Description
Challenges And Promise For Immigrant Entrepreneurship In Dublin
i
CHALLENGES AND
IMMIGRANT
2009
Fulbright Scholar in
Dublin City Council Economic
HALLENGES AND PROMISE FOR
MMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
2009
Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D.
Fulbright Scholar in Residence
Dublin City Council Economic
Development Unit
27 May 2009
ROMISE FOR
NTREPRENEURSHIP IN
DUBLIN
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
i
Copyright 2009
Dublin, Ireland
Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D.
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796, U.S.A.
[email protected]
Cover Photo:
River Liffey, Downtown Dublin
By Jack Pinkowski
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The financial assistance of the Fulbright Commission of Ireland and the Dublin City
Council in support of this research is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.
Special thanks are due to many individuals in the community as well as within Dublin
City Council who helped in organizing focus groups, arranging meeting space, taking
notes, making personal introductions, providing feedback, offering suggestions,
carrying out translations, providing computing, duplication and library resources and
giving advice and counsel throughout the term of the project. They include: Thomas
Cooney, Jamie Cudden, Malcolm Eremionkhale, Peter J. Finnejan, Gerry Folan,
Declan Hayden, Issah Huseini, Ilya Korolev, Cormac O’Donnell, Chinedu Onyejelem,
Emilia Marchelewska, Anna Pas, Howard Pau, Kieran Rose, Michael Stubbs, Frank
Suo, Greg Swift, Katarzyna Szulkowska, Sergey Tarutin, Declan Wallace, Lucia Walsh
and Stephen Wegener. I would also like to thank my comrades in arm at the Dublin
City Council who made my stay so enjoyable and productive; it was good Craíc! Most
especially, I am grateful to have the continuing support and valuable counsel of my
wife, Kathleen Pinkowski.
I am also appreciative of the dedicated public servants who took the time to give me
feedback and suggestions for this report, including the laborious task of
proofreading. In the end, the author is solely responsible for the correctness of all
content and the conclusions expressed within.
THE AUTHOR
The Fulbright Scholar program of the United States in joint agreement with the Irish
Fulbright Commission selected Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D., an associate professor of public
administration at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at
Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale to conduct this research. Pinkowski
has extensive experience consulting local governments on economic development in
the United States. He was in residence in Dublin City Council from September 2008
through May 2009.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author who is solely
responsible for the content and are not intended to represent those of Dublin City
Council, the Fulbright Commission, the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and
Entrepreneurship, or Nova Southeastern University.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
iii
ABSTRACT
This is a study of immigration patterns and the potential for facilitation and
encouragement of immigrant entrepreneurship in Dublin. It is based on
consultations with the public including many who comprise the new citizens of the
Republic Ireland, government officials at national and local levels, NGO leaders,
community organizers, individual entrepreneurs and perspective entrepreneurs,
leaders who focus on integration and those in economic development. A series of
consultative meetings and focus groups were arranged involving more than 100
people in focus groups and dozens in one-on-one interviews. An empirical study was
conducted via an online survey with hundreds of participants. Identical surveys were
made available in English and in Polish. Action research was undertaken with actual
community groups and prospective entrepreneurs to gauge the effectiveness of new
approaches to networking and communications. The results were outstanding with
more than 200 actual prospective entrepreneurs and new business people
participating in an all-day workshop sponsored by a partnership of the Polish
Embassy Trade Mission with Polski Express magazine.
An extensive literature review was conducted including published and unpublished
articles that were augmented by first-person observations and comments on
personal experiences. A wide range of media were consulted including American,
Irish, European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) sources that addressed key areas of business,
entrepreneurship, finance, immigration, innovation, productivity and government
regulation. Hundreds of peer-reviewed academic journals, books and government
reports were also examined to inform the debate and the conclusions. All references
cited are included in a bibliography at the back.
In order for the findings and recommendations to be well grounded and relevant to
the reality of the actual experiences of potential immigrant entrepreneurs who are
currently in Dublin, empirical evidence was gathered by canvassing small immigrant-
owner firms as well as many people who said that they are thinking about starting
their own businesses. Such people were identified by referral from immigrant
community groups and were solicited by repeated emails. This included qualitative
data gleaned from numerous focus groups as well as data from the online survey,
the Immigrant Entrepreneurship Profile. Primary research sources were with persons
with first-hand knowledge who were neither coerced nor financially compensated.
The result is this analysis of the potential for entrepreneurship in Dublin among the
new immigrant communities and what steps the government and community can
take to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurship. It includes the basis for
reasonable expectations of the promise for immigrant entrepreneurship and why it
presents a substantial opportunity for the city that is based on prior documented
experience with immigrant entrepreneurs elsewhere. The characteristics of
immigrant entrepreneurs and the demographics of the new immigrants to Ireland
are analyzed to learn if synergies exist that lead to expectations of favorable
outcomes.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
? The key findings and recommendations from this study of immigration and
the potential for immigrant entrepreneurship in Dublin in 2009 include:
? Most support agencies, including the Dublin City Council (DCC) Economic
Development Unit (EDU) can improve their outreach to prospective
immigrant entrepreneurs by networking with other agencies and universities
and cross linking on each others’ Websites. The omnibus site, www.Dublin.ie,
is the best compendium of information for new business starts and should be
promoted and advertised to be effective. Better linkages with business library
resources should also be created and with appropriate personnel involved in
economic development. Some of these networking organizations are
included in Figures 5-1, 5-2, 7-1 and 7-2.
? The message and services of all agencies are good but not reaching the
audience as well as they should. This could be improved
by minor listings in ethnic media that immigrants refer to
based on the representative sample of a survey of
prospective entrepreneurs and those already in business,
which are included in Figure 7-1. This could be improved
by new working relationships with these media. Agencies
should have material available in the most common
languages of the new immigrants and a cadre of
translators should be available to departments in the city
to serve their needs. See the Guide to Enterprise in
Dublin City for a listing of volunteers in ten different
languages who have offered to assist their fellow
immigrants. Dublin City Council and the Dublin City
Enterprise Board jointly produced the guide (DECB 2009).
? Better service to immigrant communities would
be realized by proactive efforts to include new employees
in administration from these communities who are more
familiar with issues, attitudes and challenges that they
face. This follows Representative Bureaucracy and contributes efficient and
effective governance.
? There is good potential for small business starts among the new citizens’
communities that constitute more potential than among the native Irish
because of sheer numbers relating to appropriate age demographics, risk
tolerance, higher tertiary education achievement and over-qualification in
present employment. They need to be encouraged and made welcome to
commence their own enterprise.
? To promote immigrant entrepreneurship, understanding how to reach and
communicate with immigrants should be improved by the means indicated
Dublin may be a leader
and trend setter in this
new approach to
economic
development that will
directly contribute to
expansion of the Gross
National Product
(GNP) by encouraging
new growth in
domestic firms
through
entrepreneurship.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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above. Entrepreneurship should be celebrated in the city as often as possible
including highlighting successful immigrant entrepreneurs and the
contributions they are making to the community at large.
? Better coordination and cooperation within city departments including the
Office of Integration, the Dublin City Business Library, the Office of
International Research and the Economic Development Unit in Forward
Planning would serve the potential of immigrant entrepreneurship in
meaningful ways including cross-training personnel.
? Effort should be made to convince the state of the need and justification for
revision of work permits for students and student visas to cultivate
opportunities from the existing investment in higher education resources and
greater potential for innovation.
? There is a need to convince the state of the need and justification for revision
of Business Permissions for non-EEA nationals.
This should contribute toward economic
development by evaluation on realistic criteria
for entrepreneurship viability that is typical of
Irish businesses.
? Reference to new citizens as immigrants instead
of migrants would contribute to greater
appreciation of the permanency of these settlers
and appreciate that they can make substantial
new contributions to the economy of the city if
they are welcomed, encouraged and supported.
? Substantial benefits can come from proactive
celebration of diversity and openness in the city
and in its administration and delivery of services
to multiple constituencies and ethnicities.
? The city will face more substantial financial burdens to carry the sunk costs of
capital improvements if the immigrant communities are not economically
integrated into society and are allowed to move on to other opportunities
elsewhere. Then the part of the costs of construction cannot be recovered
from fees because there is insufficient usage. And the dilution of population
may mean that new hospitals, schools and other infrastructure turned out to
be planned in the wrong locations and the resulting changes mean that new
facilities are needed elsewhere (OECD 2008a).
Substantial benefits
can come from
proactive celebration
of diversity and
openness in the city
and in its
administration and
delivery of services to
multiple constituencies
and ethnicities.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... ii
The Author .......................................................................................................... ii
Disclaimer............................................................................................................ ii
Abstract.............................................................................................................. iii
Executive Summary ............................................................................................ iv
List of Figures.........................................................................................viii
List of Tables ..........................................................................................viii
Chapter 1............................................................................................................. 1
Introduction to the Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.................................... 1
The Urban Context................................................................................... 1
The Case of Dublin and the Republic of Ireland............................. 3
How the Terms Immigrant and Entrepreneur Will be used for Our
Purposes .................................................................................................. 4
Chapter 2............................................................................................................. 6
How Changes in the Economy Resulted in Challenges and Opportunities for New
Citizens................................................................................................................ 6
Proactive Economic Policy........................................................................ 9
Chapter 3........................................................................................................... 12
Immigration and its implications........................................................................ 12
Recruitment of Immigrant Labor ............................................................ 12
New Components of the Irish Workforce ............................................... 15
Immigration and Changes in Irish Society............................................... 18
Multiculturalism..................................................................................... 23
Future Implications from the Recent Growth in Immigration in Ireland.. 24
Chapter 4........................................................................................................... 26
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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Approaches to Grow the Economy by Encouraging Entrepreneurship................26
Why Economic Downturns Are Opportunities For Business Starts ..........28
Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurship ...............................................30
Immigrant Entrepreneurs and innovation...............................................35
Immigrants’ Motives for Starting An Enterprise......................................39
Immigrant Entrepreneurship Can Transform Urban Areas ......................42
Chapter 5 ...........................................................................................................45
Challenges for Immigrant Entrepreneurs............................................................45
Banks......................................................................................................46
Regulatory..............................................................................................46
Language................................................................................................48
General Acceptance by the Community at Large ....................................50
Limitations of Immigrant Entrepreneurship............................................51
Student Workers and Permanent Residency Status ................................52
Business Permissions ..............................................................................54
Job Creation Requirement...........................................................55
Capital Requirement ...................................................................55
Chapter 6 ...........................................................................................................56
Steps a Local Government Can Take To Realize the Promise ..............................56
Representative Bureaucracy...................................................................58
Chapter 7 ...........................................................................................................61
Marketing, Promotion and Networking..............................................................61
References Cited................................................................................................63
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1. Immigration, Emigration, Net Migration (‘000s) Ireland 1987 - 2008........ 7
Figure 2-2. Growth Trends GDP Versus GNP, Ireland 1995 - 2007.............................. 8
Figure 2-3. Immigration and Emigration, Age 25-44 (‘000s) Ireland 1987 - 2008...... 11
Figure 3-1. Inflow of Workers in OECD Countries, 2006 ........................................... 13
Figure 3-2. Inflow, Population and Workers from EU............................................... 14
Figure 5-1. Government Support Agencies Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs....... 47
Figure 5-2. Enterprise Support Organizations Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs... 50
Figure 7-1. Media Useful for Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs............................. 62
Figure 7-2. Networking Organizations Known To Immigrant Entrepreneurs............. 62
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1-1. Percentage Change for People Born Outside of the Country, 1986-2006 for
the State of Ireland and Dublin Region ...................................................................... 3
Table 3-3. Decline in New PPS Numbers 2006 – 2008 .............................................. 15
Table 3-4. Top 90 Percent, Countries of Origin for New PPS Numbers 2000-2008.... 17
Table 6-1. Educational Attainment of the Native-Born and Foreign-Born Populations,
Percentage of the 15+ Population............................................................................ 29
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUES,
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Repercussions of the meltdown of major financial markets and slowing of practically
all developed economies requires a reassessment of traditional sources of
opportunities in terms of economic development. In geographic areas that are
fortunate in that they are attractive to mobile citizens of other jurisdictions, cross-
border movement of talent may be an untapped resource for growth through
stimulating entrepreneurship. The search for new engines of growth should include
the potential contribution that immigrant entrepreneurs can make to their new
locations. The ability to make local governments attractive by a package of taxes and
benefits that results in movement of people across borders in pursuit of their
individual economic self-interest is well established in Public Choice theory
(Buchanan and Tullock 1962; Niskanen 1971). This is useful for local jurisdictions and
may be within the sovereign authority of local boards of government to effect
change.
For international migration, the situation is more complicated for local governments
because they do not have the authority over international borders and immigration,
which is limited to the sphere of the national level of government. Nevertheless,
local governments can do some things that are within their control to promote
entrepreneurship among immigrants who are already in the jurisdiction (OECD
2008a). In this context, economic integration of the new residents and the
promotion of immigrant entrepreneurship present both challenges and
opportunities for new growth that is focused on expanding the economy from within
by producers who are resident in the state and will reinvest their profits within the
state. Dublin may be a leader and trend setter in this new approach to economic
development that will directly contribute to expansion of the Gross National Product
(GNP) by encouraging new growth in domestic firms through entrepreneurship.
THE URBAN CONTEXT
Worldwide, there is increasing migration of people for economic opportunities. For
more-developed states in need of workers to meet the demands of growing
enterprises, such as during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger, this has meant a welcomed source
of labor. As the European Union (EU) expands to welcome new states, especially
those former Eastern Bloc states, Western economies are providing an attractive
pulling force to newly mobile citizens of the EU (Clark 2008). But when the Western
economies enter a period of slow growth, or negative growth, perhaps a greater
challenge that they face is what to do about the new citizens in their midst who
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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immigrated during the good times but now are faced with redundancies or represent
a surplus in the labor pool.
In addition, other countries are competing for new talent; encouraging migrants to
move on will have repercussions for meeting staffing needs when the economies
rebound. This presents a dilemma for the more-developed states that have at risk
substantial sunk costs in training, placement services, community infrastructure, etc.
in competing with opportunities from the migrant homeland states that have
improved economically. New tigers that are providing motivation for migrants to
return home as well as to move on to better opportunities.
In the global age, cities have become the junction boxes of international transactions
at the local level (Clark 2008). In a similar way that in ancient times the crossing
paths of trade caravans resulted in cities at the crossroads that attracted settlers
from the far-flung corners of the caravan routes, today’s world-class cities
experience internationalization and multiculturalism. A possible consensus among
cities experiencing these changes leads them to the conclusion that they must now
align themselves with opportunities created by globalization and international
migration.
With this theme, twelve European cities joined with the British Council, a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the United Kingdom (UK), to establish the
OPEN Cities project. The cities in the project include: Belfast, Bilbao, Bucharest,
Cardiff, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Gdansk, Madrid, Nitra, Sofia, Poznan and Vienna. Their
aim is to allow cities to build upon the potential of their new populations, which
possibly have different racial, cultural, religious and other backgrounds compared to
the prior composition of their the cities and thereby facilitate integration. The Open
Cities Project (Clark 2008) has identified eight linkages between accepting and
encouraging immigrant diversity and economic development:
? The human diversity resulting from internationalization promotes urban
quality of life that is needed to attract and retain knowledge workers and the
creative class (Florida 2005).
? It creates a richer visitor experience that fuels tourism and its economy.
? It spurs entrepreneurship from the tenacity and determinism of immigrant
entrepreneurs combined with their diversity of experience and creativity.
? Internationalization and diversity encourage creativity and innovation though
interaction of different cultures and intellectual frameworks.
? It expands markets and grows local firms because of an expanding customer
base.
? The presence of diverse populations and immigrant entrepreneurs contribute
to global trade and international joint ventures.
? It enhances the competitiveness for hosting of international events that play
to a world audience with substantial, local economic impact.
? Internationalization of cities can provide new opportunities for significant
corporate responsibility initiatives, which can enhance global reputations and
brands.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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Such opportunities are not available to all cities but only to those progressive ones
that have proven economically attractive for people to move to them to pursue their
own economic self-interests. The positive outcomes of expanding local economies
through the economic integration of immigrant entrepreneurs are substantial. They
include among others: the possibility of an enlarged cultural endowment and
creative pursuits; new opportunities for international trading hubs; the regeneration
of urban areas; and new employment opportunities for the native population.
This report will illustrate how the tendency for new business starts increases when
people move to new locales, across borders, and explain why. This is based on
experience in other countries that cultivate the talent of immigrant entrepreneurs. It
will analyze factors that indicate such a strategy would be successful and how a local
government might proceed to maximize such potential and at a minimal cost.
THE CASE OF DUBLIN AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Data used in this report will primarily utilize country-level data to enable peer
analysis with countries in the European Union (EU) and the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The time periods for reporting are
more consistent and readily available regarding country level compared to city-level
data in many jurisdictions and the Republic of Ireland did not ask questions about
ethnic identity on the census until 2006. However, we can illustrate the growth of
the immigrant population in the state compared to the Dublin Region by referring to
census data from 1986 through 2006. In 1986, people born outside of the country
accounted for 5.3 percent of the population in the state and 5.5 percent of the
residents of Dublin. This does not include people born in Northern Ireland as born
outside the country. By 2006, the percentage of foreign- born had increased to 14.5
percent for the state and 17.30 percent in Dublin. This represents an increase 329
percent in the state and 367 percent in the metropolitan area over the twenty years.
TABLE 1-1. PERCENTAGE CHANGE FOR PEOPLE BORN OUTSIDE OF THE
COUNTRY, 1986-2006 FOR THE STATE OF IRELAND AND DUBLIN REGION
Area 1986 1991 1996 2002 2006
20-year
change
State 5.3% 5.5% 6.3% 10.1% 14.5% 329%
Dublin
Region 5.5% 5.8% 6.6% 11.7% 17.30% 367%
Source: (Cudden 2009)
For the ten years from 1986 to 1996 Dublin and the state reflect a very close track
with the city experiencing 0.2 to 0.3 percent more foreign-born than the state in
every census. Since 1996, Dublin has been growing faster than the state in terms of
new foreign-born residents, which is consistent with the appeal of urban areas in this
new era of international migration. Because the numbers differ in their magnitude,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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the mathematical logs of the numbers are reflected on Figure 1-1 for comparison of
the trends. It shows that both the state and the Dublin region have a similar upward
trend but recently Dublin has been increasing faster than the state.
FIGURE 1-1. POPULATION BORN OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY 1986-2006
COMPARING THE CHANGE IN THE STATE WITH THE DUBLIN REGION
1986 1991 1996 2002 2006
State 187,462 192,739 230,068 395,595 616,809
Dublin Region 55,868 59,088 69,513 131,193 205,094
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
Log of Population Born Outside of the Country
(1986 - 2006)
Source: (Cudden 2009)
HOW THE TERMS IMMIGRANT AND ENTREPRENEUR WILL BE
USED FOR OUR PURPOSES
Herein the word immigrant is defined simply as one who is resident in a country that
is not the land of his or her birth. And entrepreneur is defined as one who starts or
operates their own business autonomously, as opposed to an employee of a firm
with third-party ownership. This is not precisely the same as self-employed although
many place self-employed in the category as entrepreneurship because it can lead to
this end. The distinction is that entrepreneurs create value in the economy by job
creation, philanthropy and investment. Self-employment is literally an alternative to
employment by others. Many remain in the category of self-employment, that is, in
business for themselves, but never make the transition into directing others for the
whole is larger than the sum of the parts advantages and associated growth in
employment that makes a greater contribution to the larger economy.
Business entrepreneurs are people who own their own business enterprise. They
frequently work in their own firms themselves but usually employ others to work in
the business for them. Many small and medium business enterprises (SMEs) begin by
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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relying on family members as the employees. Most new entrepreneurs do not
expect much in the in way of job creation by their ventures (Bosma, Acs et al. 2009).
By becoming self-employed, immigrants acquire roles that are fundamentally
different from immigrants who become workers and also different from those of
mainstream entrepreneurs (Kloosterman and Rath 2003). By starting their own
businesses, immigrant entrepreneurs create their own jobs. Entrepreneurship is
about creating value in the economy. This is accomplished by entrepreneurship
through business endeavor and investment that includes job creation and capital
investment, which multiples the value of their own labor though multiplier effects
and value-added in terms of capital investment, business assets and merchandise.
This results in value-added because raw material is either transformed by
manufacture, component parts are assembled or transformed in some way, or
products are brought to market. This might involve specialized marketing,
merchandising or distribution networks and supply chains that can be global. Service
businesses do similar things but with people and labor as their stock in trade.
The Small Business Forum defines entrepreneurs as
individuals who orchestrate, operate and assume risks
for a business venture (Forum 2006). They are
fundamentally not risk-averse and believe in their ability
to succeed. They put their personal savings and even
their homes or other personal assets on the line to grow
their own business at the same time creating
employment opportunities for others. Understanding
the comparative acceptance of risk between the
domestic and immigrant populations is crucial to
appreciating the opportunities to be gained from
promoting entrepreneurship. Although opportunities
are open to all, it is the immigrants that will likely
produce a greater number of new business starts, with
their associated outcomes. Promoting entrepreneurship
should be universal in that it is promoted to everyone. But the difference falls to
marketing as to which segments of the population are reached and who will more
likely respond to the call. This research report will explain why.
In order to determine suitable initiatives that may be employed to foster immigrant
entrepreneurship, this research relied on multiple sources and types of data. It
included a variety of research techniques together with primary and secondary
research and qualitative as well as quantitative methods. Survey research, business
and cultural community directories, personal interviews, focus groups, meetings
with governmental officials and social and community groups’ representatives were
interviewed, involved in discussions and provided input. Public and private databases
were used to identify stakeholders. Newspapers, academic journals, books, policy
papers and industrial and governmental reports were reviewed and examined. The
result is the following analysis of challenges and opportunities for Dublin as a
consequence of the recent trends in international inward migration.
Although
opportunities are open
to all, it is the
immigrants that will
likely produce a
greater number of
new business starts,
with their associated
outcomes.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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CHAPTER 2
HOW CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY
RESULTED IN CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW CITIZENS
The growth of the Irish economy since the late 1980s especially during the 1990s
outpaced most of the developed world. Based on the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates, in the period 1995-2002, the
annual average GDP growth rate in Ireland of over 5 percent far outpaced all other
OECD economies and was on par with the Korean experience during 1990-1995,
which was the growth leader during that time (Ahmad 2003). The strong
performance of the country during this period in terms of GDP alone belies the
underlying public policy issues that led to such a dramatic turnaround. A lot of the
picture of Celtic Tiger achievement has to do with comparative underperformance in
previous decades since the 1960s. Couched in historical terms, its antecedents, i.e.,
the results prior to the 1990s, have been described as tantamount to a case study in
failure resulting from the Great Famine, mass emigration and deindustrialization
(Smith 2005). This resulted in economic performance substantially below its
European peers for most of the 20
th
century.
The Republic of Ireland is unique among European countries in that it experienced a
major decline in population for over one hundred years leading up to 1960. However
it is not unique in that a once ethnically homogenous culture is expanding in multi-
ethnicity with the opening of borders. Although the United States has been a melting
pot of cultures throughout most of its history, much of the history of Europe has
involved wars to keep out invaders and preserve the relatively closed societies. The
expansion of the European Union, especially its expansion to the East after the fall of
the Soviet empire in the early 1990s, has presented major challenges for many
Western countries that are now facing new immigration and integration issues
around multi-culturalism (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005).
Although Irish emigration was due in part to failures in the economy related to an
emphasis on its agrarian base, it was compounded by weak industrialization, poor
development of domestic markets and over dependence on a trade linkage with one
country, the United Kingdom (Bradley 2000). Over 90 percent of Ireland’s trade was
with the U.K. from the 1920s through to 1960 (Bradley 2000). Because of little
economic opportunity at home, including the Great Famine, many Irish were forced
to emigrate to seek viable opportunities for employment. Ireland maintained a
closed-goods market and practiced protectionism to try to preserve the few job
opportunities that it had for its own people. The result was that by the 1950s, the
country had become so homogenous that 60 percent of the population were of a
single blood type (type-O), 90 percent shared the same religion (Catholicism),
ignoring the hordes who emigrated, very few people had ever travelled for
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
7
recreation beyond the island and the political and business leadership was drawn
from a very small group, while the majority of the population lived in rural areas that
emphasized a pastoral approach to agriculture (Fitz Gerald 2000). With the
improvement in the Irish economy, Irish ex-patriots were eager to return when
sufficient economic opportunities became manifest and they were joined by others
seeking economic opportunity. As reflected in Figure 2-1, net migration changed
from a low of minus 43,900 in 1989 to a high of 71,800 in 2006 (CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 2-1. IMMIGRATION, EMIGRATION, NET MIGRATION (‘000S) IRELAND
1987 - 2008
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Net migration
Emigrants: All destinations
Immigrants: All origins
Source: (CSO 2009a)
Recent Irish success viewed as a belated catching up after past shortcomings has
been attributed more to the success of the new firms that entered Ireland than the
growth of the indigenous Irish firms which actually reduced their investment in
Ireland (Kirby 2002). Since 1995, most business expenditure for Research and
Development (R&D) in Ireland has been by the foreign-owned firms and it is growing
at a faster rate than Irish-owned firms (NCC 2009). The economy became principally
dependent on growth and expansion of the foreign-owned sector that contributed
substantially to the public coffers though favorable taxation.
However, over reliance on the foreign-owned multinationals could mean that Ireland
would fall victim to an illusion of its own success when it may have been more a
result of transfer pricing on the part of the multinational corporations (MNCs). The
way that transfer pricing changes the picture of the success of the MNCs is by raising
offshore income and reducing income that is actually generated elsewhere, which is
motivated by reduced taxation in the offshore location. This was possible by
establishing operations in Ireland where corporate earnings were taxed at only 12.5
percent. The MNCs could show higher profits by minimizing the costs of imports and
maximizing their export numbers in the outsourced country (Smith 2005). The
practice of transfer pricing and intra-firm trading by MNCs has been estimated as
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
8
high as one-third of all trade (Sweeney 1999). When there is a substantial tax
advantage in another country, the MNCs merely understate their costs so that the
operating unit in the lower-tax jurisdiction shows a higher profit on which it pays a
lower tax rate. Overall the earnings of the firm before taxes are the same when
aggregated, but the tax costs are lower by increasing the share of profit attributable
to the lower tax operation. Net income or income after taxes for distribution to
stockholders or reinvested would be higher. Foreign-owned firms in Ireland export
95 percent of their production (Enterprise Strategy Group 2004). For such reasons,
the U.S. Obama administration is reviewing its policies that allow U.S. MNCs to set
up off-shore subsidiaries that effectively avoid tax on U.S.-earned profits.
The extent that over reliance on the input of the MNCs’ operations, whether transfer
pricing or otherwise, can be viewed by comparing the Gross National Product (GNP)
and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP reflects the total value of goods and
services produced in an economy that includes the output of Irish and non-Irish
firms. GNP is the total value of all goods produced by Irish firms in the country and
elsewhere, which accrues to the residents of Ireland. That is, any difference reflects
the net profit repatriation by MNCs to their offshore locations and also includes the
interest on foreign national debt that must be paid out to foreign investors. In most
countries there is little difference between the GDP and GNP, but in Ireland GDP was
almost 20% higher than GNP in 2004 according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This reflects overreliance on foreign direct investment (FDI) as an economic
development strategy without sufficient development of homegrown business.
FIGURE 2-2. GROWTH TRENDS GDP VERSUS GNP, IRELAND 1995 - 2007
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
N
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
A
c
c
o
u
n
t
s
,
C
u
r
r
e
n
t
P
r
i
c
e
s
.
€
m
l
Comparisonof GDP and GNP Ireland 1995-
2007
GDP
GNP
Source: (CSO 2009b)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
9
Since the 1990s new economic opportunities required more workers due to the
growing economy. As a consequence of decades of emigration, the Irish Diaspora
was spread over the developed world and Irish-born workers answered the call to
return to the homeland to take advantage of the economic boom. The Irish
emigrants who came back dominated the migration wave of the 1990s (OECD
2008a). But the returning Irish were not enough to alleviate the labor shortages
among the multinational firms that invested in Ireland. Increasingly workers came
from other countries to seek opportunities in Ireland working for the international
firms that were attracted due to low corporate taxes, favorable government attitude
toward business and a skilled, well-educated workforce, albeit limited in numbers.
PROACTIVE ECONOMIC POLICY
In addition to low corporate tax rates in general, the government undertook four
specific policy initiatives to support the attraction of high-value added jobs in the
financial sector. These policy changes would prove essential for the International
Financial Services Centre (IFSC) that was begun in the 1980s:
? Data protection laws were adopted that would ensure security;
? Investments were made to upgrade telecommunications capabilities for data
transfer;
? Irish regulations were made in line with EU proposals for a single financial market
and;
? Tax incentives of 10 percent were made available for licensed financial
companies. (White 2000).
The IFSC relied on operating costs at that time that were cheaper than London and
an ample supply of young, educated workers with the necessary skills to staff the
firms. Another advantage was the strategic position of Ireland geographically that
would enable service after the Asian markets closed but before the U.S. markets
opened. In its redevelopment plans, Dublin established the Custom House Docks
Development Authority in 1986 to create new development around a 27-acre area of
rundown or obsolete dockage facilities. In 1998 the project brought in ?240 million
in tax revenue (Sweeney 1999). The availability of new, properly equipped office
space, coupled with tax exemptions and incentives, eventually drew 430
international financial firms to locate offices in the IFSC (Pearson 2000).
The project outstripped its job creation target of 7,500 new jobs for the docklands
within five years from 1987 to achieve a high of 25,000 by the end of 2007 (Finance
Dublin.com 2008). This substantial employment driver with good paying, skilled jobs
could only meet the demand for workers by recruiting them from outside the state.
Thus began the influx of talented immigrants that today provides the new resource
base for economic rebound, new economic contributions from firms with domestic
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
10
ownership and growth in the GNP from within by virtue of new business starts and
entrepreneurship.
Another driver of the economic expansion in the 90s was the weakness of the Euro
and drop in interest rates that fuelled exports as well as enhanced the inflow of FDI
(Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). By 1999, GNP was growing at the rate of 8 percent per
year, unemployment was down to 5 percent, and the expansion in available jobs was
sustained at up to 5 percent per year over the prior five-year period (O'Connell
2000).
The Irish government in 1987 initiated a fiscal austerity regime that would lead to
substantial change (Kirby 2002). Policy initiatives concerning attracting foreign direct
investment (FDI) and favorable corporate tax policies really kicked up performance
since 1990 in terms of GNP relative to the EU (Fitz Gerald 2000). Growth in real GDP
was even more outstanding, reflecting the influence of the foreign multinational
firms with 9.8 percent growth in 1999 and 11 percent in 2000 (Kirby 2002).
Historically, for every percentage point growth in GDP in excess of 4.5 percent, the
unemployment rate falls be 0.33 percent (Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). The demand
for more workers would outpace the ability to be satisfied from the domestic labor
pool. Although natural increases in the Irish-born population contributed to the
stock of Ireland’s labor force, inward migration played a key role over the last
decade (NCC 2009).
