Policies to Support Immigrant Entrepreneurship

Author: 
Maria Vincenza Desiderio
Date of Publication: 
August, 2014
Source Organization: 
Migration Policy Institute

Policymakers around the world are aware of the economic and social benefits of attracting and supporting immigrant entrepreneurs, who are often more likely than the native-born to start a business and create jobs, revitalize declining neighborhoods, innovate, and integrate other immigrants into the labor market. At the same time, immigrants face major obstacles to starting a business due to a lack of language proficiency, professional networks, knowledge of local business systems, start-up capital, and credit history.

In Policies to Support Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Maria Vincenza Desiderio outlines a variety of policies that seek to remove these obstacles and promote success among immigrant entrepreneurs. She suggests, for instance, that these policies rely on public-private partnerships to ensure sustainability. London's own Silicon Valley known as Tech City, for instance, grew out of a private initiative that eventually garnered government support. By clustering co-working spaces, start-up incubators and business accelerators, the partnership was able to offer targeted local support for high-tech entrepreneurship. The author also suggests that programs rely on both mainstream (open to all residents) and targeted (open to immigrants) business-support measures. In the economically disadvantaged German city of Dortmund, city authorities partnered with banks and the European Union to launch a credit union that facilitates easy access to credit, tailored counseling and assistance, and mentoring and network-building initiatives. The author concludes that Initiatives like these ought to be embedded in a broader policy strategy to create an entrepreneurship-friendly environment. 

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Citation: 

Desiderio, M. D. (2014). Policies to Support Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Migration Policy Institute and Transatlantic Council on Migration. Washington: DC. Retrieved from  file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/csalmawin/Desktop/TCM_Cities_Entrepreneurship-FINALWEB.pdf

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