Question

Write an Essay on International Entrepreneurship

 

Content Instructions

• The assignment is about the global phenomena of migrant/immigrant/refugee entrepreneurship, which is among the most common but also among the more unknown forms of international entrepreneurship.
• The assignment shall be done as follows:
  • First, read the report: United Nations & UNCTAD (2018). Policy Guide on Entrepreneurship for Migrants and Refugees. UNCTAD: Geneva, Switzerland, 1–165.
  • Second, read all other articles that are listed in: 1. List of Required Reading – Scientific Articles & Key Reports.
  • 
  • The report and the articles mentioned above.
  • When you have read everything above, have read eventual side reading that you yourself decide upon, and also have reflected upon and related this reading to what you so far have learned in course overall, proceed with writing your essay as follows:

Write up very concise summaries of the 7 scientific articles (exclude the UN report). For each article, focus on: What overall is the article about? Explain key concepts. Key conclusions? Your key learnings?

Answer 1

Article 1

This article compares various aspects of refugee entrepreneurship in Europe. It measures the rates of migrant entrepreneurship, their business start-ups, their employment rates in firms, and the geographic spread of migrant entrepreneurs. The article also examines the economic impact of these migrants on native firms. It found that around a half million jobs were created for natives by these migrants in the German economy between 2005 and 2010. Differences between countries in Europe are relatively small when we compare native employment rates to migrant entrepreneurs' businesses. On average, migrant sons and daughters create more jobs in the economy than they take up. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. But on the whole, according to this research, migrants support the economies of their host countries.

Article 2

This article examines the successes and challenges of migrant entrepreneurs. This article establishes that many refugees are willing to try entrepreneurship because of the uncertainty and lack of opportunities one faces after coming to a new country. It also examines the economic situation of refugees in America, namely how they find themselves in many immigration-related crimes and their low socio-economic status. The article then explores how ethnic groups were more likely to succeed with business ventures than Latinos and recent immigrants. They are more likely to be involved in crime or start small businesses without much capital. The success rates for black entrepreneurs were also higher than for Latino ones. Still, there was no such difference between black and white entrepreneurs as was found previously with other ethnicities. The findings present the need for financial literacy and capacity building of the individual entrepreneurs to handle the competition.

Article 3

This article examines how migrant entrepreneurs contribute to economic development. Migrant entrepreneurs have created enterprises that helped develop peripheral regions and local economies economically. The article concludes that there is a need for further research into the complex impact that these migrants have on social and economic development at a global level too. It also argues for greater support for international students studying abroad to strengthen links between home and host countries' economies.

Article 4

This article summary presents some important findings of an article published in the International Migration Review in 2000. The authors investigated how immigrants from certain countries ended up becoming business owners. Specifically, they looked at the factors that made immigrants more likely to succeed as business owners and found links between immigrant success and ownership of multiple businesses, contact with other ethnic groups at work, recent emigration from their home country, and economic hardship when growing up in their home country. This relative is a business owner and their entrepreneurial aspirations for the future.

Article 5

According to Skran and Easton-Calabria, (2020), refugee entrepreneurs' self-reliance and livelihoods are the fundamental considerations that shape how we think about refugees. Refugee entrepreneurs are a population of people who have or are seeking to establish their lives in a new country, often to build their businesses to improve financial independence and wellbeing. Refugees have an essential role in the modern economy as entrepreneurs who are themselves responsible for providing goods and services to the host population and even to other refugees across borders in a globalized world.

Article 6

Immigrant entrepreneurs have been significant in the Australian economy for many years. Still, despite their high participation rates, little research has examined the characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurs and the motivations that drive success. In this study, we examine the motivations of first-generation Turkish immigrants to entrepreneurship in Australia and compare these to second-generation Turkish entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that while the economic need was a top business entry motivation for both groups, these motivations were aligned with different immigrant experiences. There were also differences in how successful start-up businesses were prepared for entry into Australia.

Article 7

The study uses a qualitative approach, drawing on data from interviews with 14 migrant entrepreneurs with different origins and economic statuses: only one is an international migrant. The main argument is that most of these men are not ethnically over-socialized and are therefore proactive in their search for social capital in the host country. Immigrants are mainly motivated by the desire to improve their economic situation and therefore opt for entrepreneurship to gain access to social capital.

Position Piece on Migrant/Immigrant/Refugee Entrepreneurship

Dear members of the parliament of the United States, based on recent science on the matter, we must improve the following aspects of migrant/immigrant/refugee entrepreneurship in our country. I argue we should do it in the following way:

We should provide a public/private mentorship system to help them enter the job market. The public/private mentorship program should identify individuals of immigrant background and connect them with businesses to work for a trial run of at least four months. Through this system, businesses can determine these immigrant individuals' capabilities and economic worth, and immigrants can get a foot in the door when finding employment in their field of study. A successful example of this program is the Bosnian Mentorship Program in St. Louis, Missouri.