At the beginning of the growth spurt, there was a large number of Irish unemployed,
whose numbers could be drawn down as long as there were new jobs to fill. As a
result of a free secondary education policy established in 1967, there have been
increasing numbers of school-leavers and third-level graduates who would ultimately
enter the labor pool. The education system played a key role in equipping the Irish
workforce with skills and qualifications necessary to support the international
services sector, which invested heavily in Ireland and had a substantial impact on the
growth of the economy (NCC 2009).
In a growing economy as part of a wage-bargaining process tax incentives can be
used as an economic tool to facilitate faster growth in output from the existing
population. This can mitigate the effects of falling unemployment (Clinch, Convery et
al. 2002). While tax cuts may increase disposal income of those already in the
workforce, and eventually may lead to increased standard of living, they do not do
enough to increase the size of the workforce. Furthermore, an unintended outcome
from the tight labor market was upward pressure on wages due to increasing
competition that resulted from the demand for scarce labor. Real wages in Ireland
increased by 32 percent between 1985 and 1999, outpacing the rest of Europe, the
United Kingdom and the United States over this period (O'Connell 2000). Ultimately
if wage increases are not enough to satisfy labor demand or there is insufficient
supply of workers with the skill sets needed by growing firms, an alternative
approach to growth in the workforce is necessary. The growth of multinationals
drove a need for more workers with certain skill sets that was met in part by
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
11
immigration to augment the limited qualifications of the Irish domestic workforce
(Nolan, O'Connell et al. 2000).
Although natural growth of the population, i.e., births minus deaths, has increased
since about 1996, the change in inward migration has been dramatic. The majority of
these immigrants were in the prime working ages between 15-44 (CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 2-3. IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION, AGE 25-44 (‘000S) IRELAND
1987 - 2008
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Emigrants: All destinations
Immigrants: All origins
Source: (CSO 2009a)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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CHAPTER 3
IMMIGRATION AND ITS
IMPLICATIONS
RECRUITMENT OF IMMIGRANT LABOR
Since World War II, many industrial societies have actively recruited immigrant labor
to address shortages in workers at the lower end of the job hierarchy (Waldinger,
Aldrich et al. 1990). From 1992 to 2003 the number at work in Ireland increased by
over 0.5 million persons to 1.8 million (Enterprise Strategy Group 2004). Proactive
immigration is a systematic attempt to increase the supply of labor. Immigration has
been shown to raise output because it increases both supply and demand (OECD
2008a). Fortunately, the timing of Ireland’s accelerated growth matched an
opportunity that was soon to mature among a lower-wage, English-speaking
contingent of potential workers.
Immigration of foreigners was not the only way the numbers were able to grow.
Ireland had the advantage of a substantial worldwide Diaspora of ex-patriots, many
of whom returned home to take advantage of once scarce employment
opportunities. They were classified as Irish by virtue of birth from an Irish parent or
having been born in Ireland and subsequently having emigrated for better
opportunities (OECD 2008a). Combined with substantial investment in Ireland from
multi-national corporations from the United States, the American Irish ex-pats with
higher education credentials proved eager to return. Between the 1986 Census and
2004, the Irish population increased from 3.541 million to 4.044 million, representing
potentially up to 0.5 million new residents, or nearly 15 percent of the 1986
population (Hughes 2005). Since 1961 the population has increased nearly 50
percent. Inward migration has led this change since 1996 (Hughes 2005). Since 2004,
Ireland has added another 10 percent to its total population, which is now 4.422
million (CSO 2008a). The inward migration in Ireland of permanent workers was the
highest per 1,000 persons among all OECD countries in 2006 and reflected a 34
percent increase year-to-year over 2005 (OECD 2008b).
The most dramatic change in the migration pattern for Ireland happened in 2004.
The impetus for change in that year was the addition of 10 countries to the EU. In
May 2004, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU as accession countries. In January 1,
2007 Bulgaria and Romania were added, filling out the EU 12. The new source of
workers from Eastern Europe provided a much-needed source of workers for the
Irish economy. Between 2004 and 2005 the number of immigrants increased from
58,500 up to 84,600. In the following two years the net population change was over
106,000 per year (Ibid.). During 2006 and 2007 nearly half of the total immigrants
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
13
came from the EU 12, 49,900 of 107,8000 in 2006 and 52,700 of 109,500 in 2007
(CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 3-1. INFLOW OF WORKERS IN OECD COUNTRIES, 2006
Source: (OECD 2008b)
When in 2004 the ten new states, primarily from Eastern Europe, were admitted to
the European Union their citizens inherited a right to freedom of movement within
the EU. The free movement of people within the EU was guaranteed to most of the
EU by the 1995 Schengen Agreement. Since then there has been considerable
movement from regions of low opportunity for employment to regions with jobs
surplus (Clark 2008). The Republic of Ireland and two other existing EU member
states, Sweden and the United Kingdom, took advantage of this opportunity to
promote immigration for working-age adults without restricting their access to labor
markets. The other EU countries maintained a work permit scheme, some with
quotas, which resulted in a competitive advantage for the three open economies
(Commission of the European Communities 2006). This source of newly mobile
workers would stimulate the supply of labor and at the same time reduce wage
pressures from the shrinking domestic markets. As Figure 3-2 shows graphically,
from 2004 there was rapid escalation of immigration accompanied by a steep decline
in work permits because workers could migrate within the EU and work in Ireland
without the need, expense, or complications related to securing a work permit.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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FIGURE 3-2. INFLOW, POPULATION AND WORKERS FROM EU
WITH FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Inflows of Foreign Population (Thousands) 21.5 23.7 21.7 22.2 27.8 32.7 39.9 42.4 41.8 66.1 88.9
Inflows of Foreign Workers with Work Permit
(Thousands)
3.8 4.5 5.7 6.3 18.0 36.4 40.3 47.6 34.1 27.1 24.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
The Influence of Freedom of Movement for EU Workers
Immigration of Foreign People and Workers 1996-2006, Ireland
Inflows of Foreign
Population
(Thousands)
Inflows of Foreign
Workers with Work
Permit (Thousands)
Source: (OECD 2008c)
This inward migration has exerted new dynamics on Ireland’s demographics and
requires an adjustment in immigration policy to cope with the new situation. One
public policy alternative is to encourage immigration as much as possible in order to
continue to stimulate the labor supply. But the impact can have sociopolitical
repercussions on the part of the native population as well as other migrants already
resident in Ireland. It also has implications for new demands for public services.
The slowing Irish economy has made a big difference in the trend in these numbers.
Based on applications for new Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers (similar to
social security numbers in the U.S.), immigration is down by 40 percent throughout
the first half of 2008 compared to 2007. The number of Poles registering for PPS
were down by 46 percent; Lithuanians were down 44 percent; and Romanians
dropped 58 percent (Mac Cormaic 2008). Nevertheless, the demographic
complexion of Ireland had changed over the last decade in ways never before
regarding different ethnicities.
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TABLE 3-2. DECLINE IN NEW PPS NUMBERS 2006 – 2008
2006 2007 2008
Poland 12857 12131 8492
Lithuania 2807 1923 1666
Latvia 1459 887 557
Slovakia 1610 1448 923
Czech Republic 620 536 452
Hungary 528 670 775
Estonia 208 91 74
Slovenia 13 8 17
Malta 22 17 19
Cypress 3 11 3
Romania N/A 5291 1771
Bulgaria N/A 213 160
Totals 20127 23226 14409
Source: (Melia 2008)
NEW COMPONENTS OF THE IRISH WORKFORCE
As of the 2006 Census, the influx of migrant workers had expanded the population
by more than 10 percent to total 418,733 non-Irish persons vs. 3,706,683 Irish (CSO
2006). As of the end of 2008, there were 476,200 non-Irish nationals in Ireland, of
whom 349,300 were active in the workforce i.e., over age 15 years (CSO 2009c).
Since the census, growth in total employment has trended downward to the point
that as of the end of 2008 (latest data November) it was 2,222,700, a decrease of 0.8
percent in 2008, the first annual decrease since 1989 (CSO 2009c). This level is
comparable to the size of the workforce in 2004, despite the subsequent overall
increase in the population and the 10 percent non-Irish component.
The unemployment rate for non-Irish nationals was 9.5 percent compared to 7.3
percent for native Irish (CSO 2009c). By the end of 2008, the employment of non-
Irish amounted to 15 percent of the workforce. According to International Labor
Office classifications (ILO), about half of the non-Irish workers (48.3%) are employed
in four sectors of the economy: Wholesale and Retail trade = 16.7 percent of total
employment in the sector; Hotels and restaurants = 34.4 percent; Transportation,
storage and communication = 13.0 percent; and Financial and business services =
16.1 percent (CSO 2009c). With the exception of Transportation where there was an
increase, all of these sectors generated less jobs in 2008 compared with 2007.
However, the drop in non-Irish employment was less than the drop in native Irish
jobs in all but Hotel and Restaurant workers. The largest drop in employment was in
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
16
the Construction sector as building project starts ground to a halt with the
worldwide financial and economic drawback. Even there, however, the drop in non-
Irish jobs amounts to only about a third of the drop in native Irish employment (CSO
2009c). Still, immigrant workers in Ireland were concentrated in low and semi-skilled
jobs that Irish workers were increasingly unwilling to do and in higher-skilled
occupations where there was a shortage or Irish workers (Cranfield 2006). The
immigrants were not displacing Irish workers. There is evidence that the sectors of
business activity of the immigrants do not reflect the level of education attainment
among immigrants who generally have high levels of education (Cranfield 2006).
There is speculation that many migrants are leaving Ireland due to the lack of work.
While this may be true in the construction sector, it is not as clear in others. In
March of 2009 the Polish Embassy Trade and Investment Section Second Secretary,
Beata Janota, speaking about Polish construction workers, stated emphatically They
are gone! (Janota 2009). Recruitment firms in Ireland have been engaged by Polish
employers to advertise for workers to return home in order to satisfy vacancies in
the multinational firms that opened new offices in Poland as well as to meet new
construction demands fuelled by investments of EU development funds. According
to Jacek Rosa, First Councilor of the Polish Embassy in Dublin, about 30,000 Poles
have left Ireland since 2005 leaving an estimated 170,000 still in the Republic
(Monaghan 2008). He said that there were more than 250,000 Personal Service
Numbers (PSIs) issued to Poles since the Irish labor market was opened to the new
EU accession states in 2004. However rents and prices have been rising in Poland
along with the growth of that economy, in part affected by fluctuation in the Polish
Zloty. The rise of the Polish Zloty versus the Euro has reduced the payoff for earning
in Euros and sending funds home (Mac Cormaic 2008).
MIGRANTS OR IMMIGRANTS
THE DI STI NCTI ON MUST BE MADE CLEAR BETWEEN MI GRANTS, PEOPLE WHO
MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE AS NOMADS OR TEMPORARY J OB-SEEKERS, AND
I MMI GRANTS, PEOPLE WHO MOVE TO BETTER THEI R CI RCUMSTANCES AND
WHO ARE PERMANENT RESI DENTS I N THEI R NEW COUNTRI ES. IT I S
I MMI GRANTS WHO PUT DOWN ROOTS AND CAN TRANSFORM THEI R NEW
LOCATI ONS FOR THEI R OWN GOOD AS WELL AS SUBSTANTI ALLY CONTRI BUTE
TO THE NATI VE POPULATI ON THROUGH THEI R EFFORTS.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
17
TABLE 3-3. TOP 90 PERCENT, COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN FOR NEW PPS NUMBERS
2000-2008
Jun-
Dec.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Totals
% of
Total
IRELAND 50,657 109,577 49,866 86,947 86,691 80,293 80,788 87,559 91,280 723,658 35%
POLAND 570 2,259 2,649 3,828 27,295 64,731 93,787 79,816 42,554 317,489 15%
OTHER 8,935 17,533 77,200 22,116 8,693 5,321 3,952 2,666 1,364 147,780 7%
UNITED KINGDOM 9,421 15,349 14,050 13,667 13,909 14,207 14,336 13,951 12,285 121,175 6%
LITHUANIA 642 2,735 2,782 2,379 12,817 18,717 16,039 10,728 6,443 73,282 4%
FRANCE 3,056 4,487 3,769 4,332 4,678 4,973 6,879 7,673 7,066 46,913 2%
SPAIN 3,796 5,800 5,687 4,920 4,456 4,670 4,433 4,691 4,618 43,071 2%
SLOVAKIA 111 328 252 248 5,187 9,258 10,687 8,375 4,994 39,440 2%
LATVIA 1,046 3,023 1,538 1,230 6,266 9,328 7,954 4,674 3,727 38,786 2%
ROMANIA 920 2,416 2,667 1,387 591 813 3,336 14,525 6,762 33,417 2%
GERMANY 1,621 2,695 2,547 2,877 3,147 3,839 4,605 4,534 3,823 29,688 1%
ITALY 1,672 2,544 2,507 2,763 2,927 3,692 4,222 4,715 4,426 29,468 1%
USA 1,222 2,645 2,736 3,010 3,195 3,811 4,079 3,841 3,504 28,043 1%
ENGLAND 805 2,397 2,692 2,382 2,375 3,620 4,296 4,918 4,400 27,885 1%
CHINA 1,468 5,748 4,839 3,762 3,471 1,756 1,418 1,519 1,685 25,666 1%
INDIA 394 1,522 1,591 1,422 1,887 3,407 5,580 4,778 4,332 24,913 1%
NIGERIA 1,890 3,813 5,417 3,795 1,973 2,168 1,623 1,610 1,545 23,834 1%
CZECH REPUBLIC 641 1,428 1,144 831 3,298 4,505 4,458 3,838 2,762 22,905 1%
HUNGARY 167 511 259 185 1,839 3,086 4,330 5,046 4,562 19,985 1%
BRAZIL 384 660 759 725 864 2,225 3,460 4,805 5,632 19,514 1%
AUSTRALIA 1,027 2,874 2,656 2,421 1,713 2,128 2,105 1,966 1,857 18,747 1%
NORTHERN IRELAND 870 1,785 1,471 1,798 1,712 2,244 2,907 2,491 2,405 17,683
1%
Sum 90%
Source: (Welfare 2008)
Table 3-4 shows the trend in applications for new PPS numbers of the top 90 percent
of countries of origin for the period from 19 June 2000 through 2008. The Irish
represent about 35 percent of the total of all countries with the balance from
outside the state. Although numbers from the EU10 may be going down in the most
recent years, other countries show a substantial increase; note for example Brazil,
France, Italy and Hungary. This is indicative of increasing diversity in the future.
The Republic of Ireland became a victim of its own success to some degree. The cost
of doing business in Ireland had risen significantly, eroding competitiveness and
reducing the attractiveness of new foreign investment (Enterprise Strategy Group
2004). Immigrants from Poland have reported the cost of living and the limitations of
existing infrastructure to deal with the larger population, especially from a public
mobility and transportation perspective, as disincentives to opportunities in Ireland
(Farrell 2007). At the same time, other countries emulated Ireland’s incentives and
low tax rates for multinational corporations. MNCs would become enticed to move
to other countries who instituted such polices where the labor rates were still
comparatively low. There is new competition from other countries, such as Norway,
who have begun to take a proactive approach to recruitment of immigrant labor
(Farrell 2007). Several of the capitals of the new member states have reinvented
themselves since joining the EU. As a group, Warsaw, Bucharest, Vilnius and Tallinn
are front-runners with average economic growth of more than 7 percent making
them the fastest growing cities in Europe (Clark 2008). If the immigrants’ ties to
Ireland are not well established, the attraction to return to their homeland may be
strong in the face of a cooling Irish economy (Barrett 2008). This can be lessened if
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
18
public policy is focused on enabling them to establish social, cultural and economic
roots in Ireland.
Opportunities in Ireland are still better than many of the immigrants’ home
countries, working or not. For example, the unemployment benefit in Ireland is more
than €200 per week, which is more than many professional jobs pay in some Eastern
European countries (Quinlan 2009). Consequently, many immigrants with university
degrees work as cleaners, in factories or service in the food and beverage businesses
(Hogan 2008). The Minister for Integration at the time, Conor Lenihan, stated that
“we must address the challenge of becoming more inclusive” and avoiding the
problem where people wind up working in jobs for which they are overqualified.
(Carroll 2008). One of the main components of Irish integration policy is to facilitate
the progression of highly qualified immigrants working in Irish society to find
opportunities commensurate with their education, instead of leaving them to work
in jobs for which they are over qualified (Cudden and O'Leary 2008).
IMMIGRATION AND CHANGES IN IRISH SOCIETY
As Swiss playwright, Max Frisch, is quoted as saying about the German guest worker
experience when they recruited poor Italian and Turkish immigrants in the 1960s
and 1970s to work in booming German industries, We wanted workers and we got
people instead (Columbia 1996), the many new immigrants meant a substantial
change in the demographic composition of Ireland. “Internationally, there is a long
history of countries welcoming workers in times of labor shortages on the
presumption that they would leave afterwards and finding that temporary
immigration became permanent” (OECD 2008a) pg. 115.
There is a difference today compared to the 19
th
century when many people
resorted to emigration to seek viable job opportunities and to escape from famine,
poverty, discrimination and oppression in their home country. Part of it concerns the
development and evolution of the welfare state (Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). Today
uncontrolled immigration can lead to social tension and conflict. In economic
downturns where we start to see redundancies across the board, Minister for
Integration at the time, Conor Lenihan has warned that we have to guard against the
potential for tension that can come from people projecting their anger on ethnic
groups when they see their Irish friends and family members losing their jobs
(Molony 2008). The Minister made clear that it is not something that is going to
happen, but merely advised caution to guard against it. The resident population may
feel that they bear a greater tax burden than the newcomers who receive benefits
that they have not paid into.
In contrast to the Celtic Tiger years where there was a shortage in almost every labor
sector, job protection for the indigenous population has now become a priority. The
government does this through a means test and a work permit scheme where an
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
19
employer has to advertise any vacancy for four weeks with the national employment
agency and three days with national media before offering a position to a foreign
national. It is now turning to this regimen to make it harder for foreign workers to
get jobs. But this only applies to people from outside of the European Economic Area
(EEA) because within the EU workers have the right to freedom of movement
without employment restrictions. Correspondingly, this impacts different immigrant
groups depending on their country of origin.
The perception of unequal contributions versus benefits regarding the welfare
system may lead to animosity and desire for protectionist policies that work against
open immigration. Oliver Wang, director of Chinatown Promotion Services, said that
Ireland is not like the United States or some other countries that encourage
immigration and the economic contribution of immigrants. Immigrants are looked
upon as temporary but necessity to fill jobs only when enough native-born aren’t
available or don’t want to accept that kind of work. He said that Ireland is very
protective and doesn’t encourage those who want to come in and be successful
(Wang 2008). Wang admitted that some nationalities may come to Ireland to take
advantage of the social welfare system but he felt that the Chinese were received
more favorably because of the perception that they work very hard. Helen Kang
cited herself as an example. As owner of a Chinese Restaurant on Capel Street, she
works 12-14 hours every day, 7 days a week. Although she has two children, she sent
them to be cared for by her mother in China so that she could focus all of her time
on her new business in Ireland during its formative years. Ultimately, she says, she
will make a better future for her family this way (Kang 2008).
Conceivably, today’s immigration can lead to discrimination and oppression in the
immigrants’ new country. In recognition of this possible outcome, the government of
Ireland established the Office of the Minister for Integration in June 2007 and
launched a policy statement in May 2008 to implement an intercultural approach to
policy-making that would protect human rights and equality but also overcome
inequalities that are experienced by the new immigrant groups (Hegarty 2008). As
newcomers with common language and culture coalesce in certain neighborhoods
due to social networking, a white flight may result in declining neighborhoods and
overcrowded schools resulting in de facto racial segregation. This has been reported
in Dublin in response to immigrants moving into neighborhoods where the native
population has been selling to investors who then rent out residential units to the
immigrants. These reports speculate that when these newcomers are primarily in
the lower economic strata, the result is a downward spiral and segregation for the
neighborhood (McInerney 2007). While the number of non-Irish in the workforce
reached 15 percent, the number of children of non-Irish in primary schools is up to
10 percent (Molony 2008). Infants born in the country to immigrant parents had
been automatically granted Irish citizenship prior to June 2004 when a citizenship
referendum changed that entitlement, which had afforded automatic citizenship to
anyone born in Ireland (OECD 2008a). A court decision the previous year removed
the automatic right to permanent residency for non-nationals who were the parents
of Irish-born children (Cudden and O'Leary 2008). Family reunification is one of the
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
20
most commonly stated reasons for international migration. And many countries
scrutinize such applicants because of concerns over fraud and abuse of the system
where the real motivation may be to gain access to welfare services (Clark 2008).
Ireland seems to have elicited a worthy response from migrant workers. Based on
numbers from the 2006 Census, the official number of non-nationals grew from
221,921 in 2002 to 417,375 in 2006, a change from 5.8 percent to over 10 percent in
the state and more than that in Dublin City (Cudden and O'Leary 2008). These
numbers are generally believed to substantially under-represent the true count,
which could be up to 15 percent of the population in the state (Mac Cormaic 2007).
Some of the reasons for undercount among immigrants relate to: sharing
accommodations; distrust of government authority; and limited capacity with English
(Janota 2009). Other concerns for the representativeness of the data that have been
expressed concern the accuracy of any demographic data that is drawn from the
Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), which was only administered in
English. It would skew in favor of those who are more literate and miss the low-
skilled immigrants because of the language barrier. But a statistical analysis that
compared descriptive statistics between the QNHS with the Irish Census 2006
concluded that the QNHS does report as accurate a profile of the immigrant
populations, especially regarding educational attainment, as the census data (Barrett
and Kelly 2008). It also confirmed that although the qualitative data may be accurate
there was significant undercounting. In both surveys the extent of the undercount in
different national groups could not be determined conclusively. The data included in
Table 3 and Table 4 is from national census data in 1996 and 2006. Informed
participants in focus groups for immigrant entrepreneurship indicated that the
number for Poles, for example, where the official count reflects 63,276, was more
like 100,000-200,000 (Bartosik 2009). Other estimates of Poles in Ireland also refer
to 100,000, with 95 percent of them in Dublin (IrelandBBS.com 2008). The Irish
Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) estimates the number of Poles based on its
observations as 200,000. Unofficial numbers for Chinese are 100,000 against the
census count of 11,161 (O'Brien 2007). In a focus group for this research project a
member of the Chinese business community expressed his opinion, which was based
on local knowledge, that there were 50,000 Chinese in Ireland but he said that less
were coming now (Suo 2008). Two-thirds of the new immigrants to Ireland arrived
between 2004 and 2007. Many settled close to their port of entry resulting in the
population of central Dublin in 2006 composed of nearly one-fourth of the 420,000
non-Irish in the state, primarily from accession states Poland, Latvia and Lithuania
(Barrett 2008).
The immigrants that came to Ireland since 2004 from the ten states admitted to the
EU at that time had different motivations. Those states were Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. These
immigrants seem to be viewed principally as worker-commodities. For example, the
Census office concludes that the Polish came to Ireland to work while the Chinese
came to study (CSO 2008d). Only two percent of the Poles in Ireland over age 15
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
21
were in school or college in Ireland (CSO 2008d) while 43 percent of Chinese aged 15
or over were studying in Ireland (CSO 2008d).
The immigrants that came to settle in Ireland were not all lower-end workers. Many
had college education but accepted employment in jobs that they were over-
qualified for because it was still better than what they could get at home. Although it
is not unusual for immigrants in OECD countries to work in jobs that they are over
qualified for, at least when they enter the country initially, the mismatch in Ireland is
relatively high (OECD 2008a). In some cases, this is due to foreign qualifications not
being accepted in Ireland.
A simple definition of international migrant would be one who lives outside the
country of their birth for a year or more (Clark 2008). This would include many
migrants who travel to study, for tourism, or to work and experience another culture
in depth for an extended period of time. Many young people in Ireland and from
other developed countries go overseas for a year for just such an experience. A key
distinction is to be made concerning the immigrants that came to Ireland in recent
years. They came for economic opportunity and were already prepared to make a
difference in their own lives and contribute to their new countries, its firms and its
economy. They represent a sleeper population that can make a great deal of
influence once given the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship and approach self-
actualization of their talent in their new home country. This will be discussed in more
detail late in the context of the potential for immigrant entrepreneurship.
TABLE 3-5. LARGEST IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN IRELAND 2006
Total
% of Total
Population
% of Non-Irish
Population
Unofficial
Estimate
UK 112,548 2.70% 26.81%
Poland 63,276 1.52% 15.08% 200,000
Lithuania 24,628 0.59% 5.87%
Nigeria 16,300 0.39% 3.88%
Latvia 13,319 0.32% 3.17%
USA 12,475 0.30% 3.00%
China 11,161 0.27% 2.66% 100,000
Germany 10,289 0.25% 2.45%
Philippines 9,548 0.23% 2.30%
France 9,046 0.22% 2.16%
India 8,460 0.20% 2.00%
Slovakia 8,111 0.19% 1.93%
Romania 7,696 0.18% 1.83%
Russia 4,495 0.11% 1.07%
(CSO 2006)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
22
TABLE 3-6. LARGEST IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN IRELAND 1996
Total
% of Total
Population
% of Non-
Irish
Population
UK 151,081 4.20% 71.25%
U.S.A. 15,619 0.43% 7.37%
Other EU 9,296 0.26% 4.38%
Asia 8,150 0.23% 3.84%
Germany 6,343 0.18% 2.99%
Africa 4,867 0.14% 2.30%
France 3,593 0.10% 1.69%
Other
Europe 3,605 0.10% 1.70%
Other
countries 9,503 0.26% 4.48%
(CSO 1996)
A comparison of Table 3-5 and Table 3-6 reveals the extent of change in the ethnic
and cultural complexion of Ireland in just ten years, between 1996 and 2006. In
1996, over 78 percent of the non-Irish in Ireland were from the United Kingdom and
the United States. They were English-speaking and mostly of Anglo-Saxon heritage.
Practically 82 percent of the non-Irish who were resident in the state were from
Europe. By 2006 the U.K. /U.S.A. component had been cut to fewer than 30 percent
and the rest, in much greater numbers than before, were immigrants from countries
with far different historical, cultural and linguistic traditions.
Canada, which promotes multiculturalism as one of its competitive strengths citing
its highest per-capita immigration in the world, has had to deal with the issue of new
languages in its ethnic mix. In Quebec City, native residents feel threatened by the
country’s multiculturalism approach. The integration of new ethnic minorities is seen
as a threat to the native cultural minority that wants to promote the continuation of
the French language as the dominate ethnic sub-group (Delaney 2008).
For 150 years since the end of the great famine in Ireland of the 1840s, the story of
population movement was emigration from the island in pursuit of opportunities
around the world. This left the country with limited outward aspect. That is, less
appreciation for the views and attitudes of others with different cultural heritage.
The domestic population grew more homogenous compared to other countries
where immigrants added various foreign cultural aspects to the home customs. The
Irish demographics that constituted a large pool of literate English speakers had
been attractive to multinational corporations and proved to be a significant factor in
the Celtic Tiger economy. When the English speaking augmented these workers,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
23
well-educated immigrants, especially from Poland in great numbers, the attraction
became stronger. It is important to repeat the point that the new immigrants were
not all lower-educated workers who came for lesser-qualified jobs despite the fact
that may be where they wound up. Many also filled the highly qualified jobs in
Information Technology (IT) and in the IFSC.
The increase in population and investment drove a property market that escalated
rapidly only to result in oversupply when demand slackened. Now the situation is
that the immigrants are in the state and the challenge is for Ireland to adopt a policy
to take economic advantage of the new talent. Otherwise a protectionist policy may
result in discrimination against those newly arrived and not realize the potential of
the substantial opportunity that has evolved.
MULTICULTURALISM
To gather data on the increasing multi-culturalization of Ireland, a question on
ethnicity was added to the census for the first time in 2006 (King-O'Riain 2007). But
the nature of the questions that were included in the census may confuse
conceptions of ethnicity, race and ancestry. In the broadest sense, the 19
th
century
German sociologist, Max Weber, referred to ethnicity as one’s own subjective belief
in belonging to a group that shares a common descent because of similarities of
physical type or customs that are passed down, shared, or result from history of
colonization or migration (Cornell and Hartmann 1998). On the other hand, race is
how human beings distinguish themselves based on socially defined physical
characteristics. And ancestry relates to the place of one’s birth and the place of birth
of your parents. This has implications for citizenship rights and may impact property
ownership as well. The questions on the Irish Census in 2006 mostly related to race
but described these as ethnic groups: White, Irish Traveler, Black, Chinese, Mixed
ethnic group. It does not offer much choice in cultural identity and excludes some
that are increasingly important in geopolitical terms, e.g., Arabs. The country of
origin issue took on new significance in 2004 when the EU was expanded granting EU
citizens a right to free travel across borders.
In general, the non-Irish population is comprised of people in their 20s and 30s with
significantly more men than women (CSO 2008d). As of the 2006 Census, more of
this group were employed, approximately 80 percent, than even the Irish
population, just over 50 percent (CSO 2008d). Although many were in construction
(20.8%), manufacturing businesses (21.4%), wholesale and retail trade (17.0%) and
hotel and restaurants (16.5%) also provided many jobs for the accession-states
immigrants (CSO 2008d).
But the Irish workplace and Irish society is very different today. In just ten years or
less it has become multicultural. This change has happened so rapidly that many
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
24
sectors of society have yet to incorporate the new multiculturalism in a new
approach to doing business and serving the public.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS FROM THE RECENT GROWTH IN
IMMIGRATION IN IRELAND
There is little doubt that the spurt of immigration in Ireland that reversed a decades-
long pattern of emigration has been a result of the rapid growth of the economy
during the Celtic Tiger years. In recognition of the impact of new immigrants in
Ireland, Dublin City Council set out an agreed vision that would send a strong
message of its openness to minorities (Hegarty 2008).
They declared “integration of the new migrant
population will be a key determinant of the future
success and prosperity of the city” (Ibid, p.6). This
section will briefly review the historical patterns and set
out the reasons and justification for this consequence.
In the context of current events wherein Ireland and all
the world economies are experiencing substantial
downturn in activity and growth, the policy questions
that need to be addressed are:
a. How to continue to grow the economy with innovative contributions from
the new citizens, and;
b. Due to lack of opportunities, what would be the end result if recent
immigrants would be permitted or encouraged to return to their home
countries or to pursue greater opportunities in other proactive communities?
When the economy experienced rapid growth, an increase in the supply of labor was
essential in order to satisfy the demand. Naturally, firms first relied on the domestic
population because there are additional costs associated with recruitment from
distant places as well as possibly relocation support. From the 1980s though the mid
1990s, high unemployment had been characteristic of the Irish economy. Ireland had
practically the worst unemployment problem in Europe over these years (Kirby
2002). As of 1987, there had been mass unemployment with falling employment
numbers and a standard of living below the average in Europe (O'Connell 2000).
Consequently, there was elasticity of supply in labor that could meet initial demand
related to moderate growth from the cadres of unemployed workers.
Immigration of workers to fill jobs of the MNCs that were drawn to Ireland by
favorable taxation policies, strong efforts to attract FDI and other initiatives not only
turned the economy around but it turned the composition of society upside down.
New immigrants made for a new multicultural society in Ireland.
