Life | Recognising the potential in immigrant businesses |
| Written by Farbod Rezania |
| Tuesday, 19 May 2009 11:18 |
 It always irritates me to hear people use expressions like "making just enough to get by" and "self-sufficiency" when talking about immigrant businesses. The truth is that they aren’t only about self-sufficiency — in extension they provide a living for many others as well.Many newly arrived immigrants want to start businesses. What they need is experience in business administration, the market and the business sector they want to operate in. Everybody in these businesses makes a living. Like all others, these companies contribute to hospitals, schools and old-age care by paying their high taxes. As you can see, immigrant businesses are about more than just making ends meet. “Self-sufficiency” is instead what integration policy wants — it’s an ambition for immigrants dreamt up by integration bureaucrats. It is not the immigrants’ own aim for their businesses. “Making just enough” and “self-sufficiency” are not correct assessments of immigrant companies. The terms reveal the view integration bureaucrats themselves have of businesses and business. They consistently underestimate the potential of immigrant enterprise. Let’s look at an area where immigrant businesses can play an important role but where they are completely shut out: integration. Many newly arrived immigrants want to start businesses. What they need is experience in business administration, the market and the business sector they want to operate in. Many immigrant businesses, especially in the cities, could provide vital help. Immigrants are active in all fields. Some sectors, however, are dominated by immigrants and this is where company careers are launched. The most visible — convenience stores, restaurants, street food, tobacco kiosks, laundries, shoe repairs and others — can offer jobs or training to newcomers. Newbies can learn business administration, absorb information about the sector, and get to know other actors, suppliers and customers. This can quickly spawn new start-ups. But this is not happening. The integration bureaucrats have shut out immigrant businesspeople. Why? Because in their eyes, immigrant businesses are segregated areas. It’s not integration when a newly arrived Iraqi gets a trainee position with another Iraqi. The bureaucracy wants newcomers to work in big Swedish companies to learn the language and the various social codes quickly. In the bureaucracy handbook, business represents personal failure — immigrants have to start their own businesses because they can’t make a living any other way! So it’s not at all strange that behind most of the successful immigrant businesses are people who at an early stage cut ties with the integration bureaucracy and went their own sweet way. It’s time to realize that immigrant businesses mean much more than just making ends meet. Let immigrant businesspeople share their experiences with newly arrived countrymen and women who want to be in business. This will give us new companies that in turn offer both jobs and training. Anyway, I believe immigrant businesspeople understand both Swedish and Swedish social codes! Source: http://www.svensktnaringsliv.se/english/article77616.ece?
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