Provide a supportive network of business owners who are not afraid to hire immigrant individuals and have connections to the immigrant community within their area. Businesses that hire immigrants are often overlooked by the local immigration advocacy organizations, not to mention the large number of businesses that do not employ immigrants for their core clientele. This makes immigrants into more than just cheap labor, but consumers and potential employees for other businesses in their community. Suppose a business owner has no chance of getting hired by someone more established in their field. In that case, they're more likely to hire an immigrant individual from the local community who has less competition from surrounding businesses. A successful example of this type of program is an initiative by the non-profit immigrant networking organization NCCIJ in Colorado that replicates the Bosnian Mentorship Program.

Implement a system that allows for priority or accelerated citizenship for entrepreneurs and small business owners after meeting specific limits, with incentives for those who hire immigrants. Businesses that employ immigrants can often put them to work fairly quickly, and it's the most surefire way to get them in the system and productive. Incentives can be provided to these businesses for hiring an immigrant over another individual. These incentives should vary in forms, such as tax breaks or waivers of paperwork, but the goal is not much more than a symbolic gesture. We need these businesses to hire immigrants as often as possible, so there needs to be a slight push from our government to make that happen. A successful example of this type of program is the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program operated by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in Buffalo, New York.

We should have a mentorship program for immigrant individuals to fit them into the business in question as quickly as possible and provide language services through training materials, translators, and contact with other businesses that employ immigrants. The only way an immigrant can feel comfortable in their job is by feeling like they're not the only one in their field of study employed by that particular business. This can be accomplished through a mentorship program where the immigrant is connected with someone in their field of studies, such as a tutor or teacher with industry experience. This also teaches other business owners in the same field of study what it's like to work with someone in their field of study, which could mean hiring more immigrants. A successful example of this type of program is the work done by non-profit organizations such as Refugee Empowerment Center and Catholic Charities for refugee students.

Open the jobs of these immigrants in government offices and reduce bureaucracy by considering their expertise in languages and cultures. The employment process for immigrant individuals often involves a lot of paperwork and fluency in the language they're applying to work in. Having domestic workers, who are highly qualified to work in the fields, they've studied and worked in before, employed by governments would save taxpayers money. A successful example of this type of program is the Domestic Worker Program opened by the United States Department of Labor.

Provide a support network of entrepreneurs who have been through the process already and mentorship and networking opportunities to fresh immigrant individuals. Network entrepreneurs are often overlooked in the media, but they are essential to everyday business operations. By providing them with an environment where they can network with other business owners in their area, we can easily ask them to hire more immigrant workers for their businesses.

Offer new immigrants opportunities to start their own business by providing funding and training programs in our community colleges and universities. As it is perfectly acceptable for a new immigrant to open a business in their field of study and employ other immigrants, we should support the process by educating these individuals in our community colleges and universities. For example, suppose a new immigrant is opening a restaurant. In that case, they can be taught how to cook traditional dishes while being educated in local food safety regulations and how to open their business within their state's laws.

Summary of Six Policy Formulation from the UN/UNCTAD Report Applicable to Improving Migrant Entrepreneurs in the United States

Formulating National Entrepreneurship Strategy

In the context of solid domestic entrepreneurship, a national strategy for developing and promoting entrepreneurship should also include migrant entrepreneurs. As pinpointed in Case study No. 3 – The IOM Livelihoods Assistance Programme, Ethiopia, national strategies need to integrate migrant entrepreneurs into their policy frameworks by focusing on this group of entrepreneurs' diverse needs and skills.

Alternative Paths to Entrepreneurship as a Work Strategy

A common approach from migrant workers looking for employment is self-employment or small-scale entrepreneurship while looking for better opportunities elsewhere. This is especially prevalent in rural areas where job opportunities are scarce, wages are low, or as an interim work strategy before returning home to start a business there. Migrant entrepreneurs should be able to get information about and access self-employment as a work strategy in an entrepreneurially-friendly manner.

Skills Development through Enterprise Creation

Entrepreneurship is a vital pathway for acquiring the skills needed in an economy constantly shifting and changing in terms of technologies, markets, products, and services. It is thus a critical pathway for individuals seeking employment to acquire the necessary skills to access and succeed in the labor market. For migrant workers who do not have the opportunity to participate in lifelong learning while working in their home countries or who have not been able to acquire such skills before coming abroad, entrepreneurship can also be an important means of acquiring these necessary skills and competencies.

Evaluation of Migrant Entrepreneurship Initiatives

Entrepreneurship initiatives should use data to evaluate their effectiveness in supporting the development and retention of migrant entrepreneurs and in allowing them to access broader employment opportunities. These tools can help policymakers monitor policy performance, compare the effectiveness of different policy and program designs, monitor progress over time, and improve policies. A monitoring system should be developed that provides continuous feedback on both a country-wide scale and for individual sectors or localities (Case Study 9).

Skill Audit

Skills development is an essential element of entrepreneurship in all countries, especially for migrants who often have limited access to such opportunities before they leave home. Through enterprise creation programs, governments can help migrants acquire the skills they need to launch and develop enterprises abroad successfully.

Training and Education

As evident in Case study No. 8 – Vocational Skills Training, migrants who experience entrepreneurship require access to formal and informal training opportunities to develop new skills while also learning how to operate their new enterprise in a foreign country. Informal sources of training and education play a critical role because they can help reduce costs and improve productivity in the short term.