As a result of the worldwide downturn in 2008, which followed on the onset of
recession that began in the United States in 2007, the MNCs that included many
American firms decided to back down or move their operations offshore. The labor
“…integration of the
new migrant
population will be a
key determinant of the
future success and
prosperity of the city”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
25
pool that was attracted to the new employment opportunities is faced with a
challenging dilemma: whether to move on or to try to make it on their own.
Several interesting characteristics of the Irish labor market contribute to a new
dynamic. In small firms, Irish workers average €15.38 per hour compared to €18.01
for workers in the EU 15 states. But workers from the accession states in Ireland, the
EU15-27, earn only €11.08 on average in Ireland (CSO 2008c, p.45). Employment of
non-Irish nationals increased by 129 percent from 2003 to 2007 and 47 percent of
them were working in firms of less than 50 workers (CSO 2008c). When it was a case
of needing workers to fill jobs from outside of Ireland this differential was a draw
from both sides, employers including domestic firms and MNCS and workers from
outside the country. When a worker is subsequently made redundant, the impact of
lower income from unemployment is good motivation for self-employment or
entrepreneurship. The immigrants have an advantage in this market for two reasons.
First as a result of under-employment relative to qualifications, an immigrant
entrepreneur can look forward to a better income in his/her chosen profession as a
entrepreneur than in low-wage employment. When they are made redundant they
actually have the opportunity to improve their lot. Second, immigrants, especially
where there is a language barrier, are more likely to work for other immigrant
entrepreneurs if they have the opportunity due to common language and culture.
Therefore the immigrants have a competitive advantage in hiring other low-wage
immigrants.
For governments who are faced with a potential reduction in the population under
these circumstances an additional challenge is the investment that they have made
or initiated to cope with the once quickly expanding population. These include new
roads, schools, water and sewer systems, mass transit improvements and other
infrastructure investments that were required for the larger population (OECD
2008a). It also may have involved hiring public employees and expending the
workforce in order to provide the services necessitated by the great numbers of new
citizens and residents. It also may include salary and benefit increases that were
implemented in recent years to make up for past years when increases in parity had
to be deferred. The simple conclusion is that unless governments can cultivate
economic opportunity to accompany social integration, their new populations may
go away but the expenses committed to will continue. Excessive long-term capital
debt accompanied by lower revenues will also negatively impact bond ratings, all
with fewer taxpayers to pay the bills. A proactive approach to nurturing and
developing opportunities among the new citizens becomes critically important.
This approach needs to extend to the economic and financial opportunity realm and
not be limited to social issues and avoidance of racial tension to be most effective.
Business start-ups generate economic prosperity for all and provide immigrants the
opportunities to contribute to their own financial success as well as the community
at large (Emerge 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
26
CHAPTER 4
APPROACHES TO GROW THE
ECONOMY BY ENCOURAGING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
In a 2006 report, titled Small Business is Big Business, the Small Business Forum
included in its recommendations to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Employment that the government should formally adopt a National
Entrepreneurship Policy (Forum 2006). In October 2007 Forfas published Towards
Developing an Entrepreneurship Policy for Ireland that echoed the sentiment that
Ireland needs an approach to the development and cultivation of entrepreneurship
that is similar to the drive for foreign direct investment. One of the key
recommendations was harnessing the potential of women and immigrants (Forfas
2007). At the time of the release of the report, then Minister for Enterprise, Trade
and Employment, Micheál Martin, said that he was committed to implementing a
National Entrepreneurship Policy. The Department released its Third Progress Report
on Implementation of the Recommendations of the Report of the Small Business
Forum on 10 December 2007, which included reference to a draft entrepreneurship
Policy Statement that was submitted to the Department and referred to the
expectation that a Policy Statement was to be published in early 2008 (DETE 2007).
As of the time of writing Challenges and Promise for Immigrant Entrepreneurship in
Dublin, this new initiative has not yet been published or adopted.
The level of entrepreneurship in Ireland has been high compared to other OECD
countries. It averages 2.7 percent in the OECD countries and an average of 2.3
percent in the EU (O'Toole 2009). According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor,
in 2007 Ireland was second in the EU and fifth among OECD countries for
entrepreneurial activities (Forfas 2008b). Ireland was third in the OECD with 4.2
percent of the adult population involved in new firm entrepreneurship (Fitzsimons
and O'Gorman 2006). For new-firm creation, Ireland was ranked fourth within the EU
15 (Forfas 2008). The City and County Enterprise Boards have proposed a plan to
create 6000 new businesses from 2009 – 2013 and have earmarked 1,000 of these
opportunities to involve female and ethnic entrepreneurs (Allen 2009). This incentive
financing would provide funding for all of the costs of operating a business and not
just for grants to buy machinery or employ people as at present. This program is
aimed at micro business with less than 10 employees and is in recognition of the fact
that service businesses are very important to the economy and may not require
investment in machinery as do manufacturing firms (Forfas 2007).
As recently as 2003, Ireland had the highest rate of new business start-ups in the EU
(O'Gorman 2004). However, in the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
annual survey, conducted since 1999 over the May-June period, the respondents
surveyed in 2008 indicated a great deal of pessimism for entrepreneurship in
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
27
perceived opportunities with Ireland. This was one of the five highest declines in
perceived opportunities (Bosma, Acs et al. 2009). This was before the global financial
crisis that emerged in October 2008. Only 35 percent of non-entrepreneurially active
adult respondents saw a good opportunity to start a business within six months and
only 6 percent expected to start a business in the next three years (Bosma, Acs et al.
2009)
The advantages of starting a business in Ireland are the same for any entrepreneur,
native or immigrant. They include a stable government, low-tax policy toward
business and a pro-business culture. According to the World Bank, Ireland remains
very competitive regarding policy to facilitate entrepreneurship. The overall
regulatory levels and regulatory impediments to product market competition are
lower than the OECD countries’ average (NCC 2009). Ireland ranks 7th in the ease of
doing business among 181 economies followed by the World Bank (World Bank
2009). Other factors assessed by the World Bank contributing to the favorable
governmental and regulatory environment of starting a business in Ireland relate to
the ease of starting a business where Ireland was ranked 5th of 178 economies in
2008, the number of regulatory procedures necessary for business start-ups, which
was four, the 3rd fewest of the countries compared
and the cost of starting an enterprise as a
percentage of income per capita (0.3 percent)
where Ireland was 3rd lowest (World Bank 2008).
However, Tomas Rimkus, who emigrated from
Lithuania two years ago and is marketing manager
of an international food and beverage importing
concern in Dublin, said that the cost of starting a
business according to the government data is only
part of the picture. For example, although in
Lithuania, he said, it is necessary to have a minimum
of €3,500 on deposit in order to get approval for a
new business from the Lithuanian government,
which is not required in Ireland for natives or
citizens from EEA countries, the local banks in
Dublin required €5,000 - €10,000 to open a new
business account (Rimkus 2009). The criteria
imposed on prospective entrepreneurs from outside
the EEA are substantially higher and out of sync with
the World Bank and OECD comparative
requirements. (See below on Business Permissions.)
These ease of starting business metrics have actually
improved since 2004 when the World Bank reported the cost to start a business as a
percentage of income per capita as 10.4 percent (World Bank 2004). At that time,
Ireland also had the 4th shortest time in the EU in terms of number of days to start a
business, which was 12 days. This was less than half the average number of days
Focus groups indicated
that the low corporate
tax structure, minimal
bureaucracy and
regulation compared
to their previous home
countries, transparent
legal system and
strong consumer
culture gave the
immigrant
entrepreneurs a
favorable impression
of Ireland as a good
place to start a
business (Cooney and
Flynn 2008).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
28
amongst all OECD economies where the average number of procedures was 50
percent more than in Ireland and the cost in terms of percentage of income per
capita was an average of 8.0 percent (World Bank 2004b). Another consideration for
ease of starting a business includes ease of closing a concern, which was less than
five months in 2004, the shortest insolvency process in the EU (World Bank 2004).
In the summer of 2008 focus groups indicated that the low corporate tax structure,
minimal bureaucracy and regulation compared to their previous home countries,
transparent legal system and strong consumer culture gave the immigrant
entrepreneurs a favorable impression of Ireland as a good place to start a business
(Cooney and Flynn 2008). Building Ireland’s Smart Economy recognizes that one
strength of the Irish economy includes high ratings on openness to foreign ideas and
at the same time the need for more engagement with other countries represents a
threat to the economy (Ireland 2008). One business owner from Lithuania told me
that he hired a firm to secure all of the necessary licenses and accounts to start his
business because he was concerned with the bureaucracy that in his home country
makes it very difficult to start an enterprise. He had no problem in Dublin and was
very pleased with the time and process. The Danish government recognized that this
is a significant way that it could encourage entrepreneurship when it introduced
legislation in 1998 that reduced the time required to register a company from 36
days in 1996 to 11 days in 1999.
Recommendations for the establishment of proactive policy include the
enhancement of an entrepreneurship culture in Ireland, particularly among women
and the immigrants community (Forum 2006).
WHY ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
BUSINESS STARTS
When times are tough, as in economic recession, entrepreneurial activity increases
because people turn away from a view of employment as a safe and secure job
based on the reality of redundancies and career decisions that are outside of the
worker’s control (O'Toole 2009). Even those who have been in employment for many
years may feel the gut-wrenching doubt of the wisdom of devoting oneself to the
good of the firm when they are made redundant. It is a good time for people to take
a risk, especially if they are proven risk-takers. Fear of failure is a more pronounced
deterrent to entrepreneurialism in Ireland among the native Irish than in the
majority of OECD countries. Ireland is ranked 16 out of 25 countries analyzed (Forum
2006).
During this particular downturn, interest rates are at historic lows. So debt service
coverage is lower than in the past for qualified borrowers and the cost of money for
operating funds and investment in new business is reasonable and puts less pressure
on operating margins than during high money-cost times. During recessions,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
29
everyone is looking for business. Consequently, the cost of buying services can be
substantially lower and the cost of purchasing goods can be more negotiable than at
times when there are plenty of qualified buyers. When there are more people out of
work, getting good help may be easier to find and employers can be more selective.
For prospective immigrant entrepreneurs, the downturn actually plays to their
strengths. Education provides the preparation that facilitates opportunity when the
right opening arises. Because the immigrants are generally better educated and
under employed in current employment, being made redundant can actually result
in prospects for better income through entrepreneurship and pursuit of activity that
makes better utility of their educational qualifications. The percentage of the
population with college education among men and women in Ireland is almost
double comparing the foreign-born population with the native born, 41.1 percent vs.
22.7 percent and holds equally true for men and women (OECD 2008a). See Table 5.
A study from the 2000 U.S. Census data focusing on Brazilian immigrants found that
high school graduates are more likely to own their own business and that a college
education has a significantly greater effect than a high school education on the
probability for self-employment among Brazilian immigrant entrepreneurs in Florida
and California (Siqueira 2007). Another study of key founders of technology and
engineering companies from 1995 to 2005 indicated a strong correlation between
educational attainment and entrepreneurship (Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007).
However, some have cautioned that any data regarding educational attainment that
relies on a survey instrument that is only available in English will miss many low-
skilled immigrants because of the language barrier, which leads to
overrepresentation of higher educational attainment. Nevertheless, a study reported
from Dublin confirmed the representativeness of samples drawn from both the
census and the QNHS and affirmed the highly-educated nature of immigrants in
Ireland (Barrett and Kelly 2008).
TABLE 4-1. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF THE NATIVE-BORN AND FOREIGN-
BORN POPULATIONS, PERCENTAGE OF THE 15+ POPULATION
Native-
born
Foreign-
born
Totals
Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total
Country Education (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Ireland Primary 50.0 45.6 47.8 29.9 29.4 29.6 47.8 43.8 45.8
Secondary 28.6 30.3 29.5 29.2 29.4 29.3 28.7 30.2 29.5
Tertiary 21.4 24.1 22.7 40.9 41.2 41.1 23.5 25.9 24.7
Source: (OECD 2008d)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
30
POTENTIAL OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
To begin with, for people to venture on their own in a business enterprise they must
not be afraid to accept risk. This doesn’t mean that they are risky or gamblers but it
implies that they are willing to rely on themselves for their economic outcomes
instead of depending on others to make their future. In this context, immigrants who
have left their home countries and their personal family
networks that provide a comfort zone to try their luck in a
new country with its different culture certainly fit the
criteria of risk takers. If entrepreneurs are not risk takers by
nature, at the least, they are not totally afraid of taking a
chance on changing their circumstances. If they are
immigrants to a new country the very fact that they have
left their homeland in search of new opportunities
demonstrates their willingness to take their chances and
rely on themselves for the outcome.
For many reasons that will be reviewed herein, immigrants
are more likely to be become entrepreneurs than the
native-born. They have been successful and have made
significant contributions to their new countries as well as
raising their own standards of living. Among other reasons such as wanting to be
with family or to seek asylum from persecution, immigrants move because of the
perceived economic benefits of moving. Good economic prospects, along with the
presence of family members or substantial numbers of countrymen, have been
described as pull factors that contribute to migration to successful economies (Clark
2008). Immigrants may be more confident in their own ability to make a change in
their economic circumstances by relying on their own assessment of their talent and
capacity (Levie 2007). This may explain why immigrants are more predisposed to
entrepreneurial ventures than the native-born population.
Immigrants have also made great strides in technological advancement through
science and technology that contribute to innovation and knowledge economies.
According to one study in the United States 9.7 percent of immigrants own a
business, compared with 9.5 percent of the native-born (Fairlie 2008). Another way
to look at the impact of immigrant entrepreneurship in the U.S. reveals that
immigrants constitute 12.2 percent of the U.S. workforces but 12.5 percent of U.S.
business owners (Fairlie 2008). In other studies in the United States, immigrants
were shown to be practically 30 percent more likely to start a new business than
native-born persons. Immigrants constitute 16.7 percent of all new business owners
nationwide (Wolfington 2006). In California, the number of new businesses started
each month that are owned by immigrants amount to 34.2 percent of all start-ups. In
New York, Florida and Texas immigrants account for nearly 30 percent of the new
Immigrants have also
made great strides in
technological
advancement through
science and
technology that
contribute to
innovation and
knowledge economies
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
31
businesses starting each month. Immigrant entrepreneurs now represent roughly 5
percent of all new business starts in the United States (Fairlie 2008).
In a U.S. study of engineering and technology companies started between 1995 and
2005, immigrant entrepreneurs were determined to be the founders of 25.3 percent
of all such companies (Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007). These firms had $50 billion in
sales in 2005 and created 450,000 jobs. Many Asian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
were previously in graduate school there or working as engineers in large firms. As
an outcome of their venturing out on their own they have created over 58,000 local
jobs as of 1999 (McCormick 1999). In Washington DC it is the Indian immigrants who
fuelled growth in high-tech entrepreneurs, which nearly doubled in the 1990s (Rubin
1999). They graduated from American universities and have been staying in the
country to start their new entrepreneurial ventures in high value-added employment
sectors that have resulted in high-technology clusters around Washington. High-tech
employers in Silicon Valley had come to rely heavily on foreign students who
eventually would work in local high-tech firms and some would start their own
enterprises. Asian venture capital firms are helping Silicon Valley start-ups to expand
into Asia and also helping Asian start-ups set up shop in the U.S. (Hiebert 2000).
Another benefit of foreign students is even if they return home they are taking
advantages of networking connections and opportunities for building links with
American firms to spur technological innovation that results in economic expansion
for high-tech firms in California (Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007).
Reflecting on the success and challenges regarding the U.S. proactive recruitment
programs for high-tech talent, U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the
difficulties imposed by the Department of Homeland Security after 9-11 have
negatively impacted U.S. colleges’ recruitment of immigrant talent. As a
consequence, high-tech and engineering firms have set up shops in India and China
and now students are getting their education and employment overseas to the loss
of the U.S. based economy (Obama 2007). One of the benefits of immigration can
come from viewing local universities as migrant magnets that can draw young, highly
skilled people who may stay in the area and enhance the local labor market (Nathan
2008).
Immigrant businesses make significant contributions across all sectors of the
American economy. They own 21.1 percent of businesses in the arts, entertainment
and recreation industry and also are found in other services (17.6 percent of total),
transportation (16.9 percent), wholesale businesses (15.9 percent) and retail trade
(15.5 percent). In sum, immigrant entrepreneurs now own 11.2 percent of all
businesses with $100,000 or more in sales and 10.8 percent of all businesses with
employees (Fairlie 2008). Consequently, the cultivation of immigrant
entrepreneurship has great potential to benefit not only the new citizens
themselves, but also to contribute to growth of the economy and the creation of
value-added employment across the board.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
32
Polish Embassy Trade and Investment Section Councilor Jerzy Bartosik said that more
than 20 percent of inquires that are coming in to the Trade and Investment Section
are now about the possibility of opening a business in Ireland (Bartosik 2009). An
argument in favor of immigrant workers, who are generally younger than the native
workforce, is that, contrary to a drain on the social welfare system, they represent
one of the few ways that the elderly population can be supported by currently
working younger workers. Therefore they reduce dependency on ageing populations
and help sustain the social safety net in the long run (Minns 2005).
A review of the nationality of residents in Ireland as of the 2006 Census, summarized
in the adjoining Table 6a and Table 6b, indicates the potential for encouraging
entrepreneurship among the new citizens. Comparing the percentage of the adult
population that is of typical working age, 25-64, about half the Irish population is in
this category (52.2 percent of total Irish and 52.4 percent of Irish-born). This
percentage is far exceeded by immigrants of practically all the other nation in
Ireland. This is consistent with the conclusion that Ireland depends on immigrants for
its workforce.
Looking at only the age group that is typical for young entrepreneurs starting
businesses, i.e., 25-44 years, the Irish population only amounts to 29.4 percent in
this age group. Most of the new citizens from the EU member states amount to
more than 50 percent in the 25-44 age group and the countries that are not in the
EU are even higher as a group in this demographic category. There is evidence that
business start-ups increase with age and strongly increase with education. The new
immigrants to Ireland have higher educational attainment
compared to the native Irish, in part due to self-selection
by EU immigrants (Minns 2005). In a U.S. study of data,
college graduates were shown to have a 0.11 percent
higher rate of business creation per month than those
with less than a high school education (Fairlie 2008).
Immigrants are generally better educated and have more
positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship as a path to
realization of personal financial success (Levie 2007).
Throughout OECD countries, immigrants are generally
more qualified than native-born regarding educational
attainment. Immigrants average 23.6 percent tertiary
education versus 19.1 percent for native-born (OECD
2008). Although educational attainment in Ireland has increased dramatically in the
past two decades among the young, the older workers in the Irish labor force remain
less qualified than the average of OECD workers and a large share of the native-born
workers, 34 percent, have no more than secondary education (NCC 2009). This leads
to a conclusion that in Ireland there is likely to be more potential for entrepreneurial
start-ups among the immigrant communities than in the native population.
More than 20 percent
of inquires that are
coming in to the Trade
and Investment
Section are now about
the possibility of
opening a business in
Ireland
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
33
TABLE 4-2. NATIONALITY, AGE AND POTENTIAL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Nationality Total
25-44
years
45-64
years
65 years
and over
% Prime working
age 25-64
% Potential
Entrepreneurship
age 25-44
Total Irish 3,706,683 1,089,238 845,160 438,227
52.2% 29.4%
Irish Born 3,661,560 1,075,721 837,752 434,878
52.3% 29.4%
Total Non
Irish 419,733 219,281 57,181 15,084
65.9% 52.2%
EU Member States
275,775 137,788 44,921 12,545
66.3% 50.0%
Austria 583 339 79 14
71.7% 58.1%
Belgium 910 461 195 52
72.1% 50.7%
Cyprus 60 31 11 3
70.0% 51.7%
Czech Republic 5,159 3,171 320 20
67.7% 61.5%
Denmark 729 420 129 28
75.3% 57.6%
Estonia 2,272 1,135 169 6
57.4% 50.0%
Finland 926 574 88 9
71.5% 62.0%
France 9,046 5,455 774 113
68.9% 60.3%
Germany 10,289 5,396 1,976 635
71.6% 52.4%
Greece 412 267 57 8
78.6% 64.8%
Hungary 3,440 2,330 216 22
74.0% 67.7%
Italy 6,190 4,104 749 180
78.4% 66.3%
Latvia 13,319 7,106 1,245 40
62.7% 53.4%
Lithuania 24,628 12,987 2,064 71
61.1% 52.7%
Luxembourg 26 5 8 2
50.0% 19.2%
Malta 139 66 31 10
69.8% 47.5%
Netherlands 3,990 1,786 1,089 281
72.1% 44.8%
Poland 63,276 36,464 4,213 144
64.3% 57.6%
Portugal 1,798 1,156 173 24
73.9% 64.3%
Slovakia 8,111 4,751 450 27
64.1% 58.6%
Slovenia 130 86 7 1
71.5% 66.2%
Spain 6,052 4,478 264 58
78.4% 74.0%
Sweden 1,742 957 163 36
64.3% 54.9%
UK 112,548 44,263 30,451 10,761
66.4% 39.3%
Source: (CSO 2006)
In a survey of 1,108 ethnic entrepreneurs in Ireland in summer 2008, less than half
(44%) indicated that they had no formal business management qualification.
However, most (73%) indicated Prior Managerial experience (Cooney and Flynn
2008). The proportion between the disciplines in the social sciences, business and
law census categories is unknown. If a substantial number of the educational
attainment numbers are in business, it would seem that there is a great deal of
potential for additional business start-ups by those with actual training in business
management. This could be explored further as a potential for good effort-reward
return. From analysis of the responses to the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for
immigrants in Dublin who either had already started a business of their own or were
thinking about it, 32 percent indicated that they were college graduates and 43
percent had post-graduate education or some post-graduate courses. Only 17
percent indicated that their education was limited to high school (Pinkowski 2009).
The age indicated by the respondents was typical of prospective entrepreneurs with
77 percent in the 27-43 age bracket. They were split 47 percent men and 51 percent
women (2 percent preferred to not answer this question). Respondents were
primarily from EU countries, 82 percent; 6 percent were African.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
34
TABLE 4-3. NATIONALITY, AGE AND POTENTIAL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONT.
Nationality Total
25-44
years
45-64
years
65 years
and over
% Prime working
age 25-64
% Potential
Entrepreneurship
age 25-44
Rest of
Europe 24,425 15,446 2,003 208
71.4% 63.2%
Romania 7,696 5,068 424 24
71.4% 65.9%
Russia 4,495 2,571 456 22
67.3% 57.2%
Ukraine 3,122 2,245 254 10
80.0% 71.9%
Other 9,112 5,562 869 152
70.6% 61.0%
Africa 35,326 20,937 1,980 147
64.9% 59.3%
Nigeria 16,300 9,929 564 30
64.4% 60.9%
South Africa 5,432 3,012 672 58
67.8% 55.4%
Other 13,594 7,996 744 59
64.3% 58.8%
Asia 46,952 28,058 3,079 262
66.3% 59.8%
China 11,161 5,745 415 74
55.2% 51.5%
Philippines 9,548 6,481 1,131 24
79.7% 67.9%
India 8,460 5,708 396 38
72.2% 67.5%
Pakistan 4,998 2,772 264 28
60.7% 55.5%
Malaysia 2,979 1,532 174 15
57.3% 51.4%
Other 9,806 5,820 699 83
66.5% 59.4%
America 21,124 9,182 2,975 1,069
57.6% 43.5%
USA 12,475 4,252 2,145 928
51.3% 34.1%
Brazil 4,388 2,706 248 8
67.3% 61.7%
Canada 2,343 1,093 380 109
62.9% 46.6%
Other 1,918 1,131 202 24
69.5% 59.0%
Australia 4,033 2,418 422 78
70.4% 60.0%
New
Zealand 1,756 1,194 202 35
79.5% 68.0%
Other
nationalities 7,984 3,207 1,230 637
55.6% 40.2%
Multi
Nationality 2,358 1,051 369 103
60.2% 44.6%
No
Nationality 1,318 485 170 87
49.7% 36.8%
Not Stated 44,279 11,547 9,790 6,802
48.2% 26.1%
Total 4,172,013 1,320,551 912,301 460,200
53.5% 31.7%
Source: (CSO 2006)
A difference is important regarding immigrant entrepreneurship versus migrant
labor patterns. The pattern of migrant farm workers is well established wherein due
to seasonal, labor-intensive needs, especially in agriculture at harvest time, large
quantities of workers move from crop to crop in response to opportunity for day
wages. In many cases these crop-pickers are paid in cash with no questions asked
about their immigration status. Many are known, or presumed, to have crossed
international borders informally or illegally (Zarrugh 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
35
IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATION
American business expert, Peter Drucker, in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
(Drucker 2007) warned of implications for doing business by ignoring emerging
demographic patterns. Although population trends and movements had been
acknowledged as important dynamics for business, they were presumed to occur
over long time-spans and therefore of little immediate concern to day-to-day
decisions for operating a firm. Drucker cautioned that to ignore population changes
was a dangerous error and instead should be the first environmental factor to look
at for rewarding entrepreneurial opportunities.
The recent dramatic change in the demographics of Ireland presents such an
opportunity for entrepreneurship. The opportunity for substantial change resulting
from demographic shifts is significant. Although immigration in the United States has
a long history, the extent of accelerated immigration in California from Asia during
the 1980s and 1990s had a dramatic impact on the development of a high-tech
corridor in the San Francisco Bay area. The foreign born population in Silicon Valley
doubled between 1980 and 1990 (Saxenian and Ebulbehram 1998).
Development efforts should not be focused on high-techs alone, or on export-
oriented firms alone. Competitive advantage may also be gained by realizing that
innovation can come in many forms and may be driven by the new immigrant
entrepreneurs that may emerge from the recent population milieu. Broad
entrepreneurial activity includes high-tech but also no-tech, low-tech and middle
tech. For example service deliver intangible goods including information, advice and
experience that has great utility in a global market.
Services that are traded international including
finance, insurance, computer related software
services, research and development, advertising,
marketing, accounting and consultancy contribute
enormous value to the economy. Between 1980 and
2006 the global value of international trade in
services increased seven-fold (Forfas 2008a).
Innovative ventures create capital and contribute to a
vibrant economy based on new ideas and different
perspectives borne of place of origin that is just not
within the frame of reference of the native-born. Ireland’s stated ambition is to
become a leader in innovation (Forfas 2008b). According to Drucker, it would be
unlikely that any country could be innovative in high-tech without having an
entrepreneurial economy.
Entrepreneurs create value in the economy by job creation, philanthropy and
investment. Immigrants to a nation have an advantage in that they know better the
immigrant community that they are part of and can have competitive advantage in
new firm creation focused on such a market. They also can relate well to other
It would be unlikely
that any country could
be innovative in high-
tech without having an
entrepreneurial
economy.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
36
immigrants as a labor pool because they share experiences and common culture.
Most successful immigrants rely heavily on ethnic resources while integrating into
the mainstream (Saxenian 2002). Many immigrants in the U.S., especially Latinos, are
establishing businesses in various southern states, initially where the migrant labor
population has resulted in Latino settlements. Not all immigrant entrepreneurs begin
their commercial life in a new country as migrant workers. Many travel
internationally for third-level education and contribute to their new countries with
ingenuity and creativity by applying the education that they acquire.
Entrepreneurs have the ability to convince others to believe in their vision and to
execute their plans. Often it is the personal passion for what they are doing that gets
entrepreneurs started and keeps them going. It also comes from expertise. People
from other countries add their own perspectives on business or the market that adds
unique perspective to commercial opportunities in their new land. A study in the
United States by the Venture Capital Association indicated that 25 percent of
publicly traded firms that were started with venture capital had one or more
founders who were immigrants (Anderson 2007). And 46 percent of these immigrant
business founders had come to the U.S.A. as international students. But they came
to study; not with the express intent of establishing businesses (Wadhwa, Rissing et
al. 2007). In a study of foreign-born founders of U.S. technology and engineering
companies, only 1.6 percent indicated that their intention for entering the country
was entrepreneurship (Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007).
Another significant path to immigrant entrepreneurship is proactive policy to recruit
innovation initiatives, especially in the hi-tech arena. In Canada, a successful
program to foster trans-Pacific exchange has resulted in Chinese and Indian
immigrants linking businesses in the technology sector between western Canada,
especially Vancouver and Calgary and counterparts in Asian cities (Froschauer and
Wong 2006). The national government encourages immigration and innovation
initiatives by specific employment and immigration
policies that foster the relationships. Business and
trade associations make it easier for multicultural
exchanges to contribute to successful business starts by
the immigration and rapid integration into the business
network. Social networks contribute to integration and
opportunities for new immigrant entrepreneurship or
high-skilled employment. Silicon Valley in the U.S. is
well known for its penetration of Asian immigrants and
entrepreneurial work initiatives in the high-tech sectors
(Saxenian 2002).
AnnaLee Saxenian’s work in Silicon Valley has
documented that immigrants are employed in high-tech sectors of the economy at
greater rates than the general population (Saxenian and Ebulbehram 1998). A report
by the U.S. Small Business Administration in November 2008 indicated that
engineers from China and India now run approximately 25 percent of all technology
Another significant
path to immigrant
entrepreneurship is
proactive policy to
recruit innovation
initiatives, especially in
the hi-tech arena.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
37
businesses started in Silicon Valley (Fairlie 2008). Contrary to political opposition to
immigrants with claims that they depress wages and take jobs that belong to the
indigenous workers, almost 33 percent of the entrepreneurs and high-tech workers
in Silicon Valley are immigrants and rarely, if ever, are a drain on public funds
(Becker 2000).
For many reasons including a strong will to survive and to overcome obstacles,
barriers to traditional employment related to religious, cultural, or language barriers
and their unique perception of business opportunities, immigrant entrepreneurs
actually have better success rates in new ventures than native-born business starts
(Wolfington 2006). In some cases, immigrants can achieve their goals in life and
implement their plans and ideas that would just not be possible in their home
countries due to culture, politics, infrastructure, or markets. Immigrants have an
advantage in contributing to developing trade links with their home countries
because of the special knowledge that they have, which they can apply to reduce
transaction costs that might otherwise stand in the way of trade and investment
(OECD 2008a). Since 1978 Canada has promoted global immigrations for skilled
workers in high-tech and for entrepreneurs by allowing flexible citizenship. It has
resulted in more than 300,000 new immigrants (Froschauer and Wong 2006). This
involved a ranking of occupations and demand in Canadian labor markets where a
point system allowed preference for workers who could fill needed positions such as
computer programmers and analysts. The Canadian immigration policy extends to
expedited processing and employment authorization for partners of recruited
workers. But not all immigrants recruited under Canada’s investor/entrepreneur
program have resulted in investment in high-technology businesses. Many have
followed business strategies that have resulted in service businesses just as other
ethnic entrepreneurs (Jones 2004).
Any effort to promote business must take a sober approach to reality. In Ireland
today, as in many other countries, small business is the mainstay of the economy.
