanda's coffee sector.
• Our focus is on ‘ordinary’ entrepreneurial actors involved in entrepreneuring.
• Poverty and conflict reductions are interlinked, notably via increased life quality.
• The study illustrates how entrepreneuring may catalyze prosperity as well as peace.

This study illustrates how entrepreneurship may catalyze prosperity as well as peace in entrenched poverty–conflict zones. We bring to life a conceptualization of transformative entrepreneuring by assessing interrelationships between poverty and conflict indicators from the perspective of rural dwellers in Rwanda's entrepreneurial coffee sector. Our findings suggest that individuals' perceptions of poverty alleviation and conflict reduction are sequentially linked, notably via increased quality of life. This enables us to advance theory on entrepreneuring by unpacking the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial processes may transform the lives of such ‘ordinary’ entrepreneurs in settings where economic and social value creation are desperately needed.