Over 97 percent of businesses in Ireland are small business and they employ 777,000
people, more than half of the total private sector employment excluding agriculture
(Forum 2006). Small businesses also form the foundation of business support
infrastructure to attract and retain foreign investment. In a report of small
businesses in Ireland, Cooney and Flynn (Cooney and Flynn 2008) reported that 12.6
percent of foreign nationals in Ireland represent that they are sole or part owners in
a business. In a 2007 report, 2,700 individuals were estimated to be starting a new
business each month over the period between January 2004 and June 2007
throughout Ireland (Fitzsimons and O'Gorman 2008). The same report indicated that
9 percent of adults were owner-managers of businesses that had been established
for more than 42 months and 8.2 percent of adults were early-stage entrepreneurs
(Fitzsimons and O'Gorman 2008).
In the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for immigrants in Dublin who either had
already started a business of their own or who were thinking about it, 79 percent
were either in business or thinking about starting a business in the near future, 82
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
38
percent indicated that they had five or less years experience in the field of the
business that they were considering starting (Pinkowski 2009).
According to OECD numbers in 2007 there were 334,300 out of the total population
4,172,013 persons in Ireland who identified themselves as self-employed, which
equates to 8.0 percent (CSO 2006; CSO 2008b; OECD 2008e). However, this may
overstate the overall picture of self-employment. To get a better understanding of
the extent of persons operating businesses as sole-proprietors, one must look at the
occupations that usually involve one-person operations. Self-employment in
agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing is the typical business model in these fields
and constitutes 77.8 percent of all employment in these occupations (OECD 2008e).
So, if one takes away from the total, the number involved in agriculture, hunting,
forestry and fishing, which is 91,000, the percentage of self-employed persons in all
other fields of endeavor is only 5.8 percent. Immigrants are less likely to be farmers
or own forest lands for logging as the business owner. Although they may seek
employment on farms and on fishing boats as employees or crew members.
Consequently, the estimate of 12.6 percent in self-employment or business
ownership for immigrants during 2008 represents more than twice the incidence of
self-employment in the country at the time of the 2006 census, i.e., 5.8 percent.
According to the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, immigrants are
starting businesses in the United States at a rate that is 30 percent more than native-
born entrepreneurs (Wolfington 2006; Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007). This number
is confirmed by the 1996-2007 Consumer Population Survey and indicates that as of
the 2000 U.S. Census immigrants constituted 16.7 percent of all new business
owners generating $67 billion of the $577 billion total of U.S. business income, which
is 11.6 percent of all business income in the U.S. (Fairlie 2008). More foreign-born
entrepreneurs are embarking on new ventures compared to native-born residents of
New York City (Bowles and Colton 2007). This extends across a range of economic
sectors from food manufacturing to healthcare resulting in stimulating growth of
these sectors, increasing employment and transforming underperforming
communities into thriving ones. Employment growth for example was up to 34
percent in immigrant neighborhoods compared to 7 percent citywide. During the
decade up to 2004, the number of firms grew by less than 10 percent across the
entire city but increased by up to 55 percent in some predominantly immigrant
neighborhoods. In every U.S. Census since 1880, immigrants in general were more
likely to be self-employed compared to the native-born population (Bowles and
Colton 2007). Restricting the comparison to a par on similar skill levels, immigrants
are still more likely to be engaged in self-employment (Borjas 1986). Continuing to
the present time in the United States, more foreign-born workers are engaged in
self-employment compared to native-born workers. In New York this was 9.27
percent in 2000, reflecting a growth spurt of 53 percent over the 1990 census. The
number of native born workers who were self-employed was only 7.71 percent,
which was a decrease of 7 percent (Bowles and Colton 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
39
In the United Kingdom, ethnic minorities were responsible for approximately 10
percent of business start-ups in 1999 although they constituted around 6.4 percent
of the population (Basu and Altinay 2002). In London, estimates in 1999 were that 19
percent of all businesses were owned by ethnic minorities and they accounted for 50
percent of all new business start-ups (Basu and Altinay 2002).
IMMIGRANTS’ MOTIVES FOR STARTING AN ENTERPRISE
Although it may be taken for granted that immigrant entrepreneurship is a fast track
for integration and wealth accumulation, research shows that early-stage businesses
may not provide more income compared to employment. A comparison of
immigrant entrepreneurs with employed immigrants in Sweden indicated that the
entrepreneurs had substantially lower incomes than those employed over a 16 year
period, including varying economies and stages of the business cycle (Hjerm 2004). A
survey of Irish immigrants in business indicated that the average earnings were less
than €50,000 per year (Cooney and Flynn 2008). In the U.S. immigrant-owned
businesses make less on average ($46,614) than native-owned businesses ($50,643)
(Fairlie 2008). Based on a 1997 survey of minority owned business enterprises,
annual receipts for minority businesses in the United States indicate that 60 percent
have receipts over $10,000 but only 3 percent have annual receipts over one million
dollars, compared to 5 percent for of total U.S. firms (Wellner 2001). Although none
of these numbers seem to be a sufficient amount for a sustainable business, several
considerations about entrepreneurship and business entrepreneurship in particular
must be kept in mind. First, business owners do not think like employees. Their
income is not limited to salary. In fact the optimum situation from their perspective
would be to have no taxable income. They do this by expensing as much as possible
through their business as business expenses instead of paying themselves higher
salaries and paying the expenses out of personal funds. Second, many business
owners that deal with cash do not accurately report all of their cash income and
expenses. This becomes troublesome when they apply for bank credit because the
business paper records do not accurately reflect the real success or profitability of
their business. And third, €50,000 per year, more or less, is still more than many
immigrants might be able to earn as employees in other peoples businesses.
Satisfaction with the level of income attainable with micro-businesses speaks to the
reasons and satisfactions for people starting their own business ventures.
From analysis of the responses to the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for immigrants
in Dublin who either had already started a business of their own or were thinking
about it, 28 percent of respondents admitted to income from their business of less
than €50,000, 10 percent indicated they earned more than €100,000, while 60
percent of respondents preferred to not provide an answer to this question
(Pinkowski 2009).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
40
The profit motive is not the only reason for business being. Sometimes, people start
a business out of necessity as a result of being out of work, plant closings, or
frustration in a current job, being overlooked in expected promotion, or
redundancies decisions outside of their control. The opportunity to have control
over your life and your work can be strong motivation. It is not just the ability to be
saying what hours you will work but it also involves every step in the operation of a
business. This might include environmental sensitivity, social responsibility and
benefiting your own community in certain ways. For the immigrant community,
another challenge may be over-qualification for the work available or the non-
acceptance of academic or professional credentials. Immigrant entrepreneurs cannot
only make their own opportunities but can direct attention to social cause of benefit
to their cohorts that perhaps the indigenous population overlooks or is insensitive
to.
An individual may see great opportunity in a new business but would not have
control over his or her own destiny in someone else’s employ. They may have access
to information or special knowledge that they wish to exploit for advantage. Perhaps
a person sees no opportunities in existing businesses for someone with his or her
interests and skills or finds that their superiors take credit for their advances leaving
them without a proper sense of accomplishment. A system of financial reward based
on longevity or conformity does not sit well with driven people who have a high
degree of confidence in their own abilities. Immigrants have unique knowledge
about the market, consumer interests and competition in their home country and
can identify opportunities based on this knowledge that engendered residents of
their new country are not as capable of capitalizing on.
Corporate culture and conformity are often motivation for the creative classes to
start independent firms when they are free to conduct their pursuits in whatever
manner they determine is appropriate for them (Florida 2005). People who work for
large organizations sometimes become frustrated in organizational bureaucracy and
office politics. The desire to innovate and create new products unfettered by
bureaucratic constraints is a strong motivation for entrepreneurship.
When you own your own business you also have the opportunity to build equity.
You also own the means of production, which can develop into substantial value.
You also have the opportunity to bring other family members into your firm and
prepare for transition between generations. This control over your own economic
future also benefits society. It is substantial opportunity for advanced economies to
allow immigrants to contribute more added value to their new communities through
job and wealth creation that results.
Entrepreneurship creates the opportunity for philanthropy. If you are financially
successful you may choose to give away some of your wealth in the manner that you
decide to help your community or favorite institutions. Other contributions that
entrepreneurs make result from their creating value. New, innovative ideas have
been known to change society. To have the opportunity to change peoples’ lives
through your work is personally rewarding and motivation for some entrepreneurs.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
41
When it affords the opportunity to help your country-fellows it also helps
immigrants to integration economically as well as socially.
Ego satisfaction may be another motivation for entrepreneurship that is more
important than money. Business entrepreneurs have great opportunities to be
visible in their community. Membership in Chambers of commerce, business awards,
community boards and other corporate boards of directors serve the personal
esteem and satisfaction motivations of many entrepreneurs.
Finally, there may be a spiritual component that drives certain ethnic or cultural
groups. Martin Luther and Max Weber famously promoted the Protestant Work
Ethic in terms of self-reliant individualism being its own reward (Weber 1904/1930).
Such a culture promoted achievement, entrepreneurial vocations and hard work as
fulfilling both secular as well as spiritual pursuits.
Entrepreneurship can stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities and
change societies. In the developed world, successful small businesses are the
primary engines of job creation, income growth and poverty reduction. Since 1995
the number of small firms in Ireland has ranked from 97 to 98 percent of total firms
(Forum 2006). New and small firms, rather than of larger ones, are increasingly seen
as the major providers of new jobs (Emerge 2007). Often this translates into strategic
governmental support for entrepreneurship in order to contribute to economic
development or it should. Encouraging immigrant entrepreneurship has additional
advantages for an economy. A perception of opportunity has been the principal
factor responsible for a climb in entrepreneurial activity in Ireland (Fitzsimons and
O'Gorman 2006).
The point taken is that encouraging entrepreneurship should not be viewed as a
state-sponsored get rich quick scheme. It is however about economic integration,
appreciation for increasing multicultural society that pays dividends in lessened
social welfare and inter-cultural strife. It is a way that new citizens contribute novel
ideas and add to their new society and both benefit from the process. Creativity and
innovation born from changing perspectives are important. And most important, it
facilitates immigrants to get more involved in society and works against their desire
to move on to other opportunities in their home country or seemingly more
attractive alternatives.
This extends to transformation of neighborhoods and built spaces by immigrant
groups. The 2009 European Growth and Jobs Indicator now ranks Ireland second to
last, down from fourth most competitive in 2008, in measures of national
competitiveness such as economic growth, productivity and public finances (Smyth
2009). Finland and Poland were ranked number one and number two in both 2008
and 2009 and firms in Finland have been actively recruiting workers from Poland.
The costs of running a business in Ireland have increased greatly over the last
decade, rising faster than most other counties in the EU, fuelled in part by property
prices ensuing from the building boom but including utilities and services as well.
Between 2000 and 2008, Ireland experienced a 32 percent decline in real price
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
42
competitiveness (NCC 2009). In the period form 2001-2007 among EU countries,
Poland, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Hungary and Finland all had GDP growth per
capita greater than Ireland (NCC 2009).
Positive benefits of increasing immigration include: changes in the mix of human
capital and labor supply including adding skill sets that might not be present or in
short supply in the domestic labor market; increasing diversity that may lead to new
markets or consumer goods along with associated economic activity, i.e., it results in
more variation and more choices; and expansion in size of local markets and growth
in productivity of the local economy, which can drive innovation and open new trade
links (Nathan 2008). When the skills of different individuals are complementary but
they have different perspectives in their approach and unique knowledge of the
market based on prior experience and background, diversity translates into synergy
and increased productivity (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005). Larger markets and larger
economies also help with demographic balance in that it can add younger workers to
pay for social service benefits for aging or retired workers. These positive effects and
implications may reverse urban decline.
IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP CAN TRANSFORM URBAN
AREAS
During the 1980s and 1990s in Los Angeles, many immigrants moved into formerly
obsolete commercial-strip centers and adapted the urban form to create new spaces
that reflect cultural patterns of the new social organizations that have incorporated
cultural diversity including Latinos, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants (Holloway
1996; Loukaitou-Sideris 2002). New arrivals are revitalizing
neighborhoods in many jurisdictions such as the Chinese
immigrants in New York that purchased a small, run-down
grocery store in 1981 and evolved into a five-store chain of
Asian food products that has brought new prosperity around
their locations in Queens, in New Jersey, Maryland and
Virginia over two decades (Ipsen 2000). If it’s not the Asians,
it’s the Hispanics, or even the Guyanese in New York.
In Dublin, Chinese businesses, along with Korean, Polish and
others have transformed a once proud street, Capel Street,
which had been in steady decline into a new vibrant
commercial hub. As recently as 1993, Capel Street had been
described as an “obsolete area” and “something of a
commercial backwater” that was “not sufficiently attractive to property developers
to attract attention” (Pearson 2000). But the immigrant entrepreneurs saw it
differently and they did it largely with their own investments and sweat-equity
resulting in many new entrepreneurial businesses that generate economic activity
“The areas where
immigrants settle have
the potential to
develop new local
diversity which can re-
vitalize them and
support urban
regeneration.”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
43
and taxable income for the city. And the immigrants make these regenerated
communities their home too contributing to the social fabric of the area. On Capel
Street, the Asian immigrants occupy half of the residential units on the floors above
the shops (Suo 2008).
According to the OECD, urban regeneration is a key challenge and identified
opportunity for cities (OECD 2006). They conclude that underperforming cities may
constitute the next best hope for major improvements in a city’s competitiveness
and cities should include strategies for achieving this in their plans. This philosophy
has now been incorporated into state policy (Dept. of the Environment 2007). In
guidelines for development plans, they note that cultural diversity and
entrepreneurs from other countries give cities a competitive advantage and can
significantly contribute to urban regeneration. It is the innovative approaches that
immigrants bring with them and the links with their
home countries that are valuable as innovative
approaches to development and urban regeneration.
They state: “The areas where immigrants settle have the
potential to develop new local diversity which can re-
vitalize them and support urban regeneration” (Dept. of
the Environment 2007)
Today’s ethnic enclaves (Walsh and Mottiar 2008), or
landscapes of difference (Loukaitou-Sideris 2002) are
different from yesterdays ghettos. In the 19
th
century
ghettos, new immigrants coalesced in homogeneous
enclaves that represented closed worlds where in many
cases they could not escape because of the maintenance
of and dependence on their previous language and
traditions. The outside majority population shunned
these neighborhoods. Contemporary ethnic city spaces
are not homogenous but mixed as to various new
immigrants and the remaining native-born residents in
the districts. But many people live in other areas of the
city also and commute to the ethnic strips that
transcend national lines that bring together different
groups who interact around commerce (Loukaitou-Sideris 2002). They may be
predominantly Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese as in Los Angeles or Chinese, Polish
and African as in parts of Dublin, but they are no longer closed districts where
people have the view that outsiders are not welcome and residents may never leave.
They are true urban spaces that rely on diversity and opportunity to facilitate
integration instead of segregation that are melding appreciation for older cultures
with indigenous culture resulting in revitalization and economic development in a
new multi-cultural form.
Capel Street is certainly not the only example in Dublin. It is largely immigrant
entrepreneurs who are operating businesses and opening new storefronts on Talbot
They are true urban
spaces that rely on
diversity and
opportunity to
facilitate integration
instead of segregation
that are melding
appreciation for older
cultures with
indigenous culture
resulting in
revitalization and
economic
development in a new
multi-cultural form.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
44
Street and contributing to redevelopment of the commercial area from Mary Street
to Henry Street and North to Parnell Street. As many as 70 percent of the business
on Parnell Street are ethnic businesses including predominantly Chinese but also
African, Korean and Polish (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). Low costs of entry for street-
cart entrepreneurs are helped by common acceptance in immigrant communities
and ethnic enclaves. Many traders who have grown into conventional businesses
start out in the casual sector. This is common in the Liberties area of Dublin and on
Moore Street, which has had street traders continuously since the 19th century
(Pearson 2000).
Consequently, immigrant entrepreneurs have a great deal to offer the city in terms
of economic development and rejuvenation if they are encouraged to strike out on
their own simply because they frequently taken on challenges that are written off by
native born business people and operating in areas of commerce or geographical
space that are just deemed to be not potentially profitable by the mainstream. In
fact, ethnic clustering does not have to be a leaderless process. Immigrant property
entrepreneurs can also influence locational decisions of co-ethnics that can make an
area more desirable and ameliorate some of the challenges and perceived difficulties
of immigration and opportunities to start new businesses. Jane Jacobs called
attention to immigrants and diversity in cities as a means of powering innovation
and the growth of cities (Jacobs 1961). Since the 1970s a great deal of Los Angles real
estate has been purchased by Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs who began buying
property for development, which they later sold to other immigrants in order to
create housing or commercial opportunities (Light 2002). In Dublin, a Chinese
entrepreneur began acquiring long-term leases of a significant number of buildings
on Parnell Street in 2002, which he began to sub-lease to businesses from his own
ethnic community (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). These initiatives resulted in changed
neighborhoods and new opportunities from immigrant businesses that were spurred
from within the community itself.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
45
CHAPTER 5
CHALLENGES FOR IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
The Small Business Forum of Ireland enumerated issues that were particularly acute
for growing businesses, the small business sector and start-ups in particular (Forum
2006). Based on their report, immigrant entrepreneurs face the following challenges,
and more, for successful new venture creation:
? Difficulty in accessing finance.
? Weak management capability.
? Lack of innovation.
? Under-exploitation of Information Technology.
? Burdensome administrative regulations.
? Rising local authority charges.
? Poor access to information and advice.
? Inadequate infrastructure.
? Lack of a systematic approach to entrepreneurship.
In a study of immigrant groups in Britain, France, the
United States, Germany and the Netherlands, Roger
Waldinger identified seven common challenges that
immigrant groups face regarding ethnic
entrepreneurship (Waldinger, Aldrich et al. 1990).
These are:
? How they acquire information that they need to
establish a business and survive.
? How to acquire capital necessary to fund the
business.
? Where to get the training and acquire the skills
necessary to run a small business enterprise.
? How to recruit and manage an honest,
competent and affordable workforce.
? How to manage customer and supplier
relationships especially with different language
or business practice models.
? How to survive serious competition in the new environment.
? How to protect themselves and co-ethnics from political attacks.
These remain important and significant challenges for immigrant entrepreneurship.
Some of the issues are explored in more depth below.
“Treating ethnic
entrepreneurs the
same is not equal
treatment because
they have different
issues and challenges
that should be
addressed by public
policy in order to truly
address equal
opportunity”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
46
BANKS
There is a need to encourage banks to create new programs to encourage immigrant
entrepreneurs to place their money on deposit with the banks and encourage
traditional banking business tools such as use of checks and credit cards. In general,
the banks don’t offer an open door to immigrant business start-ups and put
limitations of financing (Rehman 2008). There is a need to increase or create
opportunities for micro lending. Banks for example, will not issue a credit or even a
debit card to an immigrant unless they have had an account with their bank for 12
months, even if the money on deposit with the bank is grossly in excess of any
charge limit. Unless cash-only businesses are to be encouraged, which is certainly
contrary to the interests of the bank, the simple utility of a Visa credit card should be
readily available. Sometime this results in many business owners operating on a cash
basis out of necessity. In China, for example, cash-business is the norm. It is a
cultural practice there that the immigrants are repeating in their new country (Suo
2008). It also results in many of them not paying taxes and not obtaining proper
business permits. Most of the money that they make is sent home to family in their
home country either to support them or to pay them back for the costs of coming to
Ireland (Wang 2008). Many borrow money to establish themselves in a new country
and need to pay back their families (Suo 2008). If there are any concerns with credit
worthiness it is simply a matter of applying a credit limit or using the debit card
approach, both of which are readily accepted in the global world of banking, outside
of Ireland. Another aspect that should be addressed is the policy of the banks to
require greater capitalization to open a business bank account than the government
requires in order to establish a business (Rimkus 2009).
REGULATORY
Regulators need to realize that zoning laws and building
codes may be different and not intuitive for immigrants.
There is a need to increase efforts at education and to
replace punitive outcomes in favor or encouraging
compliance with enforcement efforts. Sometimes a lack
of education in established practices and familiarity with
sometimes overly bureaucratic paperwork and legal
documentation works against the immigrant start-ups.
The challenges for immigrant entrepreneurs compared
to most native-born entrepreneurs include lack of
familiarity with how business is traditionally done in the
country, lack of awareness of local regulations and legal
requirements, limited experience with traditional financial tools and procedures and
often no documented credit history. Not to mention the obvious that for many
Zoning laws and
building codes may be
different and not
intuitive for
immigrants. There is a
need to increase
efforts at education…
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR
47
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
(Bowles and Colton 2007). Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
(Levie 2007). The phenomenon of
share the same national background or languages, has been positively correlated
with the greater incidence of self
born, which surpasses 15 percent for some national groups in the U.S.
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
compliance with business regulations, tax reporting responsibilities
of trust of government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
co-nationals by virtue of ethnic solidarity
such relationships for trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
formal. Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
size that they can grow because of the small scope of the sub
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
his customers are Lithuanian or Polish, he has been selling to Irish
hiring an Irish salesman to approach
without an Irish colleague he find
collection is more difficult.
FIGURE 5-1. GOVERNMENT
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
9. Which of the following Government and State
Agencies involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
ROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
. Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
. The phenomenon of immigrant enclaves, i.e. places where residents
l background or languages, has been positively correlated
with the greater incidence of self-employment of immigrants compared to native
born, which surpasses 15 percent for some national groups in the U.S. (Borjas 1986)
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
compliance with business regulations, tax reporting responsibilities and general
government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
ethnic solidarity (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). They also rely on
r trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
ecause of the small scope of the sub-market. The food
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
his customers are Lithuanian or Polish, he has been selling to Irish-owned stores by
hiring an Irish salesman to approach them (Rimkus 2009). He also indicated that
without an Irish colleague he finds that Irish store owners do not pay on time and
OVERNMENT SUPPORT AGENCIES REACHING IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
9. Which of the following Government and State
Agencies involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
Bord Bia, www.bordbia.ie
Companies Registration Office,
www.cro.ie
Department of Enterprise, Trade
and Employment,
www.entemp.ie
Dublin City Council,
www.dublincity.ie/business
Enterprise Ireland,
www.enterprise-ireland.com
Patents Office,
www.patentsoffice.ie
Revenue Commissioners,
www.revenue.ie
Health and Safety Authority,
www.hsa.ie
UBLI N
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
. Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
, i.e. places where residents
l background or languages, has been positively correlated
employment of immigrants compared to native-
(Borjas 1986).
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
general lack
government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
. They also rely on
r trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
market. The food
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
owned stores by
. He also indicated that
s that Irish store owners do not pay on time and
MMIGRANT
Companies Registration Office,
Department of Enterprise, Trade
ireland.com
Health and Safety Authority,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
48
LANGUAGE
This in part relates to language proficiency as most if not all regulations are strictly in
English. They should be available in multiple native languages. Chinese immigrants
have reported the ability to speak the language, which they have learned in Ireland,
but they are not competent, by their reckoning, to read the English language.
Consequently they generally do not look for or refer to documents and materials
that are written in English.
Jian Wei Zhang, owner of Golden Beach Supermarket on Parnell Street, said that
many Chinese students come to Ireland to learn English with no prior English skills.
He said that although they learn to speak and can do business with English speakers
they still find it difficult to read English (Zhang 2008). Some have referred to
anecdotal evidence that some English language schools effectively operate as a front
for the sale of visas to non-EEA nationals who obtain student visa instead of going
through the work permit system (Ruhs 2005). Zhang said that it would be better if
basic information was available in languages other than English so many immigrants
in this situation can learn about services available and take advantage of more
training.
Due in part to language or cultural barriers, even if immigrant entrepreneurs had
owned businesses in their home country they may find in a hard to participate in
established business organizations in the new country (Wolfington 2006). Hafeez
Rehman, a Pakistani who started Ayska’s Spice House after coming to the conclusion
that driving a pizza delivery vehicle was not his future said that language is a big
challenge because it usually means that all ethnics are looked at in the same way in
public perception, i.e., negatively (Rehman 2008). He said that this is also
contributed to by the influence of the media who generally don’t report on success
stories such as his business that has grown to a seven-employee operation in retail
and wholesale trade. Instead they rely on negative stories when they portray
immigrant communities. U.S. Census data between 1980 and 1990 reflect that
English language proficiency is increasing in relevance as a determinant for self-
employed immigrant earnings in the U.S. (Davila and Mora 2004).
Many immigrant businesses in New York City also fail after a short time as compared
to non-immigrant start-ups (Bowles and Colton 2007). This results from the high
costs of real estate, possibly overzealous code compliance agents, increased
competition due to low cost of entry and basically unsustainable business models in
particular related to constrained market size. A 1994 study in the United States
indicated that highly educated immigrants and those who were affluent prior to
starting their business venture were associated with successful new ventures. In this
regard the study found differences across ethnic groups whereas Korean immigrants
were more likely to be highly educated and invested heavily in their start-ups but
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
49
immigrant business owners from Africa generated more sales and improved
profitability despite lower initial investments in their businesses (Bates 1994).
Other ethnic communities seem to do particularly well in business start-ups either
because of family connections, wealth, or commitment to entrepreneurship. The
East Indian community in the U.S. has been described as the richest foreign-born
group in the country. By the mid ‘90s they had been reported as owning 40 percent
of the motels in the country. In the U.K., Indians own 60 percent of independent
retail shops (Bates 1994).
Although education, experience and capital for business formation are desirable and
contribute to chances of success, this is not always possible and is not the case for all
immigrant groups. Rates of entrepreneurship in Ireland are highest among those
with third level (11.6 percent) and fourth level education (8.2 percent) (Fitzsimons
and O'Gorman 2008). Even less-well educated immigrants are successful in business
and contribute to the economy. They are providing returns to the country as
consumers and taxpayers. But a reasonable question is: is it a precondition for
success? To bridge the gap for immigrant entrepreneurs less financially
accomplished or financially excluded from traditional capital sources, a higher
proportion of immigrants turn to micro-loans (Cranfield 2006). The median planned
investment in a business for most entrepreneurs in Ireland is €30,000 and three out
of four entrepreneurs expect to start with less than €100,000 (Fitzsimons and
O'Gorman 2008).
According to Cooney and Flynn (2008) the distinctive challenges that immigrant
entrepreneurs face in Dublin include:
? Lack of business connections in their new environment.
? Indeterminable credit history.
? Lack of sufficient collateral for borrowing.
? Weak business plan documents.
? Little or inadequate prior business experience.
? A degree of distrust exhibited by lenders either for the individual applicant or
for the ethnic minority in general.
It would appear that new business start-ups by immigrant entrepreneurs do not rely
much on support agencies because they do not know where to find them. The same
goes for research to support a business plan. If you don’t know where to go for
information, you can’t use it. Material available in a language that they cannot read
makes it nearly the same as not having the material prepared in the first place. The
Department of the Environment Guideline for Planning Authorities recommends an
assessment for special needs regarding translation of issue papers (Dept. of the
Environment 2007, p. 56). The availability of volunteer translators in ten languages
that are listed in the Guide to Enterprise in Dublin City that was jointly produced by
Dublin City Council and the Dublin City Enterprise Board should be a ready reference
in all government offices to enable immigrant entrepreneurs help in navigating the
system in their native language if necessary (DECB 2009).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR
In the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
they have heard of to any extent was
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
the Dublin Business Library (11 percent), the Komp
the Website www.startingabusinessinireland.com
Statistics Office (20 percent)
FIGURE 5-2. ENTERPRISE
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
GENERAL ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
growth (Zachary 2000).
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
to include entrepreneurs from overseas
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in
experienced, as a hostile place for differences of any kind including
sexual orientation, color
communities with a positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
economically, socially and
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
8. Which of the following Organizations and
Associations involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
ROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N
Entrepreneurship Profile Survey most respondents did not have any familiarity
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
they have heard of to any extent was the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 45 percent,
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
the Dublin Business Library (11 percent), the Kompass business registry (11 percent),
www.startingabusinessinireland.com (11 percent) and
Statistics Office (20 percent) (Pinkowski 2009).
NTERPRISE SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS REACHING IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
(Pinkowski 2009)
CCEPTANCE BY THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
. The national government in Building Ire
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
to include entrepreneurs from overseas (Ireland 2008). Immigration an
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in
a hostile place for differences of any kind including ethnic origin,
color, age, or gender (GLEN 2009). Immigrants seek welcoming
positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
and politically. It is up to communities to recognize these
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
8. Which of the following Organizations and
Associations involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
Enterprise Ireland,
www.enterprise-
IDA, www.ida.ie
ISME, www.isme.ie
Institute for Minority
Entrepreneurship, www.ime.ie
Small Firms Association,
www.sfa.ie
Dublin City Enterprise Board,
www.dceb.ie;
www.enterpriseboards.ie
First Step, www.first
NTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
50
most respondents did not have any familiarity
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 45 percent,
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
ass business registry (11 percent),
and the Central
MMIGRANT
ARGE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
The national government in Building Ireland’s Smart
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
Immigration and integration
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in-fact
ethnic origin,
Immigrants seek welcoming
positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
politically. It is up to communities to recognize these
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
Enterprise Ireland,
-ireland.com
ISME, www.isme.ie
Institute for Minority
Entrepreneurship, www.ime.ie
Small Firms Association,
Dublin City Enterprise Board,
www.enterpriseboards.ie
First Step, www.first-step.ie/
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
51
including the newcomers (Clark 2008). Although immigration
policy is decided at the national level, it is often the cities
and the local level that have to deal with the practical
consequences of failed or weak integration practices
because strong economies, in particular, attract migrants
from all over the world (Spencer 2008). This is not to
overlook the issues of integration and acceptance of
differences from disparate groups from within a country that
also can have significant implications for domestic strife and
economic progress. According to Issah Huseini, national
coordinator of the New Communities Partnership, there is
greater acceptance of the new citizens in Dublin than
elsewhere in the country. According to Huseini, “in Dublin
there is some openness but outside of the capitol there is
complete denial that there has been a change” (Huseini
2009). He said that this contributes to the immigrants
focusing on business with their own communities because if
they tried to market just to the mainstream as immigrant
entrepreneurs, the indigenous people would not patronize
the business. Huseini cited an example of a business couple
operating a restaurant where the wife was Irish and the immigrant husband had to
take a lower profile as a kitchen porter rather than acknowledge that he was also
one of the owners.
Adeola Ogunsina, who left his employment with Shell Oil Corporation to embark on a
service station franchise that grew to a four-station operation, said that he found
general distrust of Nigerians in seeking financing (Ogunsina 2008). He said that it was
even difficult to get trade credit due to the distrust of immigrants in general. He had
to give suppliers a personal guarantee to receive products on normal trade payment
terms.
LIMITATIONS OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Immigrant entrepreneurs and minority-owned business have remained more limited
in their appeal to mass markets. Yet Bowles (2007) lists many businesses that have
become household names that were started by immigrant entrepreneurs including,
e.g., Warner Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Anheuser Busch, Goya Foods, Fortunoff, Max
Factor and Sbarro. Only small numbers of ethnic restaurants open additional
locations or develop into restaurant chains. Few businesses focused on ethnic
products have attempted to follow the migration pattern of their sub-market into
other jurisdictions in preference to a pattern of remaining local (Bowles and Colton
2007).
Acceptance to
openness to
immigration is a key
factor in innovation
and economic growth.
Immigration and
integration policies
need to take into
account the diversity
of people and
celebrate differences
as contributing factors
to a flourishing
economy.
52
The challenges facing immigrant entrepreneurs include possibly new attitudes of
racial prejudice and segregation (Mac Cormaic 2008). According to a report from the
National Consultative Committee on Racism and
Interculturalism (NCCRI), a challenge related to issues
concerning housing and schools is the natural tendency
to cluster where they have friends who are also
newcomers, or where their native language is spoken.
The report concludes that this can lead to segregation
unless social integration is included as a key aim of
housing policy (Watt 2008).
Unfamiliarity with traditions of business in Ireland and
gaining trust with Irish customers and suppliers has
been reported as significant challenges (Cooney and
Flynn 2008). In personal remarks during a focus group,
Tomas Rimkus, a Lithuania national who has been in
Dublin for two years said that he notices a certain
politeness but lack of acceptance when making
proposals to Irish business for his line of imported food
products (Rimkus 2009). He has put on Irish sales
persons and the difference in success in marketing to Irish customers by the Irish
sales people is dramatic when compared to Lithuanian marketers to the same Irish
customers. Yet a survey of ethnic entrepreneurs reported that the majority of
respondents had not experienced any instances of discrimination and it did not
impact their business operations to any appreciable degree (Cooney and Flynn
2008).
STUDENT WORKERS AND PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS
With the decline in the economy, Billy Kelleher TD, Minister for Trade and
Commerce, said that he has an obligation to protect Irish workers and those from
the European Economic Area (EEA) (McInerney 2009). But OECD research and
empirical literature has determined that immigration generally has little influence on
unemployment and wages of local workers (OECD 2008a). Immigrants from the EEA
have had unlimited access to the Irish labor market since 1992. Most non-EEA
nationals who came to work in Ireland were subject to the work permit system and
until 2003 this was employer led as to recruitment and application for work permits,
with the associated payments to the government (Minns 2005). Work permits are
very restrictive as to alternative employment and duration or permissible stay. They
are limited to one year and the permit holders are not entitled to social welfare,
medical, or education benefits.
International students from non-EEA countries are admitted to the country for
education and some have been staying on to start micro businesses. Between 220
A survey of ethnic
entrepreneurs
reported that the
majority of
respondents had not
experienced any
instances of
discrimination and it
did not impact their
business operations to
any appreciable
degree
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
53
and 2004 the number of non-EEA students almost doubled from 11, 000 to over
20,000 (Ruhs 2005). They have not been encouraged, supported, or in many cases
made welcome in such entrepreneurial initiatives. Since April 2007, tertiary students
are allowed to stay in Ireland to find employment, but only for six months (OECD
2008a). It does not address the possibility and positive outcomes that could accrue
from encouraging entrepreneurship among higher education graduates. Non-EEA
student visas are limited to working no more than 20 hours per week, which many
student entrepreneurs ignore. However, student visas allowing 20 hours of
employment is more generous than many other countries that are receiving
immigrants (Minns 2005). Unlike other EU countries, someone must be in the state
for ten years before they can apply for permission to remain without conditions,
which will be determined on a case-by-case basis (Cranfield 2006). In other countries
it is a five-year period and an accepted right. There is transparency in the process
that makes clear the conditions for acceptability, which
is missing in Ireland.
A key finding of a report that studied immigrant
business founders in the United States indicated that
although more than half of the foreign-born founders of
technology and engineering businesses came to the
United States initially to study at universities; very few
came with the sole purpose of starting a company
(Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007). Only 1.6 percent
immigrated to the United States with the sole purpose
of entrepreneurship. And they typically did not establish
their companies until they had been working and
residing in the U.S. for an average of 13 years.
Education provides the preparation that needs
incubation until some precipitating event or circumstance become manifest. This
includes, for example, being made redundant. Potential entrepreneurs surface and
take the initiative when the right opportunity presents itself, which they can
capitalize on because of their prior preparation (Krueger and Brazeal 1994).
Consequently short term horizons regarding student visas or investor visas would
not seem to allow for maturation of the outcomes that can come from the evolution
of students to high-tech entrepreneurs.
In recognition of the growing significance of the international education market, the
government of Ireland established the International Education Board Ireland to
facilitate and develop the state as an international education center. They cite
Ireland’s share of this market today as small compared to its competitors, €5.6
billion in the U.K., €2.99 billion in Australia and €1.1 billion in New Zealand (IEBI
2006). This is only the economic impact of tuition and fees. The economic
development potential of cultivating high-tech innovative immigrant entrepreneurs
from the higher education market is unlimited. The UK and India have established
linkages before leading to partnerships in innovation, science and technology but are
More than half of the
foreign-born founders
of technology and
engineering businesses
came to the United
States initially to study
at universities; very
few came with the sole
purpose of starting a
company.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
54
being encouraged to appeal to policymakers at this time to address conditions that
would make cross-border partnerships more conducive (Poirson 2009).
The ties with universities, especially where they include some of the highest ranking
institutions in the world is an opportunity that should be exploited for greater
potential. The government of Ireland has said that it seeks a position as a location of
choice in the international education market (Ireland 2008). Dublin Institute of
Technology has several programs focused on entrepreneurship. The Hothouse
Venture Program targets high-potential start-ups with a one-year program designed
to help potential entrepreneurs develop entrepreneurial
skills and practical business knowledge. The success of
the program is measured by the number of companies
supported, 145, the number of jobs created in those
companies, nearly 1,000, and the extent of investment
and grant support garnered by the start-ups, which was
over €45 million (Cradden 2009). University College
Dublin (UCD) has attracted over $200 million in
investments over ten years through its Nova UCD, its
Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre (O'Toole
2009). This program is also focused on knowledge-
intensive start-ups, the life sciences and technology-
based firms that commercialize research ideas
developed at the university. In March 2009, Trinity
College and Dublin City University announced a joint effort to create an innovation
corridor between the two schools that would focus on innovation as an equal core
part of their mission alongside research and education. They have an objective of
creating at least 300 new companies out of this initiative by 2019.
More proactive efforts to work with the state and the higher education institutions
to allow graduates to stay in the country to develop business ideas would pay
excellent returns. The development of high technology start-ups in the U.S. has been
a substantial benefactor of such as policy there. But there are also many other
businesses that students can start because of their creativity and energy, which
should be given a chance to develop in Ireland. In part it repays a return on
investment in education resources that otherwise goes to benefit other countries
where the students return to or move to in order to pursue opportunities.
BUSINESS PERMISSIONS
For citizens of countries outside the EEA, Business Permission must be sought and
granted from the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform. Only about 100
permissions are granted in any year (Cranfield 2006). Actually, data from the
Department of Finance only show 97 permits issues in 2004, with none in 2005, 2006
and 2007 (OECD 2008a). And the failure rate for applications for business permission
reaches 85 percent (ICCI 2009). This business permission is not required if you are
More proactive efforts
to work with the state
and the higher
education institutions
to allow graduates to
stay in the country to
develop business ideas
would pay excellent
returns.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
55
resident in the state for at least five years or married to an Irish citizen. The
permission requires an initial investment of €300,000 and is only valid for one year.
It is questionable how many people would consider such an investment with no
assurance of continuation beyond one year. It is also not evident that these investor
immigrants have made a substantial contribution to either inward direct investment
or trade flows in general (Minns 2005). The process of requiring business permission
for non EEA citizens would better serve the economic development interests of the
country if it were related to the likely viability of the business and assessed on that
basis (Emerge 2007).
JOB CREATION REQUIREMENT
Perhaps the requirement that is hardest to understand about this policy, especially
in light of the high failure rate of the applications and very low number granted, is
the motivation for the particulars of the policy. It requires a number of employees in
the start-up stage that exceeds the employment model of half of the country of
Ireland. “Most Irish start-ups are one-person operations” (Forum 2006, p.54). Of the
233,000 businesses in Ireland, 131,000 have but one employee (Forum 2006). That
is, 56.2 percent of Irish businesses would not qualify for the business permission if
they had to apply for it, which requires employment of two EEA nationals besides
the business owner (Emerge 2007). The nascent immigrant entrepreneurs and
prospective entrepreneurs included in the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey also bear
this out. If they are already established in business (34 percent are and 46 percent
are thinking about it), for 26 percent it has been for less than five years, 36 percent
employ only one or two persons besides themselves (Pinkowski 2009). Another fact
regarding immigrant owned small business is that frequently family members are the
employees and may not be paid a salary.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENT
The amount of capital required, for government permission to operate a business by
a person from outside the EEA is also perplexing as to the basis of such a monetary
requirement. This stipulation calls for an investment of €300,000, which is far in
excess of what a typical small business entrepreneur starts in business with. A 2005
Small and Medium Enterprise Survey indicated that small businesses have difficulty
raising a sum even less than €100,000 for start-up capital and growth (Forum 2006).
A bank officer whose bank has opened over 300 accounts for new immigrant owned
businesses in the last year said that the typical limit for lending in this market is
€50,000 (Li 2009). Most entrepreneurs only look for debt finance in the range of
€25,000 (Forum 2006) and few start out with a capital investment of €300,000.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
56
CHAPTER 6
STEPS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN
TAKE TO REALIZE THE PROMISE
What can cities do to improve the acceptance and appreciation for diversity and
immigrants? One aspect of local government that relates to this question is the
realization that municipal administration is usually one of the larger businesses in the
community. In some cities, the municipality is the largest single employer (Spencer
2008). The city can go beyond promoting non-
discrimination and equal opportunity policy and play a
critical role in acceptance and integration by actively
recruiting members of the immigrant communities into
public administration. The benefits to be gained from a
culturally diverse workforce to serve a diverse
population are well established and discussed elsewhere
herein (Waldo 1948). This needs to go beyond the
specialists who are assigned to deal with immigrant or
integration issues or compliance with anti-discrimination
issues and include immigrant workers who contribute to
raising standards in the provision of mainstream services
to the community at large, including native groups and
new citizens.
Some European cities have experienced hostile public
reaction to providing services for immigrants and there
has been resistance among some staff themselves
because they do not appreciate the necessity for
diversity policies and proactive inclusiveness (Spencer 2008). Advances in recruiting
can be achieved without itself being discriminatory by targeting job advertising in
the immigrants’ own languages and communities. Posting announcements in the
media and source material that immigrants reference on a regular basis would be a
major step forward. Traditional media do not reach the new citizen communities.
See the results of a survey of Prospective Immigrant Entrepreneurs elsewhere herein
for identification of what those media sources are in Dublin. Application forms and
training materials can also incorporate sensitivity to foreign languages used by the
new citizens. Cities in Australia and Portugal have begun using mobile phone
technology to provide real-time translation services to public administrators in the
field (OECD 2008a).
Another thing that cities can do is to capitalize on their size as a consumer of goods
and services within the community. Cities including Copenhagen, Stuttgart and
Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands, have been using equality and diversity
principles in tenders and contracts when outsourcing municipal services (Bosswick,
The city can go beyond
promoting non-
discrimination and
equal opportunity
policy and play a
critical role in
acceptance and
integration by actively
recruiting members of
the immigrant
communities into
public administration.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
57
Lüken-Klaßen et al. 2007). Preference policies can
involve point scoring in evaluating competitive
proposals, which is an established technique for
giving preference to disadvantaged groups, given
otherwise equal qualifications. Governments also use
minority set-asides to achieve integration and
equality of opportunity goals.
These suggestions have related to demonstrating in
policy and practice greater appreciation for diversity
and incorporating such a philosophy in day-to-day
operations. However, the greatest gain can come
from promoting and facilitating immigrant
entrepreneurship. Recommendations in this regard
from New York City (Bowles and Colton 2007) include the following:
? Integrate immigrant entrepreneurs into the overall economic development
strategy;
? Create a new framework to provide business support services to immigrant
communities because existing pathways are not adequately reaching immigrant
entrepreneurs;
? Accept the fact that many immigrants, due to their cultural background or
previous homeland experience, will not seek the assistance from government-
run centers and trust of the organizations will have a lot to do with taking the
first step. This can be overcome by increased partnering with local organizations
that have already established their credibility within the immigrant communities;
? Add resources to help immigrants think outside of their own communities for
export and growth by creating agencies focused on immigrant business in the
mainstream;
? Create additional support on the micro-financing level as immigrant
entrepreneurs may start out smaller than typical businesses and access to seed
capital is particularly hard because of a lack of a local documented track record,
possible lender distrust, unfamiliarity of rules and business customs and
language barriers;
? Create ethnic focused business neighborhoods
and citywide ethnic cultural events, with
dedicated marketing campaigns to spread the
appreciation for differences in a multicultural
milieu.
The National Competitiveness Council cautions that
social exclusion undermines competitiveness and
cities need to realize that diversity should be nurtured to make the most of
opportunities to reach wider markets (NCC 2009). They point out that Dublin is
Ireland’s only city of international scale and cites are competing for citizens, workers
and investment. The economic performance of cities impacts the quality of life of
Advances in recruiting
can be achieved
without itself being
discriminatory by
targeting job
advertising in the
immigrants’ own
languages and
communities.
Integrate immigrant
entrepreneurs into the
overall economic
development strategy.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
58
people living and working in them. Local governments directly influence economic
growth and enterprise development and diversity and creativity, including immigrant
entrepreneurs, provide a richer cultural experience for citizens and visitors alike
(NCC 2009).
The contribution that community leaders can make to the preparation/opportunity
circumstances is to be visible and consistent in support for entrepreneurship
activities. They should support the perception that entrepreneurship is both
desirable and feasible (Krueger and Brazeal 1994). This includes visible support for
existing entrepreneurs that highlight their successful contributions to the economy.
The nascent entrepreneurs will get the message and take the initiative on their own
once they are convinced that the timing and preparation is right in a community that
is receptive.
REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY
(Waldo 1948). Essentially this dogma challenges any viewpoint of public
administration that assumes a value-free, non-partisan approach. It establishes the
position that to make government more efficient and more effective one must
address different needs differently. That is not the same as unequal treatment, and
certainly is not the separate but equal model, but it encompasses an approach of
equal treatment through accommodation to different needs, capacities, or native
understanding. The theory suggests that public organizations perform better if their
workforces actually reflect the demographics of the constituent populations
(Andrews, Boyne et al. 2005). This includes employing people in public
administration that can relate to disparate groups in
society because they are part of those constituencies
themselves and have better and more relevant
experiences with which they can relate to such sub-
groups.
Across the EU, few non-nationals are employed in public
administration, only 1.9 percent in the EU15, the prior
cohort of EU states before expansion. Among all
immigrants the number is 4.5 percent for foreign-born
workers (Spencer 2008). This compares with 14.1 percent
of foreign-born workers employed in manufacturing, 10.8% in construction and 9.2%
in hotels and restaurants. The smallest number of immigrants found jobs working in
public administration (only 0.2 percent). Yet 25 percent of Polish males, for example,
were qualified at third level qualification in social sciences, business and law, the
highest number by college level education for the Poles in Ireland (CSO 2008d). This
is also true for Lithuanians, where this discipline nearly equaled engineering degrees
with approximately 900 persons qualified (CSO 2008d). The same is true for Latvians
where 70 percent had upper level degrees mainly in social sciences, business and law
Representative
bureaucracy has been
an established policy
in public
administration for
more than forty years.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
59
(CSO 2008d). Outside of the EU15-25 cohort, the Nigerians also reflect substantial
qualifications in social sciences, business and law (31 percent of those with a third
level qualification (CSO 2008d). Since 2000, employment in the public sector in
Ireland has increased by 40 percent, in part necessitated by the high levels of inward
migration with its expansion of the population (NCC 2009).
In order to benchmark progress in integration of the bureaucracy, it will be
necessary to begin to collect data on employees’ ethnic backgrounds or their
national origins. Many cities have begun to measure the ethnic composition of
municipal staff and to assess its impact on policies and services. Policy initiatives
would be less effective unless managers are held accountable internally for building
a diverse team and successfully providing services across the spectrum of a diverse
community (Spencer 2008). This has not been accompanied by increased diversity in
many branches of the public service as yet. Dublin City Council is operating under a
policy where it is restricted from even asking employees their ethnic or national
origin due to a concern that this may be interpreted as a form of discrimination
(Cudden and O'Leary 2008). This seems to be a questionable position given that the
Irish Census expressed the will of the government when it added such questions in
2006 to begin to collect data on ethnicity for the purpose of tracking demographic
changes in Irish society. The National Competitiveness Council has called for a new
integrated approach to government departments that would address social inclusion
in order to serve national competitiveness and to address long-tem needs of the
citizenry (NCC 2009). As Cooney points out, treating ethnic entrepreneurs the same
is not equal treatment because they have different issues and challenges that should
be addressed by public policy in order to truly address equal opportunity (Cooney
and Flynn 2008). A policy of one size fits all fails to take into account significant
aspects of the local situation that can address institutional patterns related to
characteristics unique to the immigrants themselves and which otherwise may
contribute to vulnerability (Bosswick, Lüken-Klaßen et al. 2007).
There is a need to recruit immigrants into support agencies to provide information to
immigrants on services that are available as well as questions related to potential
entrepreneurship ventures. A participant in a focus group in 2005 stated the benefits
to be gained on both sides from adding immigrant trainers: the level of confidence
would be high – you would feel a sense of belonging, not so them and us in a way
that at present leads to identifying or labeling people as being different (Cranfield
2006).
A simple and humorous demonstration of the need for diversity in the workforce and
disadvantages associated with the lack of inclusiveness is the case of Ireland’s most
notorious reckless driver, Prawo Jazdy (Mac Cormaic 2009). It seems that this name
appeared on more than 50 entries in police logs before June 2007 for varying
offences including speeding, reckless driving and parking violations. Despite his
extensive police record, he was never brought to justice because he could not be
apprehended for a court appearance. Ultimately the mystery was solved when
someone consulted the Polish-English dictionary and discovered that Prawo Jazdy is
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
60
Polish for driving license. Officers, unable to read Polish, wrote down the prominent
words on the driving license, mistaking them for the offender’s first and surname.
Such simple and understandable human errors can be avoided by greater cultural
inclusion in staffing. An Garda Síochána, the Irish police authority, has been making
inroads in recruiting new citizens to help them address community policing on the
local level with some unexpected outcomes. The top recruit in the 2009 graduating
class was Ofelia Hough, a woman from Romania who incidentally speaks five
languages (Healy 2009).
Issah Huseini, national coordinator of the New Communities Partnership, indicated
that from his perspective the biggest challenge in Dublin is the attitude of the people
in charge (Huseini 2009). He said that he fields many complaints from new citizens
who say they are hit with a wall when it comes to going to access information. It may
be the accent, the name, or even the personal attitude of the employee
representatives, but people from the new citizen communities are put off, resulting
in there essentially being no help to them from public institutions. His suggestions to
correct this oversight include cultural awareness training in the city. He also said that
a little empathy regarding the challenges that the immigrants are facing in their new
land would go a long way. An understanding that this is a new permanent home for
many of them would contribute to an improvement concerning the willingness of
the bureaucrats to help their new citizen brethren. There is a perception, Huseini
said, that the immigrants are only capable of minor business enterprise instead of
bigger projects, which pigeonholes immigrants to second-tier status.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
61
CHAPTER 7
MARKETING, PROMOTION AND
NETWORKING
Consistently through the focus groups in Dublin, a recurring theme was that
immigrants who are prospective entrepreneurs do not know to whom to turn for
information and services. A survey of over 1,100 ethnic businesses indicated that the
participation rate with six training providers was extremely low, from 8 percent to 25
percent (Cooney and Flynn 2008). The most common reason for this in this survey
was lack of awareness. Although no time and cost too high were also selected as
reasons for not availing of training. As is the case many times, people may assume
certain things and not look into it because of these assumptions, which may not be
accurate nor a reliable indication because many programs are no cost or very low
cost. There are even training programs that target immigrant communities. But more
than two-thirds of respondents did not know about them. For example, the aim of
the Emerge program is to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs. This support is
available before a business is established through start-up and following in terms of
training, instruction and mentorship. Only 50 ethnic minority businesses were
provided support from Emerge last year and the organization believes that there is
far more opportunities to provide support to the ethnic minority entrepreneurs
(Allen 2009).
Although practically a quarter of the respondent cohort indicated that they
principally rely on ethnic media for their information, overall they had very little
personal involvement with traditional business networking organizations in Ireland.
Most did not know about these or how to join them. The Entrepreneurship Profile
Survey identifies the most common media that immigrant respondents said they
refer to on a regular basis. For most, it is their native language media or the no-cost
dailies that they selected. Small numbers of several of the mainstream newspapers
were included in the open ended category – other.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
62
FIGURE 7-1. MEDIA USEFUL FOR REACHING IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
7. Which of the following sources of news do you read or
refer to on a regular basis? Please choose all that apply.
Metro
Metro Éireann
Herald AM
Evening Herald
Polski Herald
Nasz Glos
Polish Kurier
Polski Express
Other, please specify
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
FIGURE 7-2. NETWORKING ORGANIZATIONS KNOWN TO IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
10. Which of the following business networking
organizations do you know? Please choose all that
apply.
PLATO, www.plato.ie
MicroTrade,
www.microtrade.org
Dublin Chamber of
Commerce,
www.dubchamber.ie
BRITE ICT Network,
www.dceb.ie/networking/brit
e-ict-network
BNI (Business Network
International), www.bni.com;
www.bnitrinity.com;
www.bniabbey.com
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
63
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Challenges And Promise For Immigrant Entrepreneurship In Dublin
i
CHALLENGES AND
IMMIGRANT
2009
Fulbright Scholar in
Dublin City Council Economic
HALLENGES AND PROMISE FOR
MMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
2009
Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D.
Fulbright Scholar in Residence
Dublin City Council Economic
Development Unit
27 May 2009
ROMISE FOR
NTREPRENEURSHIP IN
DUBLIN
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
i
Copyright 2009
Dublin, Ireland
Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D.
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796, U.S.A.
[email protected]
Cover Photo:
River Liffey, Downtown Dublin
By Jack Pinkowski
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The financial assistance of the Fulbright Commission of Ireland and the Dublin City
Council in support of this research is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.
Special thanks are due to many individuals in the community as well as within Dublin
City Council who helped in organizing focus groups, arranging meeting space, taking
notes, making personal introductions, providing feedback, offering suggestions,
carrying out translations, providing computing, duplication and library resources and
giving advice and counsel throughout the term of the project. They include: Thomas
Cooney, Jamie Cudden, Malcolm Eremionkhale, Peter J. Finnejan, Gerry Folan,
Declan Hayden, Issah Huseini, Ilya Korolev, Cormac O’Donnell, Chinedu Onyejelem,
Emilia Marchelewska, Anna Pas, Howard Pau, Kieran Rose, Michael Stubbs, Frank
Suo, Greg Swift, Katarzyna Szulkowska, Sergey Tarutin, Declan Wallace, Lucia Walsh
and Stephen Wegener. I would also like to thank my comrades in arm at the Dublin
City Council who made my stay so enjoyable and productive; it was good Craíc! Most
especially, I am grateful to have the continuing support and valuable counsel of my
wife, Kathleen Pinkowski.
I am also appreciative of the dedicated public servants who took the time to give me
feedback and suggestions for this report, including the laborious task of
proofreading. In the end, the author is solely responsible for the correctness of all
content and the conclusions expressed within.
THE AUTHOR
The Fulbright Scholar program of the United States in joint agreement with the Irish
Fulbright Commission selected Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D., an associate professor of public
administration at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at
Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale to conduct this research. Pinkowski
has extensive experience consulting local governments on economic development in
the United States. He was in residence in Dublin City Council from September 2008
through May 2009.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author who is solely
responsible for the content and are not intended to represent those of Dublin City
Council, the Fulbright Commission, the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and
Entrepreneurship, or Nova Southeastern University.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
iii
ABSTRACT
This is a study of immigration patterns and the potential for facilitation and
encouragement of immigrant entrepreneurship in Dublin. It is based on
consultations with the public including many who comprise the new citizens of the
Republic Ireland, government officials at national and local levels, NGO leaders,
community organizers, individual entrepreneurs and perspective entrepreneurs,
leaders who focus on integration and those in economic development. A series of
consultative meetings and focus groups were arranged involving more than 100
people in focus groups and dozens in one-on-one interviews. An empirical study was
conducted via an online survey with hundreds of participants. Identical surveys were
made available in English and in Polish. Action research was undertaken with actual
community groups and prospective entrepreneurs to gauge the effectiveness of new
approaches to networking and communications. The results were outstanding with
more than 200 actual prospective entrepreneurs and new business people
participating in an all-day workshop sponsored by a partnership of the Polish
Embassy Trade Mission with Polski Express magazine.
An extensive literature review was conducted including published and unpublished
articles that were augmented by first-person observations and comments on
personal experiences. A wide range of media were consulted including American,
Irish, European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) sources that addressed key areas of business,
entrepreneurship, finance, immigration, innovation, productivity and government
regulation. Hundreds of peer-reviewed academic journals, books and government
reports were also examined to inform the debate and the conclusions. All references
cited are included in a bibliography at the back.
In order for the findings and recommendations to be well grounded and relevant to
the reality of the actual experiences of potential immigrant entrepreneurs who are
currently in Dublin, empirical evidence was gathered by canvassing small immigrant-
owner firms as well as many people who said that they are thinking about starting
their own businesses. Such people were identified by referral from immigrant
community groups and were solicited by repeated emails. This included qualitative
data gleaned from numerous focus groups as well as data from the online survey,
the Immigrant Entrepreneurship Profile. Primary research sources were with persons
with first-hand knowledge who were neither coerced nor financially compensated.
The result is this analysis of the potential for entrepreneurship in Dublin among the
new immigrant communities and what steps the government and community can
take to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurship. It includes the basis for
reasonable expectations of the promise for immigrant entrepreneurship and why it
presents a substantial opportunity for the city that is based on prior documented
experience with immigrant entrepreneurs elsewhere. The characteristics of
immigrant entrepreneurs and the demographics of the new immigrants to Ireland
are analyzed to learn if synergies exist that lead to expectations of favorable
outcomes.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
? The key findings and recommendations from this study of immigration and
the potential for immigrant entrepreneurship in Dublin in 2009 include:
? Most support agencies, including the Dublin City Council (DCC) Economic
Development Unit (EDU) can improve their outreach to prospective
immigrant entrepreneurs by networking with other agencies and universities
and cross linking on each others’ Websites. The omnibus site, www.Dublin.ie,
is the best compendium of information for new business starts and should be
promoted and advertised to be effective. Better linkages with business library
resources should also be created and with appropriate personnel involved in
economic development. Some of these networking organizations are
included in Figures 5-1, 5-2, 7-1 and 7-2.
? The message and services of all agencies are good but not reaching the
audience as well as they should. This could be improved
by minor listings in ethnic media that immigrants refer to
based on the representative sample of a survey of
prospective entrepreneurs and those already in business,
which are included in Figure 7-1. This could be improved
by new working relationships with these media. Agencies
should have material available in the most common
languages of the new immigrants and a cadre of
translators should be available to departments in the city
to serve their needs. See the Guide to Enterprise in
Dublin City for a listing of volunteers in ten different
languages who have offered to assist their fellow
immigrants. Dublin City Council and the Dublin City
Enterprise Board jointly produced the guide (DECB 2009).
? Better service to immigrant communities would
be realized by proactive efforts to include new employees
in administration from these communities who are more
familiar with issues, attitudes and challenges that they
face. This follows Representative Bureaucracy and contributes efficient and
effective governance.
? There is good potential for small business starts among the new citizens’
communities that constitute more potential than among the native Irish
because of sheer numbers relating to appropriate age demographics, risk
tolerance, higher tertiary education achievement and over-qualification in
present employment. They need to be encouraged and made welcome to
commence their own enterprise.
? To promote immigrant entrepreneurship, understanding how to reach and
communicate with immigrants should be improved by the means indicated
Dublin may be a leader
and trend setter in this
new approach to
economic
development that will
directly contribute to
expansion of the Gross
National Product
(GNP) by encouraging
new growth in
domestic firms
through
entrepreneurship.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
v
above. Entrepreneurship should be celebrated in the city as often as possible
including highlighting successful immigrant entrepreneurs and the
contributions they are making to the community at large.
? Better coordination and cooperation within city departments including the
Office of Integration, the Dublin City Business Library, the Office of
International Research and the Economic Development Unit in Forward
Planning would serve the potential of immigrant entrepreneurship in
meaningful ways including cross-training personnel.
? Effort should be made to convince the state of the need and justification for
revision of work permits for students and student visas to cultivate
opportunities from the existing investment in higher education resources and
greater potential for innovation.
? There is a need to convince the state of the need and justification for revision
of Business Permissions for non-EEA nationals.
This should contribute toward economic
development by evaluation on realistic criteria
for entrepreneurship viability that is typical of
Irish businesses.
? Reference to new citizens as immigrants instead
of migrants would contribute to greater
appreciation of the permanency of these settlers
and appreciate that they can make substantial
new contributions to the economy of the city if
they are welcomed, encouraged and supported.
? Substantial benefits can come from proactive
celebration of diversity and openness in the city
and in its administration and delivery of services
to multiple constituencies and ethnicities.
? The city will face more substantial financial burdens to carry the sunk costs of
capital improvements if the immigrant communities are not economically
integrated into society and are allowed to move on to other opportunities
elsewhere. Then the part of the costs of construction cannot be recovered
from fees because there is insufficient usage. And the dilution of population
may mean that new hospitals, schools and other infrastructure turned out to
be planned in the wrong locations and the resulting changes mean that new
facilities are needed elsewhere (OECD 2008a).
Substantial benefits
can come from
proactive celebration
of diversity and
openness in the city
and in its
administration and
delivery of services to
multiple constituencies
and ethnicities.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... ii
The Author .......................................................................................................... ii
Disclaimer............................................................................................................ ii
Abstract.............................................................................................................. iii
Executive Summary ............................................................................................ iv
List of Figures.........................................................................................viii
List of Tables ..........................................................................................viii
Chapter 1............................................................................................................. 1
Introduction to the Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.................................... 1
The Urban Context................................................................................... 1
The Case of Dublin and the Republic of Ireland............................. 3
How the Terms Immigrant and Entrepreneur Will be used for Our
Purposes .................................................................................................. 4
Chapter 2............................................................................................................. 6
How Changes in the Economy Resulted in Challenges and Opportunities for New
Citizens................................................................................................................ 6
Proactive Economic Policy........................................................................ 9
Chapter 3........................................................................................................... 12
Immigration and its implications........................................................................ 12
Recruitment of Immigrant Labor ............................................................ 12
New Components of the Irish Workforce ............................................... 15
Immigration and Changes in Irish Society............................................... 18
Multiculturalism..................................................................................... 23
Future Implications from the Recent Growth in Immigration in Ireland.. 24
Chapter 4........................................................................................................... 26
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
vii
Approaches to Grow the Economy by Encouraging Entrepreneurship................26
Why Economic Downturns Are Opportunities For Business Starts ..........28
Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurship ...............................................30
Immigrant Entrepreneurs and innovation...............................................35
Immigrants’ Motives for Starting An Enterprise......................................39
Immigrant Entrepreneurship Can Transform Urban Areas ......................42
Chapter 5 ...........................................................................................................45
Challenges for Immigrant Entrepreneurs............................................................45
Banks......................................................................................................46
Regulatory..............................................................................................46
Language................................................................................................48
General Acceptance by the Community at Large ....................................50
Limitations of Immigrant Entrepreneurship............................................51
Student Workers and Permanent Residency Status ................................52
Business Permissions ..............................................................................54
Job Creation Requirement...........................................................55
Capital Requirement ...................................................................55
Chapter 6 ...........................................................................................................56
Steps a Local Government Can Take To Realize the Promise ..............................56
Representative Bureaucracy...................................................................58
Chapter 7 ...........................................................................................................61
Marketing, Promotion and Networking..............................................................61
References Cited................................................................................................63
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1. Immigration, Emigration, Net Migration (‘000s) Ireland 1987 - 2008........ 7
Figure 2-2. Growth Trends GDP Versus GNP, Ireland 1995 - 2007.............................. 8
Figure 2-3. Immigration and Emigration, Age 25-44 (‘000s) Ireland 1987 - 2008...... 11
Figure 3-1. Inflow of Workers in OECD Countries, 2006 ........................................... 13
Figure 3-2. Inflow, Population and Workers from EU............................................... 14
Figure 5-1. Government Support Agencies Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs....... 47
Figure 5-2. Enterprise Support Organizations Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs... 50
Figure 7-1. Media Useful for Reaching Immigrant Entrepreneurs............................. 62
Figure 7-2. Networking Organizations Known To Immigrant Entrepreneurs............. 62
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1-1. Percentage Change for People Born Outside of the Country, 1986-2006 for
the State of Ireland and Dublin Region ...................................................................... 3
Table 3-3. Decline in New PPS Numbers 2006 – 2008 .............................................. 15
Table 3-4. Top 90 Percent, Countries of Origin for New PPS Numbers 2000-2008.... 17
Table 6-1. Educational Attainment of the Native-Born and Foreign-Born Populations,
Percentage of the 15+ Population............................................................................ 29
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUES,
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Repercussions of the meltdown of major financial markets and slowing of practically
all developed economies requires a reassessment of traditional sources of
opportunities in terms of economic development. In geographic areas that are
fortunate in that they are attractive to mobile citizens of other jurisdictions, cross-
border movement of talent may be an untapped resource for growth through
stimulating entrepreneurship. The search for new engines of growth should include
the potential contribution that immigrant entrepreneurs can make to their new
locations. The ability to make local governments attractive by a package of taxes and
benefits that results in movement of people across borders in pursuit of their
individual economic self-interest is well established in Public Choice theory
(Buchanan and Tullock 1962; Niskanen 1971). This is useful for local jurisdictions and
may be within the sovereign authority of local boards of government to effect
change.
For international migration, the situation is more complicated for local governments
because they do not have the authority over international borders and immigration,
which is limited to the sphere of the national level of government. Nevertheless,
local governments can do some things that are within their control to promote
entrepreneurship among immigrants who are already in the jurisdiction (OECD
2008a). In this context, economic integration of the new residents and the
promotion of immigrant entrepreneurship present both challenges and
opportunities for new growth that is focused on expanding the economy from within
by producers who are resident in the state and will reinvest their profits within the
state. Dublin may be a leader and trend setter in this new approach to economic
development that will directly contribute to expansion of the Gross National Product
(GNP) by encouraging new growth in domestic firms through entrepreneurship.
THE URBAN CONTEXT
Worldwide, there is increasing migration of people for economic opportunities. For
more-developed states in need of workers to meet the demands of growing
enterprises, such as during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger, this has meant a welcomed source
of labor. As the European Union (EU) expands to welcome new states, especially
those former Eastern Bloc states, Western economies are providing an attractive
pulling force to newly mobile citizens of the EU (Clark 2008). But when the Western
economies enter a period of slow growth, or negative growth, perhaps a greater
challenge that they face is what to do about the new citizens in their midst who
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
2
immigrated during the good times but now are faced with redundancies or represent
a surplus in the labor pool.
In addition, other countries are competing for new talent; encouraging migrants to
move on will have repercussions for meeting staffing needs when the economies
rebound. This presents a dilemma for the more-developed states that have at risk
substantial sunk costs in training, placement services, community infrastructure, etc.
in competing with opportunities from the migrant homeland states that have
improved economically. New tigers that are providing motivation for migrants to
return home as well as to move on to better opportunities.
In the global age, cities have become the junction boxes of international transactions
at the local level (Clark 2008). In a similar way that in ancient times the crossing
paths of trade caravans resulted in cities at the crossroads that attracted settlers
from the far-flung corners of the caravan routes, today’s world-class cities
experience internationalization and multiculturalism. A possible consensus among
cities experiencing these changes leads them to the conclusion that they must now
align themselves with opportunities created by globalization and international
migration.
With this theme, twelve European cities joined with the British Council, a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the United Kingdom (UK), to establish the
OPEN Cities project. The cities in the project include: Belfast, Bilbao, Bucharest,
Cardiff, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Gdansk, Madrid, Nitra, Sofia, Poznan and Vienna. Their
aim is to allow cities to build upon the potential of their new populations, which
possibly have different racial, cultural, religious and other backgrounds compared to
the prior composition of their the cities and thereby facilitate integration. The Open
Cities Project (Clark 2008) has identified eight linkages between accepting and
encouraging immigrant diversity and economic development:
? The human diversity resulting from internationalization promotes urban
quality of life that is needed to attract and retain knowledge workers and the
creative class (Florida 2005).
? It creates a richer visitor experience that fuels tourism and its economy.
? It spurs entrepreneurship from the tenacity and determinism of immigrant
entrepreneurs combined with their diversity of experience and creativity.
? Internationalization and diversity encourage creativity and innovation though
interaction of different cultures and intellectual frameworks.
? It expands markets and grows local firms because of an expanding customer
base.
? The presence of diverse populations and immigrant entrepreneurs contribute
to global trade and international joint ventures.
? It enhances the competitiveness for hosting of international events that play
to a world audience with substantial, local economic impact.
? Internationalization of cities can provide new opportunities for significant
corporate responsibility initiatives, which can enhance global reputations and
brands.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
3
Such opportunities are not available to all cities but only to those progressive ones
that have proven economically attractive for people to move to them to pursue their
own economic self-interests. The positive outcomes of expanding local economies
through the economic integration of immigrant entrepreneurs are substantial. They
include among others: the possibility of an enlarged cultural endowment and
creative pursuits; new opportunities for international trading hubs; the regeneration
of urban areas; and new employment opportunities for the native population.
This report will illustrate how the tendency for new business starts increases when
people move to new locales, across borders, and explain why. This is based on
experience in other countries that cultivate the talent of immigrant entrepreneurs. It
will analyze factors that indicate such a strategy would be successful and how a local
government might proceed to maximize such potential and at a minimal cost.
THE CASE OF DUBLIN AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Data used in this report will primarily utilize country-level data to enable peer
analysis with countries in the European Union (EU) and the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The time periods for reporting are
more consistent and readily available regarding country level compared to city-level
data in many jurisdictions and the Republic of Ireland did not ask questions about
ethnic identity on the census until 2006. However, we can illustrate the growth of
the immigrant population in the state compared to the Dublin Region by referring to
census data from 1986 through 2006. In 1986, people born outside of the country
accounted for 5.3 percent of the population in the state and 5.5 percent of the
residents of Dublin. This does not include people born in Northern Ireland as born
outside the country. By 2006, the percentage of foreign- born had increased to 14.5
percent for the state and 17.30 percent in Dublin. This represents an increase 329
percent in the state and 367 percent in the metropolitan area over the twenty years.
TABLE 1-1. PERCENTAGE CHANGE FOR PEOPLE BORN OUTSIDE OF THE
COUNTRY, 1986-2006 FOR THE STATE OF IRELAND AND DUBLIN REGION
Area 1986 1991 1996 2002 2006
20-year
change
State 5.3% 5.5% 6.3% 10.1% 14.5% 329%
Dublin
Region 5.5% 5.8% 6.6% 11.7% 17.30% 367%
Source: (Cudden 2009)
For the ten years from 1986 to 1996 Dublin and the state reflect a very close track
with the city experiencing 0.2 to 0.3 percent more foreign-born than the state in
every census. Since 1996, Dublin has been growing faster than the state in terms of
new foreign-born residents, which is consistent with the appeal of urban areas in this
new era of international migration. Because the numbers differ in their magnitude,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
4
the mathematical logs of the numbers are reflected on Figure 1-1 for comparison of
the trends. It shows that both the state and the Dublin region have a similar upward
trend but recently Dublin has been increasing faster than the state.
FIGURE 1-1. POPULATION BORN OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY 1986-2006
COMPARING THE CHANGE IN THE STATE WITH THE DUBLIN REGION
1986 1991 1996 2002 2006
State 187,462 192,739 230,068 395,595 616,809
Dublin Region 55,868 59,088 69,513 131,193 205,094
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
Log of Population Born Outside of the Country
(1986 - 2006)
Source: (Cudden 2009)
HOW THE TERMS IMMIGRANT AND ENTREPRENEUR WILL BE
USED FOR OUR PURPOSES
Herein the word immigrant is defined simply as one who is resident in a country that
is not the land of his or her birth. And entrepreneur is defined as one who starts or
operates their own business autonomously, as opposed to an employee of a firm
with third-party ownership. This is not precisely the same as self-employed although
many place self-employed in the category as entrepreneurship because it can lead to
this end. The distinction is that entrepreneurs create value in the economy by job
creation, philanthropy and investment. Self-employment is literally an alternative to
employment by others. Many remain in the category of self-employment, that is, in
business for themselves, but never make the transition into directing others for the
whole is larger than the sum of the parts advantages and associated growth in
employment that makes a greater contribution to the larger economy.
Business entrepreneurs are people who own their own business enterprise. They
frequently work in their own firms themselves but usually employ others to work in
the business for them. Many small and medium business enterprises (SMEs) begin by
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
5
relying on family members as the employees. Most new entrepreneurs do not
expect much in the in way of job creation by their ventures (Bosma, Acs et al. 2009).
By becoming self-employed, immigrants acquire roles that are fundamentally
different from immigrants who become workers and also different from those of
mainstream entrepreneurs (Kloosterman and Rath 2003). By starting their own
businesses, immigrant entrepreneurs create their own jobs. Entrepreneurship is
about creating value in the economy. This is accomplished by entrepreneurship
through business endeavor and investment that includes job creation and capital
investment, which multiples the value of their own labor though multiplier effects
and value-added in terms of capital investment, business assets and merchandise.
This results in value-added because raw material is either transformed by
manufacture, component parts are assembled or transformed in some way, or
products are brought to market. This might involve specialized marketing,
merchandising or distribution networks and supply chains that can be global. Service
businesses do similar things but with people and labor as their stock in trade.
The Small Business Forum defines entrepreneurs as
individuals who orchestrate, operate and assume risks
for a business venture (Forum 2006). They are
fundamentally not risk-averse and believe in their ability
to succeed. They put their personal savings and even
their homes or other personal assets on the line to grow
their own business at the same time creating
employment opportunities for others. Understanding
the comparative acceptance of risk between the
domestic and immigrant populations is crucial to
appreciating the opportunities to be gained from
promoting entrepreneurship. Although opportunities
are open to all, it is the immigrants that will likely
produce a greater number of new business starts, with
their associated outcomes. Promoting entrepreneurship
should be universal in that it is promoted to everyone. But the difference falls to
marketing as to which segments of the population are reached and who will more
likely respond to the call. This research report will explain why.
In order to determine suitable initiatives that may be employed to foster immigrant
entrepreneurship, this research relied on multiple sources and types of data. It
included a variety of research techniques together with primary and secondary
research and qualitative as well as quantitative methods. Survey research, business
and cultural community directories, personal interviews, focus groups, meetings
with governmental officials and social and community groups’ representatives were
interviewed, involved in discussions and provided input. Public and private databases
were used to identify stakeholders. Newspapers, academic journals, books, policy
papers and industrial and governmental reports were reviewed and examined. The
result is the following analysis of challenges and opportunities for Dublin as a
consequence of the recent trends in international inward migration.
Although
opportunities are open
to all, it is the
immigrants that will
likely produce a
greater number of
new business starts,
with their associated
outcomes.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
6
CHAPTER 2
HOW CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY
RESULTED IN CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW CITIZENS
The growth of the Irish economy since the late 1980s especially during the 1990s
outpaced most of the developed world. Based on the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates, in the period 1995-2002, the
annual average GDP growth rate in Ireland of over 5 percent far outpaced all other
OECD economies and was on par with the Korean experience during 1990-1995,
which was the growth leader during that time (Ahmad 2003). The strong
performance of the country during this period in terms of GDP alone belies the
underlying public policy issues that led to such a dramatic turnaround. A lot of the
picture of Celtic Tiger achievement has to do with comparative underperformance in
previous decades since the 1960s. Couched in historical terms, its antecedents, i.e.,
the results prior to the 1990s, have been described as tantamount to a case study in
failure resulting from the Great Famine, mass emigration and deindustrialization
(Smith 2005). This resulted in economic performance substantially below its
European peers for most of the 20
th
century.
The Republic of Ireland is unique among European countries in that it experienced a
major decline in population for over one hundred years leading up to 1960. However
it is not unique in that a once ethnically homogenous culture is expanding in multi-
ethnicity with the opening of borders. Although the United States has been a melting
pot of cultures throughout most of its history, much of the history of Europe has
involved wars to keep out invaders and preserve the relatively closed societies. The
expansion of the European Union, especially its expansion to the East after the fall of
the Soviet empire in the early 1990s, has presented major challenges for many
Western countries that are now facing new immigration and integration issues
around multi-culturalism (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005).
Although Irish emigration was due in part to failures in the economy related to an
emphasis on its agrarian base, it was compounded by weak industrialization, poor
development of domestic markets and over dependence on a trade linkage with one
country, the United Kingdom (Bradley 2000). Over 90 percent of Ireland’s trade was
with the U.K. from the 1920s through to 1960 (Bradley 2000). Because of little
economic opportunity at home, including the Great Famine, many Irish were forced
to emigrate to seek viable opportunities for employment. Ireland maintained a
closed-goods market and practiced protectionism to try to preserve the few job
opportunities that it had for its own people. The result was that by the 1950s, the
country had become so homogenous that 60 percent of the population were of a
single blood type (type-O), 90 percent shared the same religion (Catholicism),
ignoring the hordes who emigrated, very few people had ever travelled for
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
7
recreation beyond the island and the political and business leadership was drawn
from a very small group, while the majority of the population lived in rural areas that
emphasized a pastoral approach to agriculture (Fitz Gerald 2000). With the
improvement in the Irish economy, Irish ex-patriots were eager to return when
sufficient economic opportunities became manifest and they were joined by others
seeking economic opportunity. As reflected in Figure 2-1, net migration changed
from a low of minus 43,900 in 1989 to a high of 71,800 in 2006 (CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 2-1. IMMIGRATION, EMIGRATION, NET MIGRATION (‘000S) IRELAND
1987 - 2008
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Net migration
Emigrants: All destinations
Immigrants: All origins
Source: (CSO 2009a)
Recent Irish success viewed as a belated catching up after past shortcomings has
been attributed more to the success of the new firms that entered Ireland than the
growth of the indigenous Irish firms which actually reduced their investment in
Ireland (Kirby 2002). Since 1995, most business expenditure for Research and
Development (R&D) in Ireland has been by the foreign-owned firms and it is growing
at a faster rate than Irish-owned firms (NCC 2009). The economy became principally
dependent on growth and expansion of the foreign-owned sector that contributed
substantially to the public coffers though favorable taxation.
However, over reliance on the foreign-owned multinationals could mean that Ireland
would fall victim to an illusion of its own success when it may have been more a
result of transfer pricing on the part of the multinational corporations (MNCs). The
way that transfer pricing changes the picture of the success of the MNCs is by raising
offshore income and reducing income that is actually generated elsewhere, which is
motivated by reduced taxation in the offshore location. This was possible by
establishing operations in Ireland where corporate earnings were taxed at only 12.5
percent. The MNCs could show higher profits by minimizing the costs of imports and
maximizing their export numbers in the outsourced country (Smith 2005). The
practice of transfer pricing and intra-firm trading by MNCs has been estimated as
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
8
high as one-third of all trade (Sweeney 1999). When there is a substantial tax
advantage in another country, the MNCs merely understate their costs so that the
operating unit in the lower-tax jurisdiction shows a higher profit on which it pays a
lower tax rate. Overall the earnings of the firm before taxes are the same when
aggregated, but the tax costs are lower by increasing the share of profit attributable
to the lower tax operation. Net income or income after taxes for distribution to
stockholders or reinvested would be higher. Foreign-owned firms in Ireland export
95 percent of their production (Enterprise Strategy Group 2004). For such reasons,
the U.S. Obama administration is reviewing its policies that allow U.S. MNCs to set
up off-shore subsidiaries that effectively avoid tax on U.S.-earned profits.
The extent that over reliance on the input of the MNCs’ operations, whether transfer
pricing or otherwise, can be viewed by comparing the Gross National Product (GNP)
and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP reflects the total value of goods and
services produced in an economy that includes the output of Irish and non-Irish
firms. GNP is the total value of all goods produced by Irish firms in the country and
elsewhere, which accrues to the residents of Ireland. That is, any difference reflects
the net profit repatriation by MNCs to their offshore locations and also includes the
interest on foreign national debt that must be paid out to foreign investors. In most
countries there is little difference between the GDP and GNP, but in Ireland GDP was
almost 20% higher than GNP in 2004 according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This reflects overreliance on foreign direct investment (FDI) as an economic
development strategy without sufficient development of homegrown business.
FIGURE 2-2. GROWTH TRENDS GDP VERSUS GNP, IRELAND 1995 - 2007
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
N
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
A
c
c
o
u
n
t
s
,
C
u
r
r
e
n
t
P
r
i
c
e
s
.
€
m
l
Comparisonof GDP and GNP Ireland 1995-
2007
GDP
GNP
Source: (CSO 2009b)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
9
Since the 1990s new economic opportunities required more workers due to the
growing economy. As a consequence of decades of emigration, the Irish Diaspora
was spread over the developed world and Irish-born workers answered the call to
return to the homeland to take advantage of the economic boom. The Irish
emigrants who came back dominated the migration wave of the 1990s (OECD
2008a). But the returning Irish were not enough to alleviate the labor shortages
among the multinational firms that invested in Ireland. Increasingly workers came
from other countries to seek opportunities in Ireland working for the international
firms that were attracted due to low corporate taxes, favorable government attitude
toward business and a skilled, well-educated workforce, albeit limited in numbers.
PROACTIVE ECONOMIC POLICY
In addition to low corporate tax rates in general, the government undertook four
specific policy initiatives to support the attraction of high-value added jobs in the
financial sector. These policy changes would prove essential for the International
Financial Services Centre (IFSC) that was begun in the 1980s:
? Data protection laws were adopted that would ensure security;
? Investments were made to upgrade telecommunications capabilities for data
transfer;
? Irish regulations were made in line with EU proposals for a single financial market
and;
? Tax incentives of 10 percent were made available for licensed financial
companies. (White 2000).
The IFSC relied on operating costs at that time that were cheaper than London and
an ample supply of young, educated workers with the necessary skills to staff the
firms. Another advantage was the strategic position of Ireland geographically that
would enable service after the Asian markets closed but before the U.S. markets
opened. In its redevelopment plans, Dublin established the Custom House Docks
Development Authority in 1986 to create new development around a 27-acre area of
rundown or obsolete dockage facilities. In 1998 the project brought in ?240 million
in tax revenue (Sweeney 1999). The availability of new, properly equipped office
space, coupled with tax exemptions and incentives, eventually drew 430
international financial firms to locate offices in the IFSC (Pearson 2000).
The project outstripped its job creation target of 7,500 new jobs for the docklands
within five years from 1987 to achieve a high of 25,000 by the end of 2007 (Finance
Dublin.com 2008). This substantial employment driver with good paying, skilled jobs
could only meet the demand for workers by recruiting them from outside the state.
Thus began the influx of talented immigrants that today provides the new resource
base for economic rebound, new economic contributions from firms with domestic
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
10
ownership and growth in the GNP from within by virtue of new business starts and
entrepreneurship.
Another driver of the economic expansion in the 90s was the weakness of the Euro
and drop in interest rates that fuelled exports as well as enhanced the inflow of FDI
(Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). By 1999, GNP was growing at the rate of 8 percent per
year, unemployment was down to 5 percent, and the expansion in available jobs was
sustained at up to 5 percent per year over the prior five-year period (O'Connell
2000).
The Irish government in 1987 initiated a fiscal austerity regime that would lead to
substantial change (Kirby 2002). Policy initiatives concerning attracting foreign direct
investment (FDI) and favorable corporate tax policies really kicked up performance
since 1990 in terms of GNP relative to the EU (Fitz Gerald 2000). Growth in real GDP
was even more outstanding, reflecting the influence of the foreign multinational
firms with 9.8 percent growth in 1999 and 11 percent in 2000 (Kirby 2002).
Historically, for every percentage point growth in GDP in excess of 4.5 percent, the
unemployment rate falls be 0.33 percent (Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). The demand
for more workers would outpace the ability to be satisfied from the domestic labor
pool. Although natural increases in the Irish-born population contributed to the
stock of Ireland’s labor force, inward migration played a key role over the last
decade (NCC 2009).
At the beginning of the growth spurt, there was a large number of Irish unemployed,
whose numbers could be drawn down as long as there were new jobs to fill. As a
result of a free secondary education policy established in 1967, there have been
increasing numbers of school-leavers and third-level graduates who would ultimately
enter the labor pool. The education system played a key role in equipping the Irish
workforce with skills and qualifications necessary to support the international
services sector, which invested heavily in Ireland and had a substantial impact on the
growth of the economy (NCC 2009).
In a growing economy as part of a wage-bargaining process tax incentives can be
used as an economic tool to facilitate faster growth in output from the existing
population. This can mitigate the effects of falling unemployment (Clinch, Convery et
al. 2002). While tax cuts may increase disposal income of those already in the
workforce, and eventually may lead to increased standard of living, they do not do
enough to increase the size of the workforce. Furthermore, an unintended outcome
from the tight labor market was upward pressure on wages due to increasing
competition that resulted from the demand for scarce labor. Real wages in Ireland
increased by 32 percent between 1985 and 1999, outpacing the rest of Europe, the
United Kingdom and the United States over this period (O'Connell 2000). Ultimately
if wage increases are not enough to satisfy labor demand or there is insufficient
supply of workers with the skill sets needed by growing firms, an alternative
approach to growth in the workforce is necessary. The growth of multinationals
drove a need for more workers with certain skill sets that was met in part by
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
11
immigration to augment the limited qualifications of the Irish domestic workforce
(Nolan, O'Connell et al. 2000).
Although natural growth of the population, i.e., births minus deaths, has increased
since about 1996, the change in inward migration has been dramatic. The majority of
these immigrants were in the prime working ages between 15-44 (CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 2-3. IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION, AGE 25-44 (‘000S) IRELAND
1987 - 2008
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Emigrants: All destinations
Immigrants: All origins
Source: (CSO 2009a)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
12
CHAPTER 3
IMMIGRATION AND ITS
IMPLICATIONS
RECRUITMENT OF IMMIGRANT LABOR
Since World War II, many industrial societies have actively recruited immigrant labor
to address shortages in workers at the lower end of the job hierarchy (Waldinger,
Aldrich et al. 1990). From 1992 to 2003 the number at work in Ireland increased by
over 0.5 million persons to 1.8 million (Enterprise Strategy Group 2004). Proactive
immigration is a systematic attempt to increase the supply of labor. Immigration has
been shown to raise output because it increases both supply and demand (OECD
2008a). Fortunately, the timing of Ireland’s accelerated growth matched an
opportunity that was soon to mature among a lower-wage, English-speaking
contingent of potential workers.
Immigration of foreigners was not the only way the numbers were able to grow.
Ireland had the advantage of a substantial worldwide Diaspora of ex-patriots, many
of whom returned home to take advantage of once scarce employment
opportunities. They were classified as Irish by virtue of birth from an Irish parent or
having been born in Ireland and subsequently having emigrated for better
opportunities (OECD 2008a). Combined with substantial investment in Ireland from
multi-national corporations from the United States, the American Irish ex-pats with
higher education credentials proved eager to return. Between the 1986 Census and
2004, the Irish population increased from 3.541 million to 4.044 million, representing
potentially up to 0.5 million new residents, or nearly 15 percent of the 1986
population (Hughes 2005). Since 1961 the population has increased nearly 50
percent. Inward migration has led this change since 1996 (Hughes 2005). Since 2004,
Ireland has added another 10 percent to its total population, which is now 4.422
million (CSO 2008a). The inward migration in Ireland of permanent workers was the
highest per 1,000 persons among all OECD countries in 2006 and reflected a 34
percent increase year-to-year over 2005 (OECD 2008b).
The most dramatic change in the migration pattern for Ireland happened in 2004.
The impetus for change in that year was the addition of 10 countries to the EU. In
May 2004, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU as accession countries. In January 1,
2007 Bulgaria and Romania were added, filling out the EU 12. The new source of
workers from Eastern Europe provided a much-needed source of workers for the
Irish economy. Between 2004 and 2005 the number of immigrants increased from
58,500 up to 84,600. In the following two years the net population change was over
106,000 per year (Ibid.). During 2006 and 2007 nearly half of the total immigrants
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
13
came from the EU 12, 49,900 of 107,8000 in 2006 and 52,700 of 109,500 in 2007
(CSO 2008a).
FIGURE 3-1. INFLOW OF WORKERS IN OECD COUNTRIES, 2006
Source: (OECD 2008b)
When in 2004 the ten new states, primarily from Eastern Europe, were admitted to
the European Union their citizens inherited a right to freedom of movement within
the EU. The free movement of people within the EU was guaranteed to most of the
EU by the 1995 Schengen Agreement. Since then there has been considerable
movement from regions of low opportunity for employment to regions with jobs
surplus (Clark 2008). The Republic of Ireland and two other existing EU member
states, Sweden and the United Kingdom, took advantage of this opportunity to
promote immigration for working-age adults without restricting their access to labor
markets. The other EU countries maintained a work permit scheme, some with
quotas, which resulted in a competitive advantage for the three open economies
(Commission of the European Communities 2006). This source of newly mobile
workers would stimulate the supply of labor and at the same time reduce wage
pressures from the shrinking domestic markets. As Figure 3-2 shows graphically,
from 2004 there was rapid escalation of immigration accompanied by a steep decline
in work permits because workers could migrate within the EU and work in Ireland
without the need, expense, or complications related to securing a work permit.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
14
FIGURE 3-2. INFLOW, POPULATION AND WORKERS FROM EU
WITH FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Inflows of Foreign Population (Thousands) 21.5 23.7 21.7 22.2 27.8 32.7 39.9 42.4 41.8 66.1 88.9
Inflows of Foreign Workers with Work Permit
(Thousands)
3.8 4.5 5.7 6.3 18.0 36.4 40.3 47.6 34.1 27.1 24.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
The Influence of Freedom of Movement for EU Workers
Immigration of Foreign People and Workers 1996-2006, Ireland
Inflows of Foreign
Population
(Thousands)
Inflows of Foreign
Workers with Work
Permit (Thousands)
Source: (OECD 2008c)
This inward migration has exerted new dynamics on Ireland’s demographics and
requires an adjustment in immigration policy to cope with the new situation. One
public policy alternative is to encourage immigration as much as possible in order to
continue to stimulate the labor supply. But the impact can have sociopolitical
repercussions on the part of the native population as well as other migrants already
resident in Ireland. It also has implications for new demands for public services.
The slowing Irish economy has made a big difference in the trend in these numbers.
Based on applications for new Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers (similar to
social security numbers in the U.S.), immigration is down by 40 percent throughout
the first half of 2008 compared to 2007. The number of Poles registering for PPS
were down by 46 percent; Lithuanians were down 44 percent; and Romanians
dropped 58 percent (Mac Cormaic 2008). Nevertheless, the demographic
complexion of Ireland had changed over the last decade in ways never before
regarding different ethnicities.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
15
TABLE 3-2. DECLINE IN NEW PPS NUMBERS 2006 – 2008
2006 2007 2008
Poland 12857 12131 8492
Lithuania 2807 1923 1666
Latvia 1459 887 557
Slovakia 1610 1448 923
Czech Republic 620 536 452
Hungary 528 670 775
Estonia 208 91 74
Slovenia 13 8 17
Malta 22 17 19
Cypress 3 11 3
Romania N/A 5291 1771
Bulgaria N/A 213 160
Totals 20127 23226 14409
Source: (Melia 2008)
NEW COMPONENTS OF THE IRISH WORKFORCE
As of the 2006 Census, the influx of migrant workers had expanded the population
by more than 10 percent to total 418,733 non-Irish persons vs. 3,706,683 Irish (CSO
2006). As of the end of 2008, there were 476,200 non-Irish nationals in Ireland, of
whom 349,300 were active in the workforce i.e., over age 15 years (CSO 2009c).
Since the census, growth in total employment has trended downward to the point
that as of the end of 2008 (latest data November) it was 2,222,700, a decrease of 0.8
percent in 2008, the first annual decrease since 1989 (CSO 2009c). This level is
comparable to the size of the workforce in 2004, despite the subsequent overall
increase in the population and the 10 percent non-Irish component.
The unemployment rate for non-Irish nationals was 9.5 percent compared to 7.3
percent for native Irish (CSO 2009c). By the end of 2008, the employment of non-
Irish amounted to 15 percent of the workforce. According to International Labor
Office classifications (ILO), about half of the non-Irish workers (48.3%) are employed
in four sectors of the economy: Wholesale and Retail trade = 16.7 percent of total
employment in the sector; Hotels and restaurants = 34.4 percent; Transportation,
storage and communication = 13.0 percent; and Financial and business services =
16.1 percent (CSO 2009c). With the exception of Transportation where there was an
increase, all of these sectors generated less jobs in 2008 compared with 2007.
However, the drop in non-Irish employment was less than the drop in native Irish
jobs in all but Hotel and Restaurant workers. The largest drop in employment was in
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
16
the Construction sector as building project starts ground to a halt with the
worldwide financial and economic drawback. Even there, however, the drop in non-
Irish jobs amounts to only about a third of the drop in native Irish employment (CSO
2009c). Still, immigrant workers in Ireland were concentrated in low and semi-skilled
jobs that Irish workers were increasingly unwilling to do and in higher-skilled
occupations where there was a shortage or Irish workers (Cranfield 2006). The
immigrants were not displacing Irish workers. There is evidence that the sectors of
business activity of the immigrants do not reflect the level of education attainment
among immigrants who generally have high levels of education (Cranfield 2006).
There is speculation that many migrants are leaving Ireland due to the lack of work.
While this may be true in the construction sector, it is not as clear in others. In
March of 2009 the Polish Embassy Trade and Investment Section Second Secretary,
Beata Janota, speaking about Polish construction workers, stated emphatically They
are gone! (Janota 2009). Recruitment firms in Ireland have been engaged by Polish
employers to advertise for workers to return home in order to satisfy vacancies in
the multinational firms that opened new offices in Poland as well as to meet new
construction demands fuelled by investments of EU development funds. According
to Jacek Rosa, First Councilor of the Polish Embassy in Dublin, about 30,000 Poles
have left Ireland since 2005 leaving an estimated 170,000 still in the Republic
(Monaghan 2008). He said that there were more than 250,000 Personal Service
Numbers (PSIs) issued to Poles since the Irish labor market was opened to the new
EU accession states in 2004. However rents and prices have been rising in Poland
along with the growth of that economy, in part affected by fluctuation in the Polish
Zloty. The rise of the Polish Zloty versus the Euro has reduced the payoff for earning
in Euros and sending funds home (Mac Cormaic 2008).
MIGRANTS OR IMMIGRANTS
THE DI STI NCTI ON MUST BE MADE CLEAR BETWEEN MI GRANTS, PEOPLE WHO
MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE AS NOMADS OR TEMPORARY J OB-SEEKERS, AND
I MMI GRANTS, PEOPLE WHO MOVE TO BETTER THEI R CI RCUMSTANCES AND
WHO ARE PERMANENT RESI DENTS I N THEI R NEW COUNTRI ES. IT I S
I MMI GRANTS WHO PUT DOWN ROOTS AND CAN TRANSFORM THEI R NEW
LOCATI ONS FOR THEI R OWN GOOD AS WELL AS SUBSTANTI ALLY CONTRI BUTE
TO THE NATI VE POPULATI ON THROUGH THEI R EFFORTS.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
17
TABLE 3-3. TOP 90 PERCENT, COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN FOR NEW PPS NUMBERS
2000-2008
Jun-
Dec.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Totals
% of
Total
IRELAND 50,657 109,577 49,866 86,947 86,691 80,293 80,788 87,559 91,280 723,658 35%
POLAND 570 2,259 2,649 3,828 27,295 64,731 93,787 79,816 42,554 317,489 15%
OTHER 8,935 17,533 77,200 22,116 8,693 5,321 3,952 2,666 1,364 147,780 7%
UNITED KINGDOM 9,421 15,349 14,050 13,667 13,909 14,207 14,336 13,951 12,285 121,175 6%
LITHUANIA 642 2,735 2,782 2,379 12,817 18,717 16,039 10,728 6,443 73,282 4%
FRANCE 3,056 4,487 3,769 4,332 4,678 4,973 6,879 7,673 7,066 46,913 2%
SPAIN 3,796 5,800 5,687 4,920 4,456 4,670 4,433 4,691 4,618 43,071 2%
SLOVAKIA 111 328 252 248 5,187 9,258 10,687 8,375 4,994 39,440 2%
LATVIA 1,046 3,023 1,538 1,230 6,266 9,328 7,954 4,674 3,727 38,786 2%
ROMANIA 920 2,416 2,667 1,387 591 813 3,336 14,525 6,762 33,417 2%
GERMANY 1,621 2,695 2,547 2,877 3,147 3,839 4,605 4,534 3,823 29,688 1%
ITALY 1,672 2,544 2,507 2,763 2,927 3,692 4,222 4,715 4,426 29,468 1%
USA 1,222 2,645 2,736 3,010 3,195 3,811 4,079 3,841 3,504 28,043 1%
ENGLAND 805 2,397 2,692 2,382 2,375 3,620 4,296 4,918 4,400 27,885 1%
CHINA 1,468 5,748 4,839 3,762 3,471 1,756 1,418 1,519 1,685 25,666 1%
INDIA 394 1,522 1,591 1,422 1,887 3,407 5,580 4,778 4,332 24,913 1%
NIGERIA 1,890 3,813 5,417 3,795 1,973 2,168 1,623 1,610 1,545 23,834 1%
CZECH REPUBLIC 641 1,428 1,144 831 3,298 4,505 4,458 3,838 2,762 22,905 1%
HUNGARY 167 511 259 185 1,839 3,086 4,330 5,046 4,562 19,985 1%
BRAZIL 384 660 759 725 864 2,225 3,460 4,805 5,632 19,514 1%
AUSTRALIA 1,027 2,874 2,656 2,421 1,713 2,128 2,105 1,966 1,857 18,747 1%
NORTHERN IRELAND 870 1,785 1,471 1,798 1,712 2,244 2,907 2,491 2,405 17,683
1%
Sum 90%
Source: (Welfare 2008)
Table 3-4 shows the trend in applications for new PPS numbers of the top 90 percent
of countries of origin for the period from 19 June 2000 through 2008. The Irish
represent about 35 percent of the total of all countries with the balance from
outside the state. Although numbers from the EU10 may be going down in the most
recent years, other countries show a substantial increase; note for example Brazil,
France, Italy and Hungary. This is indicative of increasing diversity in the future.
The Republic of Ireland became a victim of its own success to some degree. The cost
of doing business in Ireland had risen significantly, eroding competitiveness and
reducing the attractiveness of new foreign investment (Enterprise Strategy Group
2004). Immigrants from Poland have reported the cost of living and the limitations of
existing infrastructure to deal with the larger population, especially from a public
mobility and transportation perspective, as disincentives to opportunities in Ireland
(Farrell 2007). At the same time, other countries emulated Ireland’s incentives and
low tax rates for multinational corporations. MNCs would become enticed to move
to other countries who instituted such polices where the labor rates were still
comparatively low. There is new competition from other countries, such as Norway,
who have begun to take a proactive approach to recruitment of immigrant labor
(Farrell 2007). Several of the capitals of the new member states have reinvented
themselves since joining the EU. As a group, Warsaw, Bucharest, Vilnius and Tallinn
are front-runners with average economic growth of more than 7 percent making
them the fastest growing cities in Europe (Clark 2008). If the immigrants’ ties to
Ireland are not well established, the attraction to return to their homeland may be
strong in the face of a cooling Irish economy (Barrett 2008). This can be lessened if
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
18
public policy is focused on enabling them to establish social, cultural and economic
roots in Ireland.
Opportunities in Ireland are still better than many of the immigrants’ home
countries, working or not. For example, the unemployment benefit in Ireland is more
than €200 per week, which is more than many professional jobs pay in some Eastern
European countries (Quinlan 2009). Consequently, many immigrants with university
degrees work as cleaners, in factories or service in the food and beverage businesses
(Hogan 2008). The Minister for Integration at the time, Conor Lenihan, stated that
“we must address the challenge of becoming more inclusive” and avoiding the
problem where people wind up working in jobs for which they are overqualified.
(Carroll 2008). One of the main components of Irish integration policy is to facilitate
the progression of highly qualified immigrants working in Irish society to find
opportunities commensurate with their education, instead of leaving them to work
in jobs for which they are over qualified (Cudden and O'Leary 2008).
IMMIGRATION AND CHANGES IN IRISH SOCIETY
As Swiss playwright, Max Frisch, is quoted as saying about the German guest worker
experience when they recruited poor Italian and Turkish immigrants in the 1960s
and 1970s to work in booming German industries, We wanted workers and we got
people instead (Columbia 1996), the many new immigrants meant a substantial
change in the demographic composition of Ireland. “Internationally, there is a long
history of countries welcoming workers in times of labor shortages on the
presumption that they would leave afterwards and finding that temporary
immigration became permanent” (OECD 2008a) pg. 115.
There is a difference today compared to the 19
th
century when many people
resorted to emigration to seek viable job opportunities and to escape from famine,
poverty, discrimination and oppression in their home country. Part of it concerns the
development and evolution of the welfare state (Clinch, Convery et al. 2002). Today
uncontrolled immigration can lead to social tension and conflict. In economic
downturns where we start to see redundancies across the board, Minister for
Integration at the time, Conor Lenihan has warned that we have to guard against the
potential for tension that can come from people projecting their anger on ethnic
groups when they see their Irish friends and family members losing their jobs
(Molony 2008). The Minister made clear that it is not something that is going to
happen, but merely advised caution to guard against it. The resident population may
feel that they bear a greater tax burden than the newcomers who receive benefits
that they have not paid into.
In contrast to the Celtic Tiger years where there was a shortage in almost every labor
sector, job protection for the indigenous population has now become a priority. The
government does this through a means test and a work permit scheme where an
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
19
employer has to advertise any vacancy for four weeks with the national employment
agency and three days with national media before offering a position to a foreign
national. It is now turning to this regimen to make it harder for foreign workers to
get jobs. But this only applies to people from outside of the European Economic Area
(EEA) because within the EU workers have the right to freedom of movement
without employment restrictions. Correspondingly, this impacts different immigrant
groups depending on their country of origin.
The perception of unequal contributions versus benefits regarding the welfare
system may lead to animosity and desire for protectionist policies that work against
open immigration. Oliver Wang, director of Chinatown Promotion Services, said that
Ireland is not like the United States or some other countries that encourage
immigration and the economic contribution of immigrants. Immigrants are looked
upon as temporary but necessity to fill jobs only when enough native-born aren’t
available or don’t want to accept that kind of work. He said that Ireland is very
protective and doesn’t encourage those who want to come in and be successful
(Wang 2008). Wang admitted that some nationalities may come to Ireland to take
advantage of the social welfare system but he felt that the Chinese were received
more favorably because of the perception that they work very hard. Helen Kang
cited herself as an example. As owner of a Chinese Restaurant on Capel Street, she
works 12-14 hours every day, 7 days a week. Although she has two children, she sent
them to be cared for by her mother in China so that she could focus all of her time
on her new business in Ireland during its formative years. Ultimately, she says, she
will make a better future for her family this way (Kang 2008).
Conceivably, today’s immigration can lead to discrimination and oppression in the
immigrants’ new country. In recognition of this possible outcome, the government of
Ireland established the Office of the Minister for Integration in June 2007 and
launched a policy statement in May 2008 to implement an intercultural approach to
policy-making that would protect human rights and equality but also overcome
inequalities that are experienced by the new immigrant groups (Hegarty 2008). As
newcomers with common language and culture coalesce in certain neighborhoods
due to social networking, a white flight may result in declining neighborhoods and
overcrowded schools resulting in de facto racial segregation. This has been reported
in Dublin in response to immigrants moving into neighborhoods where the native
population has been selling to investors who then rent out residential units to the
immigrants. These reports speculate that when these newcomers are primarily in
the lower economic strata, the result is a downward spiral and segregation for the
neighborhood (McInerney 2007). While the number of non-Irish in the workforce
reached 15 percent, the number of children of non-Irish in primary schools is up to
10 percent (Molony 2008). Infants born in the country to immigrant parents had
been automatically granted Irish citizenship prior to June 2004 when a citizenship
referendum changed that entitlement, which had afforded automatic citizenship to
anyone born in Ireland (OECD 2008a). A court decision the previous year removed
the automatic right to permanent residency for non-nationals who were the parents
of Irish-born children (Cudden and O'Leary 2008). Family reunification is one of the
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
20
most commonly stated reasons for international migration. And many countries
scrutinize such applicants because of concerns over fraud and abuse of the system
where the real motivation may be to gain access to welfare services (Clark 2008).
Ireland seems to have elicited a worthy response from migrant workers. Based on
numbers from the 2006 Census, the official number of non-nationals grew from
221,921 in 2002 to 417,375 in 2006, a change from 5.8 percent to over 10 percent in
the state and more than that in Dublin City (Cudden and O'Leary 2008). These
numbers are generally believed to substantially under-represent the true count,
which could be up to 15 percent of the population in the state (Mac Cormaic 2007).
Some of the reasons for undercount among immigrants relate to: sharing
accommodations; distrust of government authority; and limited capacity with English
(Janota 2009). Other concerns for the representativeness of the data that have been
expressed concern the accuracy of any demographic data that is drawn from the
Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), which was only administered in
English. It would skew in favor of those who are more literate and miss the low-
skilled immigrants because of the language barrier. But a statistical analysis that
compared descriptive statistics between the QNHS with the Irish Census 2006
concluded that the QNHS does report as accurate a profile of the immigrant
populations, especially regarding educational attainment, as the census data (Barrett
and Kelly 2008). It also confirmed that although the qualitative data may be accurate
there was significant undercounting. In both surveys the extent of the undercount in
different national groups could not be determined conclusively. The data included in
Table 3 and Table 4 is from national census data in 1996 and 2006. Informed
participants in focus groups for immigrant entrepreneurship indicated that the
number for Poles, for example, where the official count reflects 63,276, was more
like 100,000-200,000 (Bartosik 2009). Other estimates of Poles in Ireland also refer
to 100,000, with 95 percent of them in Dublin (IrelandBBS.com 2008). The Irish
Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) estimates the number of Poles based on its
observations as 200,000. Unofficial numbers for Chinese are 100,000 against the
census count of 11,161 (O'Brien 2007). In a focus group for this research project a
member of the Chinese business community expressed his opinion, which was based
on local knowledge, that there were 50,000 Chinese in Ireland but he said that less
were coming now (Suo 2008). Two-thirds of the new immigrants to Ireland arrived
between 2004 and 2007. Many settled close to their port of entry resulting in the
population of central Dublin in 2006 composed of nearly one-fourth of the 420,000
non-Irish in the state, primarily from accession states Poland, Latvia and Lithuania
(Barrett 2008).
The immigrants that came to Ireland since 2004 from the ten states admitted to the
EU at that time had different motivations. Those states were Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. These
immigrants seem to be viewed principally as worker-commodities. For example, the
Census office concludes that the Polish came to Ireland to work while the Chinese
came to study (CSO 2008d). Only two percent of the Poles in Ireland over age 15
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
21
were in school or college in Ireland (CSO 2008d) while 43 percent of Chinese aged 15
or over were studying in Ireland (CSO 2008d).
The immigrants that came to settle in Ireland were not all lower-end workers. Many
had college education but accepted employment in jobs that they were over-
qualified for because it was still better than what they could get at home. Although it
is not unusual for immigrants in OECD countries to work in jobs that they are over
qualified for, at least when they enter the country initially, the mismatch in Ireland is
relatively high (OECD 2008a). In some cases, this is due to foreign qualifications not
being accepted in Ireland.
A simple definition of international migrant would be one who lives outside the
country of their birth for a year or more (Clark 2008). This would include many
migrants who travel to study, for tourism, or to work and experience another culture
in depth for an extended period of time. Many young people in Ireland and from
other developed countries go overseas for a year for just such an experience. A key
distinction is to be made concerning the immigrants that came to Ireland in recent
years. They came for economic opportunity and were already prepared to make a
difference in their own lives and contribute to their new countries, its firms and its
economy. They represent a sleeper population that can make a great deal of
influence once given the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship and approach self-
actualization of their talent in their new home country. This will be discussed in more
detail late in the context of the potential for immigrant entrepreneurship.
TABLE 3-5. LARGEST IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN IRELAND 2006
Total
% of Total
Population
% of Non-Irish
Population
Unofficial
Estimate
UK 112,548 2.70% 26.81%
Poland 63,276 1.52% 15.08% 200,000
Lithuania 24,628 0.59% 5.87%
Nigeria 16,300 0.39% 3.88%
Latvia 13,319 0.32% 3.17%
USA 12,475 0.30% 3.00%
China 11,161 0.27% 2.66% 100,000
Germany 10,289 0.25% 2.45%
Philippines 9,548 0.23% 2.30%
France 9,046 0.22% 2.16%
India 8,460 0.20% 2.00%
Slovakia 8,111 0.19% 1.93%
Romania 7,696 0.18% 1.83%
Russia 4,495 0.11% 1.07%
(CSO 2006)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
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TABLE 3-6. LARGEST IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN IRELAND 1996
Total
% of Total
Population
% of Non-
Irish
Population
UK 151,081 4.20% 71.25%
U.S.A. 15,619 0.43% 7.37%
Other EU 9,296 0.26% 4.38%
Asia 8,150 0.23% 3.84%
Germany 6,343 0.18% 2.99%
Africa 4,867 0.14% 2.30%
France 3,593 0.10% 1.69%
Other
Europe 3,605 0.10% 1.70%
Other
countries 9,503 0.26% 4.48%
(CSO 1996)
A comparison of Table 3-5 and Table 3-6 reveals the extent of change in the ethnic
and cultural complexion of Ireland in just ten years, between 1996 and 2006. In
1996, over 78 percent of the non-Irish in Ireland were from the United Kingdom and
the United States. They were English-speaking and mostly of Anglo-Saxon heritage.
Practically 82 percent of the non-Irish who were resident in the state were from
Europe. By 2006 the U.K. /U.S.A. component had been cut to fewer than 30 percent
and the rest, in much greater numbers than before, were immigrants from countries
with far different historical, cultural and linguistic traditions.
Canada, which promotes multiculturalism as one of its competitive strengths citing
its highest per-capita immigration in the world, has had to deal with the issue of new
languages in its ethnic mix. In Quebec City, native residents feel threatened by the
country’s multiculturalism approach. The integration of new ethnic minorities is seen
as a threat to the native cultural minority that wants to promote the continuation of
the French language as the dominate ethnic sub-group (Delaney 2008).
For 150 years since the end of the great famine in Ireland of the 1840s, the story of
population movement was emigration from the island in pursuit of opportunities
around the world. This left the country with limited outward aspect. That is, less
appreciation for the views and attitudes of others with different cultural heritage.
The domestic population grew more homogenous compared to other countries
where immigrants added various foreign cultural aspects to the home customs. The
Irish demographics that constituted a large pool of literate English speakers had
been attractive to multinational corporations and proved to be a significant factor in
the Celtic Tiger economy. When the English speaking augmented these workers,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
23
well-educated immigrants, especially from Poland in great numbers, the attraction
became stronger. It is important to repeat the point that the new immigrants were
not all lower-educated workers who came for lesser-qualified jobs despite the fact
that may be where they wound up. Many also filled the highly qualified jobs in
Information Technology (IT) and in the IFSC.
The increase in population and investment drove a property market that escalated
rapidly only to result in oversupply when demand slackened. Now the situation is
that the immigrants are in the state and the challenge is for Ireland to adopt a policy
to take economic advantage of the new talent. Otherwise a protectionist policy may
result in discrimination against those newly arrived and not realize the potential of
the substantial opportunity that has evolved.
MULTICULTURALISM
To gather data on the increasing multi-culturalization of Ireland, a question on
ethnicity was added to the census for the first time in 2006 (King-O'Riain 2007). But
the nature of the questions that were included in the census may confuse
conceptions of ethnicity, race and ancestry. In the broadest sense, the 19
th
century
German sociologist, Max Weber, referred to ethnicity as one’s own subjective belief
in belonging to a group that shares a common descent because of similarities of
physical type or customs that are passed down, shared, or result from history of
colonization or migration (Cornell and Hartmann 1998). On the other hand, race is
how human beings distinguish themselves based on socially defined physical
characteristics. And ancestry relates to the place of one’s birth and the place of birth
of your parents. This has implications for citizenship rights and may impact property
ownership as well. The questions on the Irish Census in 2006 mostly related to race
but described these as ethnic groups: White, Irish Traveler, Black, Chinese, Mixed
ethnic group. It does not offer much choice in cultural identity and excludes some
that are increasingly important in geopolitical terms, e.g., Arabs. The country of
origin issue took on new significance in 2004 when the EU was expanded granting EU
citizens a right to free travel across borders.
In general, the non-Irish population is comprised of people in their 20s and 30s with
significantly more men than women (CSO 2008d). As of the 2006 Census, more of
this group were employed, approximately 80 percent, than even the Irish
population, just over 50 percent (CSO 2008d). Although many were in construction
(20.8%), manufacturing businesses (21.4%), wholesale and retail trade (17.0%) and
hotel and restaurants (16.5%) also provided many jobs for the accession-states
immigrants (CSO 2008d).
But the Irish workplace and Irish society is very different today. In just ten years or
less it has become multicultural. This change has happened so rapidly that many
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
24
sectors of society have yet to incorporate the new multiculturalism in a new
approach to doing business and serving the public.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS FROM THE RECENT GROWTH IN
IMMIGRATION IN IRELAND
There is little doubt that the spurt of immigration in Ireland that reversed a decades-
long pattern of emigration has been a result of the rapid growth of the economy
during the Celtic Tiger years. In recognition of the impact of new immigrants in
Ireland, Dublin City Council set out an agreed vision that would send a strong
message of its openness to minorities (Hegarty 2008).
They declared “integration of the new migrant
population will be a key determinant of the future
success and prosperity of the city” (Ibid, p.6). This
section will briefly review the historical patterns and set
out the reasons and justification for this consequence.
In the context of current events wherein Ireland and all
the world economies are experiencing substantial
downturn in activity and growth, the policy questions
that need to be addressed are:
a. How to continue to grow the economy with innovative contributions from
the new citizens, and;
b. Due to lack of opportunities, what would be the end result if recent
immigrants would be permitted or encouraged to return to their home
countries or to pursue greater opportunities in other proactive communities?
When the economy experienced rapid growth, an increase in the supply of labor was
essential in order to satisfy the demand. Naturally, firms first relied on the domestic
population because there are additional costs associated with recruitment from
distant places as well as possibly relocation support. From the 1980s though the mid
1990s, high unemployment had been characteristic of the Irish economy. Ireland had
practically the worst unemployment problem in Europe over these years (Kirby
2002). As of 1987, there had been mass unemployment with falling employment
numbers and a standard of living below the average in Europe (O'Connell 2000).
Consequently, there was elasticity of supply in labor that could meet initial demand
related to moderate growth from the cadres of unemployed workers.
Immigration of workers to fill jobs of the MNCs that were drawn to Ireland by
favorable taxation policies, strong efforts to attract FDI and other initiatives not only
turned the economy around but it turned the composition of society upside down.
New immigrants made for a new multicultural society in Ireland.
As a result of the worldwide downturn in 2008, which followed on the onset of
recession that began in the United States in 2007, the MNCs that included many
American firms decided to back down or move their operations offshore. The labor
“…integration of the
new migrant
population will be a
key determinant of the
future success and
prosperity of the city”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
25
pool that was attracted to the new employment opportunities is faced with a
challenging dilemma: whether to move on or to try to make it on their own.
Several interesting characteristics of the Irish labor market contribute to a new
dynamic. In small firms, Irish workers average €15.38 per hour compared to €18.01
for workers in the EU 15 states. But workers from the accession states in Ireland, the
EU15-27, earn only €11.08 on average in Ireland (CSO 2008c, p.45). Employment of
non-Irish nationals increased by 129 percent from 2003 to 2007 and 47 percent of
them were working in firms of less than 50 workers (CSO 2008c). When it was a case
of needing workers to fill jobs from outside of Ireland this differential was a draw
from both sides, employers including domestic firms and MNCS and workers from
outside the country. When a worker is subsequently made redundant, the impact of
lower income from unemployment is good motivation for self-employment or
entrepreneurship. The immigrants have an advantage in this market for two reasons.
First as a result of under-employment relative to qualifications, an immigrant
entrepreneur can look forward to a better income in his/her chosen profession as a
entrepreneur than in low-wage employment. When they are made redundant they
actually have the opportunity to improve their lot. Second, immigrants, especially
where there is a language barrier, are more likely to work for other immigrant
entrepreneurs if they have the opportunity due to common language and culture.
Therefore the immigrants have a competitive advantage in hiring other low-wage
immigrants.
For governments who are faced with a potential reduction in the population under
these circumstances an additional challenge is the investment that they have made
or initiated to cope with the once quickly expanding population. These include new
roads, schools, water and sewer systems, mass transit improvements and other
infrastructure investments that were required for the larger population (OECD
2008a). It also may have involved hiring public employees and expending the
workforce in order to provide the services necessitated by the great numbers of new
citizens and residents. It also may include salary and benefit increases that were
implemented in recent years to make up for past years when increases in parity had
to be deferred. The simple conclusion is that unless governments can cultivate
economic opportunity to accompany social integration, their new populations may
go away but the expenses committed to will continue. Excessive long-term capital
debt accompanied by lower revenues will also negatively impact bond ratings, all
with fewer taxpayers to pay the bills. A proactive approach to nurturing and
developing opportunities among the new citizens becomes critically important.
This approach needs to extend to the economic and financial opportunity realm and
not be limited to social issues and avoidance of racial tension to be most effective.
Business start-ups generate economic prosperity for all and provide immigrants the
opportunities to contribute to their own financial success as well as the community
at large (Emerge 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
26
CHAPTER 4
APPROACHES TO GROW THE
ECONOMY BY ENCOURAGING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
In a 2006 report, titled Small Business is Big Business, the Small Business Forum
included in its recommendations to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Employment that the government should formally adopt a National
Entrepreneurship Policy (Forum 2006). In October 2007 Forfas published Towards
Developing an Entrepreneurship Policy for Ireland that echoed the sentiment that
Ireland needs an approach to the development and cultivation of entrepreneurship
that is similar to the drive for foreign direct investment. One of the key
recommendations was harnessing the potential of women and immigrants (Forfas
2007). At the time of the release of the report, then Minister for Enterprise, Trade
and Employment, Micheál Martin, said that he was committed to implementing a
National Entrepreneurship Policy. The Department released its Third Progress Report
on Implementation of the Recommendations of the Report of the Small Business
Forum on 10 December 2007, which included reference to a draft entrepreneurship
Policy Statement that was submitted to the Department and referred to the
expectation that a Policy Statement was to be published in early 2008 (DETE 2007).
As of the time of writing Challenges and Promise for Immigrant Entrepreneurship in
Dublin, this new initiative has not yet been published or adopted.
The level of entrepreneurship in Ireland has been high compared to other OECD
countries. It averages 2.7 percent in the OECD countries and an average of 2.3
percent in the EU (O'Toole 2009). According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor,
in 2007 Ireland was second in the EU and fifth among OECD countries for
entrepreneurial activities (Forfas 2008b). Ireland was third in the OECD with 4.2
percent of the adult population involved in new firm entrepreneurship (Fitzsimons
and O'Gorman 2006). For new-firm creation, Ireland was ranked fourth within the EU
15 (Forfas 2008). The City and County Enterprise Boards have proposed a plan to
create 6000 new businesses from 2009 – 2013 and have earmarked 1,000 of these
opportunities to involve female and ethnic entrepreneurs (Allen 2009). This incentive
financing would provide funding for all of the costs of operating a business and not
just for grants to buy machinery or employ people as at present. This program is
aimed at micro business with less than 10 employees and is in recognition of the fact
that service businesses are very important to the economy and may not require
investment in machinery as do manufacturing firms (Forfas 2007).
As recently as 2003, Ireland had the highest rate of new business start-ups in the EU
(O'Gorman 2004). However, in the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
annual survey, conducted since 1999 over the May-June period, the respondents
surveyed in 2008 indicated a great deal of pessimism for entrepreneurship in
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
27
perceived opportunities with Ireland. This was one of the five highest declines in
perceived opportunities (Bosma, Acs et al. 2009). This was before the global financial
crisis that emerged in October 2008. Only 35 percent of non-entrepreneurially active
adult respondents saw a good opportunity to start a business within six months and
only 6 percent expected to start a business in the next three years (Bosma, Acs et al.
2009)
The advantages of starting a business in Ireland are the same for any entrepreneur,
native or immigrant. They include a stable government, low-tax policy toward
business and a pro-business culture. According to the World Bank, Ireland remains
very competitive regarding policy to facilitate entrepreneurship. The overall
regulatory levels and regulatory impediments to product market competition are
lower than the OECD countries’ average (NCC 2009). Ireland ranks 7th in the ease of
doing business among 181 economies followed by the World Bank (World Bank
2009). Other factors assessed by the World Bank contributing to the favorable
governmental and regulatory environment of starting a business in Ireland relate to
the ease of starting a business where Ireland was ranked 5th of 178 economies in
2008, the number of regulatory procedures necessary for business start-ups, which
was four, the 3rd fewest of the countries compared
and the cost of starting an enterprise as a
percentage of income per capita (0.3 percent)
where Ireland was 3rd lowest (World Bank 2008).
However, Tomas Rimkus, who emigrated from
Lithuania two years ago and is marketing manager
of an international food and beverage importing
concern in Dublin, said that the cost of starting a
business according to the government data is only
part of the picture. For example, although in
Lithuania, he said, it is necessary to have a minimum
of €3,500 on deposit in order to get approval for a
new business from the Lithuanian government,
which is not required in Ireland for natives or
citizens from EEA countries, the local banks in
Dublin required €5,000 - €10,000 to open a new
business account (Rimkus 2009). The criteria
imposed on prospective entrepreneurs from outside
the EEA are substantially higher and out of sync with
the World Bank and OECD comparative
requirements. (See below on Business Permissions.)
These ease of starting business metrics have actually
improved since 2004 when the World Bank reported the cost to start a business as a
percentage of income per capita as 10.4 percent (World Bank 2004). At that time,
Ireland also had the 4th shortest time in the EU in terms of number of days to start a
business, which was 12 days. This was less than half the average number of days
Focus groups indicated
that the low corporate
tax structure, minimal
bureaucracy and
regulation compared
to their previous home
countries, transparent
legal system and
strong consumer
culture gave the
immigrant
entrepreneurs a
favorable impression
of Ireland as a good
place to start a
business (Cooney and
Flynn 2008).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
28
amongst all OECD economies where the average number of procedures was 50
percent more than in Ireland and the cost in terms of percentage of income per
capita was an average of 8.0 percent (World Bank 2004b). Another consideration for
ease of starting a business includes ease of closing a concern, which was less than
five months in 2004, the shortest insolvency process in the EU (World Bank 2004).
In the summer of 2008 focus groups indicated that the low corporate tax structure,
minimal bureaucracy and regulation compared to their previous home countries,
transparent legal system and strong consumer culture gave the immigrant
entrepreneurs a favorable impression of Ireland as a good place to start a business
(Cooney and Flynn 2008). Building Ireland’s Smart Economy recognizes that one
strength of the Irish economy includes high ratings on openness to foreign ideas and
at the same time the need for more engagement with other countries represents a
threat to the economy (Ireland 2008). One business owner from Lithuania told me
that he hired a firm to secure all of the necessary licenses and accounts to start his
business because he was concerned with the bureaucracy that in his home country
makes it very difficult to start an enterprise. He had no problem in Dublin and was
very pleased with the time and process. The Danish government recognized that this
is a significant way that it could encourage entrepreneurship when it introduced
legislation in 1998 that reduced the time required to register a company from 36
days in 1996 to 11 days in 1999.
Recommendations for the establishment of proactive policy include the
enhancement of an entrepreneurship culture in Ireland, particularly among women
and the immigrants community (Forum 2006).
WHY ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
BUSINESS STARTS
When times are tough, as in economic recession, entrepreneurial activity increases
because people turn away from a view of employment as a safe and secure job
based on the reality of redundancies and career decisions that are outside of the
worker’s control (O'Toole 2009). Even those who have been in employment for many
years may feel the gut-wrenching doubt of the wisdom of devoting oneself to the
good of the firm when they are made redundant. It is a good time for people to take
a risk, especially if they are proven risk-takers. Fear of failure is a more pronounced
deterrent to entrepreneurialism in Ireland among the native Irish than in the
majority of OECD countries. Ireland is ranked 16 out of 25 countries analyzed (Forum
2006).
During this particular downturn, interest rates are at historic lows. So debt service
coverage is lower than in the past for qualified borrowers and the cost of money for
operating funds and investment in new business is reasonable and puts less pressure
on operating margins than during high money-cost times. During recessions,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
29
everyone is looking for business. Consequently, the cost of buying services can be
substantially lower and the cost of purchasing goods can be more negotiable than at
times when there are plenty of qualified buyers. When there are more people out of
work, getting good help may be easier to find and employers can be more selective.
For prospective immigrant entrepreneurs, the downturn actually plays to their
strengths. Education provides the preparation that facilitates opportunity when the
right opening arises. Because the immigrants are generally better educated and
under employed in current employment, being made redundant can actually result
in prospects for better income through entrepreneurship and pursuit of activity that
makes better utility of their educational qualifications. The percentage of the
population with college education among men and women in Ireland is almost
double comparing the foreign-born population with the native born, 41.1 percent vs.
22.7 percent and holds equally true for men and women (OECD 2008a). See Table 5.
A study from the 2000 U.S. Census data focusing on Brazilian immigrants found that
high school graduates are more likely to own their own business and that a college
education has a significantly greater effect than a high school education on the
probability for self-employment among Brazilian immigrant entrepreneurs in Florida
and California (Siqueira 2007). Another study of key founders of technology and
engineering companies from 1995 to 2005 indicated a strong correlation between
educational attainment and entrepreneurship (Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007).
However, some have cautioned that any data regarding educational attainment that
relies on a survey instrument that is only available in English will miss many low-
skilled immigrants because of the language barrier, which leads to
overrepresentation of higher educational attainment. Nevertheless, a study reported
from Dublin confirmed the representativeness of samples drawn from both the
census and the QNHS and affirmed the highly-educated nature of immigrants in
Ireland (Barrett and Kelly 2008).
TABLE 4-1. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF THE NATIVE-BORN AND FOREIGN-
BORN POPULATIONS, PERCENTAGE OF THE 15+ POPULATION
Native-
born
Foreign-
born
Totals
Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total
Country Education (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Ireland Primary 50.0 45.6 47.8 29.9 29.4 29.6 47.8 43.8 45.8
Secondary 28.6 30.3 29.5 29.2 29.4 29.3 28.7 30.2 29.5
Tertiary 21.4 24.1 22.7 40.9 41.2 41.1 23.5 25.9 24.7
Source: (OECD 2008d)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
30
POTENTIAL OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
To begin with, for people to venture on their own in a business enterprise they must
not be afraid to accept risk. This doesn’t mean that they are risky or gamblers but it
implies that they are willing to rely on themselves for their economic outcomes
instead of depending on others to make their future. In this context, immigrants who
have left their home countries and their personal family
networks that provide a comfort zone to try their luck in a
new country with its different culture certainly fit the
criteria of risk takers. If entrepreneurs are not risk takers by
nature, at the least, they are not totally afraid of taking a
chance on changing their circumstances. If they are
immigrants to a new country the very fact that they have
left their homeland in search of new opportunities
demonstrates their willingness to take their chances and
rely on themselves for the outcome.
For many reasons that will be reviewed herein, immigrants
are more likely to be become entrepreneurs than the
native-born. They have been successful and have made
significant contributions to their new countries as well as
raising their own standards of living. Among other reasons such as wanting to be
with family or to seek asylum from persecution, immigrants move because of the
perceived economic benefits of moving. Good economic prospects, along with the
presence of family members or substantial numbers of countrymen, have been
described as pull factors that contribute to migration to successful economies (Clark
2008). Immigrants may be more confident in their own ability to make a change in
their economic circumstances by relying on their own assessment of their talent and
capacity (Levie 2007). This may explain why immigrants are more predisposed to
entrepreneurial ventures than the native-born population.
Immigrants have also made great strides in technological advancement through
science and technology that contribute to innovation and knowledge economies.
According to one study in the United States 9.7 percent of immigrants own a
business, compared with 9.5 percent of the native-born (Fairlie 2008). Another way
to look at the impact of immigrant entrepreneurship in the U.S. reveals that
immigrants constitute 12.2 percent of the U.S. workforces but 12.5 percent of U.S.
business owners (Fairlie 2008). In other studies in the United States, immigrants
were shown to be practically 30 percent more likely to start a new business than
native-born persons. Immigrants constitute 16.7 percent of all new business owners
nationwide (Wolfington 2006). In California, the number of new businesses started
each month that are owned by immigrants amount to 34.2 percent of all start-ups. In
New York, Florida and Texas immigrants account for nearly 30 percent of the new
Immigrants have also
made great strides in
technological
advancement through
science and
technology that
contribute to
innovation and
knowledge economies
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
31
businesses starting each month. Immigrant entrepreneurs now represent roughly 5
percent of all new business starts in the United States (Fairlie 2008).
In a U.S. study of engineering and technology companies started between 1995 and
2005, immigrant entrepreneurs were determined to be the founders of 25.3 percent
of all such companies (Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007). These firms had $50 billion in
sales in 2005 and created 450,000 jobs. Many Asian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
were previously in graduate school there or working as engineers in large firms. As
an outcome of their venturing out on their own they have created over 58,000 local
jobs as of 1999 (McCormick 1999). In Washington DC it is the Indian immigrants who
fuelled growth in high-tech entrepreneurs, which nearly doubled in the 1990s (Rubin
1999). They graduated from American universities and have been staying in the
country to start their new entrepreneurial ventures in high value-added employment
sectors that have resulted in high-technology clusters around Washington. High-tech
employers in Silicon Valley had come to rely heavily on foreign students who
eventually would work in local high-tech firms and some would start their own
enterprises. Asian venture capital firms are helping Silicon Valley start-ups to expand
into Asia and also helping Asian start-ups set up shop in the U.S. (Hiebert 2000).
Another benefit of foreign students is even if they return home they are taking
advantages of networking connections and opportunities for building links with
American firms to spur technological innovation that results in economic expansion
for high-tech firms in California (Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007).
Reflecting on the success and challenges regarding the U.S. proactive recruitment
programs for high-tech talent, U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the
difficulties imposed by the Department of Homeland Security after 9-11 have
negatively impacted U.S. colleges’ recruitment of immigrant talent. As a
consequence, high-tech and engineering firms have set up shops in India and China
and now students are getting their education and employment overseas to the loss
of the U.S. based economy (Obama 2007). One of the benefits of immigration can
come from viewing local universities as migrant magnets that can draw young, highly
skilled people who may stay in the area and enhance the local labor market (Nathan
2008).
Immigrant businesses make significant contributions across all sectors of the
American economy. They own 21.1 percent of businesses in the arts, entertainment
and recreation industry and also are found in other services (17.6 percent of total),
transportation (16.9 percent), wholesale businesses (15.9 percent) and retail trade
(15.5 percent). In sum, immigrant entrepreneurs now own 11.2 percent of all
businesses with $100,000 or more in sales and 10.8 percent of all businesses with
employees (Fairlie 2008). Consequently, the cultivation of immigrant
entrepreneurship has great potential to benefit not only the new citizens
themselves, but also to contribute to growth of the economy and the creation of
value-added employment across the board.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
32
Polish Embassy Trade and Investment Section Councilor Jerzy Bartosik said that more
than 20 percent of inquires that are coming in to the Trade and Investment Section
are now about the possibility of opening a business in Ireland (Bartosik 2009). An
argument in favor of immigrant workers, who are generally younger than the native
workforce, is that, contrary to a drain on the social welfare system, they represent
one of the few ways that the elderly population can be supported by currently
working younger workers. Therefore they reduce dependency on ageing populations
and help sustain the social safety net in the long run (Minns 2005).
A review of the nationality of residents in Ireland as of the 2006 Census, summarized
in the adjoining Table 6a and Table 6b, indicates the potential for encouraging
entrepreneurship among the new citizens. Comparing the percentage of the adult
population that is of typical working age, 25-64, about half the Irish population is in
this category (52.2 percent of total Irish and 52.4 percent of Irish-born). This
percentage is far exceeded by immigrants of practically all the other nation in
Ireland. This is consistent with the conclusion that Ireland depends on immigrants for
its workforce.
Looking at only the age group that is typical for young entrepreneurs starting
businesses, i.e., 25-44 years, the Irish population only amounts to 29.4 percent in
this age group. Most of the new citizens from the EU member states amount to
more than 50 percent in the 25-44 age group and the countries that are not in the
EU are even higher as a group in this demographic category. There is evidence that
business start-ups increase with age and strongly increase with education. The new
immigrants to Ireland have higher educational attainment
compared to the native Irish, in part due to self-selection
by EU immigrants (Minns 2005). In a U.S. study of data,
college graduates were shown to have a 0.11 percent
higher rate of business creation per month than those
with less than a high school education (Fairlie 2008).
Immigrants are generally better educated and have more
positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship as a path to
realization of personal financial success (Levie 2007).
Throughout OECD countries, immigrants are generally
more qualified than native-born regarding educational
attainment. Immigrants average 23.6 percent tertiary
education versus 19.1 percent for native-born (OECD
2008). Although educational attainment in Ireland has increased dramatically in the
past two decades among the young, the older workers in the Irish labor force remain
less qualified than the average of OECD workers and a large share of the native-born
workers, 34 percent, have no more than secondary education (NCC 2009). This leads
to a conclusion that in Ireland there is likely to be more potential for entrepreneurial
start-ups among the immigrant communities than in the native population.
More than 20 percent
of inquires that are
coming in to the Trade
and Investment
Section are now about
the possibility of
opening a business in
Ireland
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
33
TABLE 4-2. NATIONALITY, AGE AND POTENTIAL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Nationality Total
25-44
years
45-64
years
65 years
and over
% Prime working
age 25-64
% Potential
Entrepreneurship
age 25-44
Total Irish 3,706,683 1,089,238 845,160 438,227
52.2% 29.4%
Irish Born 3,661,560 1,075,721 837,752 434,878
52.3% 29.4%
Total Non
Irish 419,733 219,281 57,181 15,084
65.9% 52.2%
EU Member States
275,775 137,788 44,921 12,545
66.3% 50.0%
Austria 583 339 79 14
71.7% 58.1%
Belgium 910 461 195 52
72.1% 50.7%
Cyprus 60 31 11 3
70.0% 51.7%
Czech Republic 5,159 3,171 320 20
67.7% 61.5%
Denmark 729 420 129 28
75.3% 57.6%
Estonia 2,272 1,135 169 6
57.4% 50.0%
Finland 926 574 88 9
71.5% 62.0%
France 9,046 5,455 774 113
68.9% 60.3%
Germany 10,289 5,396 1,976 635
71.6% 52.4%
Greece 412 267 57 8
78.6% 64.8%
Hungary 3,440 2,330 216 22
74.0% 67.7%
Italy 6,190 4,104 749 180
78.4% 66.3%
Latvia 13,319 7,106 1,245 40
62.7% 53.4%
Lithuania 24,628 12,987 2,064 71
61.1% 52.7%
Luxembourg 26 5 8 2
50.0% 19.2%
Malta 139 66 31 10
69.8% 47.5%
Netherlands 3,990 1,786 1,089 281
72.1% 44.8%
Poland 63,276 36,464 4,213 144
64.3% 57.6%
Portugal 1,798 1,156 173 24
73.9% 64.3%
Slovakia 8,111 4,751 450 27
64.1% 58.6%
Slovenia 130 86 7 1
71.5% 66.2%
Spain 6,052 4,478 264 58
78.4% 74.0%
Sweden 1,742 957 163 36
64.3% 54.9%
UK 112,548 44,263 30,451 10,761
66.4% 39.3%
Source: (CSO 2006)
In a survey of 1,108 ethnic entrepreneurs in Ireland in summer 2008, less than half
(44%) indicated that they had no formal business management qualification.
However, most (73%) indicated Prior Managerial experience (Cooney and Flynn
2008). The proportion between the disciplines in the social sciences, business and
law census categories is unknown. If a substantial number of the educational
attainment numbers are in business, it would seem that there is a great deal of
potential for additional business start-ups by those with actual training in business
management. This could be explored further as a potential for good effort-reward
return. From analysis of the responses to the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for
immigrants in Dublin who either had already started a business of their own or were
thinking about it, 32 percent indicated that they were college graduates and 43
percent had post-graduate education or some post-graduate courses. Only 17
percent indicated that their education was limited to high school (Pinkowski 2009).
The age indicated by the respondents was typical of prospective entrepreneurs with
77 percent in the 27-43 age bracket. They were split 47 percent men and 51 percent
women (2 percent preferred to not answer this question). Respondents were
primarily from EU countries, 82 percent; 6 percent were African.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
34
TABLE 4-3. NATIONALITY, AGE AND POTENTIAL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONT.
Nationality Total
25-44
years
45-64
years
65 years
and over
% Prime working
age 25-64
% Potential
Entrepreneurship
age 25-44
Rest of
Europe 24,425 15,446 2,003 208
71.4% 63.2%
Romania 7,696 5,068 424 24
71.4% 65.9%
Russia 4,495 2,571 456 22
67.3% 57.2%
Ukraine 3,122 2,245 254 10
80.0% 71.9%
Other 9,112 5,562 869 152
70.6% 61.0%
Africa 35,326 20,937 1,980 147
64.9% 59.3%
Nigeria 16,300 9,929 564 30
64.4% 60.9%
South Africa 5,432 3,012 672 58
67.8% 55.4%
Other 13,594 7,996 744 59
64.3% 58.8%
Asia 46,952 28,058 3,079 262
66.3% 59.8%
China 11,161 5,745 415 74
55.2% 51.5%
Philippines 9,548 6,481 1,131 24
79.7% 67.9%
India 8,460 5,708 396 38
72.2% 67.5%
Pakistan 4,998 2,772 264 28
60.7% 55.5%
Malaysia 2,979 1,532 174 15
57.3% 51.4%
Other 9,806 5,820 699 83
66.5% 59.4%
America 21,124 9,182 2,975 1,069
57.6% 43.5%
USA 12,475 4,252 2,145 928
51.3% 34.1%
Brazil 4,388 2,706 248 8
67.3% 61.7%
Canada 2,343 1,093 380 109
62.9% 46.6%
Other 1,918 1,131 202 24
69.5% 59.0%
Australia 4,033 2,418 422 78
70.4% 60.0%
New
Zealand 1,756 1,194 202 35
79.5% 68.0%
Other
nationalities 7,984 3,207 1,230 637
55.6% 40.2%
Multi
Nationality 2,358 1,051 369 103
60.2% 44.6%
No
Nationality 1,318 485 170 87
49.7% 36.8%
Not Stated 44,279 11,547 9,790 6,802
48.2% 26.1%
Total 4,172,013 1,320,551 912,301 460,200
53.5% 31.7%
Source: (CSO 2006)
A difference is important regarding immigrant entrepreneurship versus migrant
labor patterns. The pattern of migrant farm workers is well established wherein due
to seasonal, labor-intensive needs, especially in agriculture at harvest time, large
quantities of workers move from crop to crop in response to opportunity for day
wages. In many cases these crop-pickers are paid in cash with no questions asked
about their immigration status. Many are known, or presumed, to have crossed
international borders informally or illegally (Zarrugh 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
35
IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATION
American business expert, Peter Drucker, in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
(Drucker 2007) warned of implications for doing business by ignoring emerging
demographic patterns. Although population trends and movements had been
acknowledged as important dynamics for business, they were presumed to occur
over long time-spans and therefore of little immediate concern to day-to-day
decisions for operating a firm. Drucker cautioned that to ignore population changes
was a dangerous error and instead should be the first environmental factor to look
at for rewarding entrepreneurial opportunities.
The recent dramatic change in the demographics of Ireland presents such an
opportunity for entrepreneurship. The opportunity for substantial change resulting
from demographic shifts is significant. Although immigration in the United States has
a long history, the extent of accelerated immigration in California from Asia during
the 1980s and 1990s had a dramatic impact on the development of a high-tech
corridor in the San Francisco Bay area. The foreign born population in Silicon Valley
doubled between 1980 and 1990 (Saxenian and Ebulbehram 1998).
Development efforts should not be focused on high-techs alone, or on export-
oriented firms alone. Competitive advantage may also be gained by realizing that
innovation can come in many forms and may be driven by the new immigrant
entrepreneurs that may emerge from the recent population milieu. Broad
entrepreneurial activity includes high-tech but also no-tech, low-tech and middle
tech. For example service deliver intangible goods including information, advice and
experience that has great utility in a global market.
Services that are traded international including
finance, insurance, computer related software
services, research and development, advertising,
marketing, accounting and consultancy contribute
enormous value to the economy. Between 1980 and
2006 the global value of international trade in
services increased seven-fold (Forfas 2008a).
Innovative ventures create capital and contribute to a
vibrant economy based on new ideas and different
perspectives borne of place of origin that is just not
within the frame of reference of the native-born. Ireland’s stated ambition is to
become a leader in innovation (Forfas 2008b). According to Drucker, it would be
unlikely that any country could be innovative in high-tech without having an
entrepreneurial economy.
Entrepreneurs create value in the economy by job creation, philanthropy and
investment. Immigrants to a nation have an advantage in that they know better the
immigrant community that they are part of and can have competitive advantage in
new firm creation focused on such a market. They also can relate well to other
It would be unlikely
that any country could
be innovative in high-
tech without having an
entrepreneurial
economy.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
36
immigrants as a labor pool because they share experiences and common culture.
Most successful immigrants rely heavily on ethnic resources while integrating into
the mainstream (Saxenian 2002). Many immigrants in the U.S., especially Latinos, are
establishing businesses in various southern states, initially where the migrant labor
population has resulted in Latino settlements. Not all immigrant entrepreneurs begin
their commercial life in a new country as migrant workers. Many travel
internationally for third-level education and contribute to their new countries with
ingenuity and creativity by applying the education that they acquire.
Entrepreneurs have the ability to convince others to believe in their vision and to
execute their plans. Often it is the personal passion for what they are doing that gets
entrepreneurs started and keeps them going. It also comes from expertise. People
from other countries add their own perspectives on business or the market that adds
unique perspective to commercial opportunities in their new land. A study in the
United States by the Venture Capital Association indicated that 25 percent of
publicly traded firms that were started with venture capital had one or more
founders who were immigrants (Anderson 2007). And 46 percent of these immigrant
business founders had come to the U.S.A. as international students. But they came
to study; not with the express intent of establishing businesses (Wadhwa, Rissing et
al. 2007). In a study of foreign-born founders of U.S. technology and engineering
companies, only 1.6 percent indicated that their intention for entering the country
was entrepreneurship (Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007).
Another significant path to immigrant entrepreneurship is proactive policy to recruit
innovation initiatives, especially in the hi-tech arena. In Canada, a successful
program to foster trans-Pacific exchange has resulted in Chinese and Indian
immigrants linking businesses in the technology sector between western Canada,
especially Vancouver and Calgary and counterparts in Asian cities (Froschauer and
Wong 2006). The national government encourages immigration and innovation
initiatives by specific employment and immigration
policies that foster the relationships. Business and
trade associations make it easier for multicultural
exchanges to contribute to successful business starts by
the immigration and rapid integration into the business
network. Social networks contribute to integration and
opportunities for new immigrant entrepreneurship or
high-skilled employment. Silicon Valley in the U.S. is
well known for its penetration of Asian immigrants and
entrepreneurial work initiatives in the high-tech sectors
(Saxenian 2002).
AnnaLee Saxenian’s work in Silicon Valley has
documented that immigrants are employed in high-tech sectors of the economy at
greater rates than the general population (Saxenian and Ebulbehram 1998). A report
by the U.S. Small Business Administration in November 2008 indicated that
engineers from China and India now run approximately 25 percent of all technology
Another significant
path to immigrant
entrepreneurship is
proactive policy to
recruit innovation
initiatives, especially in
the hi-tech arena.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
37
businesses started in Silicon Valley (Fairlie 2008). Contrary to political opposition to
immigrants with claims that they depress wages and take jobs that belong to the
indigenous workers, almost 33 percent of the entrepreneurs and high-tech workers
in Silicon Valley are immigrants and rarely, if ever, are a drain on public funds
(Becker 2000).
For many reasons including a strong will to survive and to overcome obstacles,
barriers to traditional employment related to religious, cultural, or language barriers
and their unique perception of business opportunities, immigrant entrepreneurs
actually have better success rates in new ventures than native-born business starts
(Wolfington 2006). In some cases, immigrants can achieve their goals in life and
implement their plans and ideas that would just not be possible in their home
countries due to culture, politics, infrastructure, or markets. Immigrants have an
advantage in contributing to developing trade links with their home countries
because of the special knowledge that they have, which they can apply to reduce
transaction costs that might otherwise stand in the way of trade and investment
(OECD 2008a). Since 1978 Canada has promoted global immigrations for skilled
workers in high-tech and for entrepreneurs by allowing flexible citizenship. It has
resulted in more than 300,000 new immigrants (Froschauer and Wong 2006). This
involved a ranking of occupations and demand in Canadian labor markets where a
point system allowed preference for workers who could fill needed positions such as
computer programmers and analysts. The Canadian immigration policy extends to
expedited processing and employment authorization for partners of recruited
workers. But not all immigrants recruited under Canada’s investor/entrepreneur
program have resulted in investment in high-technology businesses. Many have
followed business strategies that have resulted in service businesses just as other
ethnic entrepreneurs (Jones 2004).
Any effort to promote business must take a sober approach to reality. In Ireland
today, as in many other countries, small business is the mainstay of the economy.
Over 97 percent of businesses in Ireland are small business and they employ 777,000
people, more than half of the total private sector employment excluding agriculture
(Forum 2006). Small businesses also form the foundation of business support
infrastructure to attract and retain foreign investment. In a report of small
businesses in Ireland, Cooney and Flynn (Cooney and Flynn 2008) reported that 12.6
percent of foreign nationals in Ireland represent that they are sole or part owners in
a business. In a 2007 report, 2,700 individuals were estimated to be starting a new
business each month over the period between January 2004 and June 2007
throughout Ireland (Fitzsimons and O'Gorman 2008). The same report indicated that
9 percent of adults were owner-managers of businesses that had been established
for more than 42 months and 8.2 percent of adults were early-stage entrepreneurs
(Fitzsimons and O'Gorman 2008).
In the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for immigrants in Dublin who either had
already started a business of their own or who were thinking about it, 79 percent
were either in business or thinking about starting a business in the near future, 82
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
38
percent indicated that they had five or less years experience in the field of the
business that they were considering starting (Pinkowski 2009).
According to OECD numbers in 2007 there were 334,300 out of the total population
4,172,013 persons in Ireland who identified themselves as self-employed, which
equates to 8.0 percent (CSO 2006; CSO 2008b; OECD 2008e). However, this may
overstate the overall picture of self-employment. To get a better understanding of
the extent of persons operating businesses as sole-proprietors, one must look at the
occupations that usually involve one-person operations. Self-employment in
agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing is the typical business model in these fields
and constitutes 77.8 percent of all employment in these occupations (OECD 2008e).
So, if one takes away from the total, the number involved in agriculture, hunting,
forestry and fishing, which is 91,000, the percentage of self-employed persons in all
other fields of endeavor is only 5.8 percent. Immigrants are less likely to be farmers
or own forest lands for logging as the business owner. Although they may seek
employment on farms and on fishing boats as employees or crew members.
Consequently, the estimate of 12.6 percent in self-employment or business
ownership for immigrants during 2008 represents more than twice the incidence of
self-employment in the country at the time of the 2006 census, i.e., 5.8 percent.
According to the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, immigrants are
starting businesses in the United States at a rate that is 30 percent more than native-
born entrepreneurs (Wolfington 2006; Wadhwa, Saxenian et al. 2007). This number
is confirmed by the 1996-2007 Consumer Population Survey and indicates that as of
the 2000 U.S. Census immigrants constituted 16.7 percent of all new business
owners generating $67 billion of the $577 billion total of U.S. business income, which
is 11.6 percent of all business income in the U.S. (Fairlie 2008). More foreign-born
entrepreneurs are embarking on new ventures compared to native-born residents of
New York City (Bowles and Colton 2007). This extends across a range of economic
sectors from food manufacturing to healthcare resulting in stimulating growth of
these sectors, increasing employment and transforming underperforming
communities into thriving ones. Employment growth for example was up to 34
percent in immigrant neighborhoods compared to 7 percent citywide. During the
decade up to 2004, the number of firms grew by less than 10 percent across the
entire city but increased by up to 55 percent in some predominantly immigrant
neighborhoods. In every U.S. Census since 1880, immigrants in general were more
likely to be self-employed compared to the native-born population (Bowles and
Colton 2007). Restricting the comparison to a par on similar skill levels, immigrants
are still more likely to be engaged in self-employment (Borjas 1986). Continuing to
the present time in the United States, more foreign-born workers are engaged in
self-employment compared to native-born workers. In New York this was 9.27
percent in 2000, reflecting a growth spurt of 53 percent over the 1990 census. The
number of native born workers who were self-employed was only 7.71 percent,
which was a decrease of 7 percent (Bowles and Colton 2007).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
39
In the United Kingdom, ethnic minorities were responsible for approximately 10
percent of business start-ups in 1999 although they constituted around 6.4 percent
of the population (Basu and Altinay 2002). In London, estimates in 1999 were that 19
percent of all businesses were owned by ethnic minorities and they accounted for 50
percent of all new business start-ups (Basu and Altinay 2002).
IMMIGRANTS’ MOTIVES FOR STARTING AN ENTERPRISE
Although it may be taken for granted that immigrant entrepreneurship is a fast track
for integration and wealth accumulation, research shows that early-stage businesses
may not provide more income compared to employment. A comparison of
immigrant entrepreneurs with employed immigrants in Sweden indicated that the
entrepreneurs had substantially lower incomes than those employed over a 16 year
period, including varying economies and stages of the business cycle (Hjerm 2004). A
survey of Irish immigrants in business indicated that the average earnings were less
than €50,000 per year (Cooney and Flynn 2008). In the U.S. immigrant-owned
businesses make less on average ($46,614) than native-owned businesses ($50,643)
(Fairlie 2008). Based on a 1997 survey of minority owned business enterprises,
annual receipts for minority businesses in the United States indicate that 60 percent
have receipts over $10,000 but only 3 percent have annual receipts over one million
dollars, compared to 5 percent for of total U.S. firms (Wellner 2001). Although none
of these numbers seem to be a sufficient amount for a sustainable business, several
considerations about entrepreneurship and business entrepreneurship in particular
must be kept in mind. First, business owners do not think like employees. Their
income is not limited to salary. In fact the optimum situation from their perspective
would be to have no taxable income. They do this by expensing as much as possible
through their business as business expenses instead of paying themselves higher
salaries and paying the expenses out of personal funds. Second, many business
owners that deal with cash do not accurately report all of their cash income and
expenses. This becomes troublesome when they apply for bank credit because the
business paper records do not accurately reflect the real success or profitability of
their business. And third, €50,000 per year, more or less, is still more than many
immigrants might be able to earn as employees in other peoples businesses.
Satisfaction with the level of income attainable with micro-businesses speaks to the
reasons and satisfactions for people starting their own business ventures.
From analysis of the responses to the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey for immigrants
in Dublin who either had already started a business of their own or were thinking
about it, 28 percent of respondents admitted to income from their business of less
than €50,000, 10 percent indicated they earned more than €100,000, while 60
percent of respondents preferred to not provide an answer to this question
(Pinkowski 2009).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
40
The profit motive is not the only reason for business being. Sometimes, people start
a business out of necessity as a result of being out of work, plant closings, or
frustration in a current job, being overlooked in expected promotion, or
redundancies decisions outside of their control. The opportunity to have control
over your life and your work can be strong motivation. It is not just the ability to be
saying what hours you will work but it also involves every step in the operation of a
business. This might include environmental sensitivity, social responsibility and
benefiting your own community in certain ways. For the immigrant community,
another challenge may be over-qualification for the work available or the non-
acceptance of academic or professional credentials. Immigrant entrepreneurs cannot
only make their own opportunities but can direct attention to social cause of benefit
to their cohorts that perhaps the indigenous population overlooks or is insensitive
to.
An individual may see great opportunity in a new business but would not have
control over his or her own destiny in someone else’s employ. They may have access
to information or special knowledge that they wish to exploit for advantage. Perhaps
a person sees no opportunities in existing businesses for someone with his or her
interests and skills or finds that their superiors take credit for their advances leaving
them without a proper sense of accomplishment. A system of financial reward based
on longevity or conformity does not sit well with driven people who have a high
degree of confidence in their own abilities. Immigrants have unique knowledge
about the market, consumer interests and competition in their home country and
can identify opportunities based on this knowledge that engendered residents of
their new country are not as capable of capitalizing on.
Corporate culture and conformity are often motivation for the creative classes to
start independent firms when they are free to conduct their pursuits in whatever
manner they determine is appropriate for them (Florida 2005). People who work for
large organizations sometimes become frustrated in organizational bureaucracy and
office politics. The desire to innovate and create new products unfettered by
bureaucratic constraints is a strong motivation for entrepreneurship.
When you own your own business you also have the opportunity to build equity.
You also own the means of production, which can develop into substantial value.
You also have the opportunity to bring other family members into your firm and
prepare for transition between generations. This control over your own economic
future also benefits society. It is substantial opportunity for advanced economies to
allow immigrants to contribute more added value to their new communities through
job and wealth creation that results.
Entrepreneurship creates the opportunity for philanthropy. If you are financially
successful you may choose to give away some of your wealth in the manner that you
decide to help your community or favorite institutions. Other contributions that
entrepreneurs make result from their creating value. New, innovative ideas have
been known to change society. To have the opportunity to change peoples’ lives
through your work is personally rewarding and motivation for some entrepreneurs.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
41
When it affords the opportunity to help your country-fellows it also helps
immigrants to integration economically as well as socially.
Ego satisfaction may be another motivation for entrepreneurship that is more
important than money. Business entrepreneurs have great opportunities to be
visible in their community. Membership in Chambers of commerce, business awards,
community boards and other corporate boards of directors serve the personal
esteem and satisfaction motivations of many entrepreneurs.
Finally, there may be a spiritual component that drives certain ethnic or cultural
groups. Martin Luther and Max Weber famously promoted the Protestant Work
Ethic in terms of self-reliant individualism being its own reward (Weber 1904/1930).
Such a culture promoted achievement, entrepreneurial vocations and hard work as
fulfilling both secular as well as spiritual pursuits.
Entrepreneurship can stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities and
change societies. In the developed world, successful small businesses are the
primary engines of job creation, income growth and poverty reduction. Since 1995
the number of small firms in Ireland has ranked from 97 to 98 percent of total firms
(Forum 2006). New and small firms, rather than of larger ones, are increasingly seen
as the major providers of new jobs (Emerge 2007). Often this translates into strategic
governmental support for entrepreneurship in order to contribute to economic
development or it should. Encouraging immigrant entrepreneurship has additional
advantages for an economy. A perception of opportunity has been the principal
factor responsible for a climb in entrepreneurial activity in Ireland (Fitzsimons and
O'Gorman 2006).
The point taken is that encouraging entrepreneurship should not be viewed as a
state-sponsored get rich quick scheme. It is however about economic integration,
appreciation for increasing multicultural society that pays dividends in lessened
social welfare and inter-cultural strife. It is a way that new citizens contribute novel
ideas and add to their new society and both benefit from the process. Creativity and
innovation born from changing perspectives are important. And most important, it
facilitates immigrants to get more involved in society and works against their desire
to move on to other opportunities in their home country or seemingly more
attractive alternatives.
This extends to transformation of neighborhoods and built spaces by immigrant
groups. The 2009 European Growth and Jobs Indicator now ranks Ireland second to
last, down from fourth most competitive in 2008, in measures of national
competitiveness such as economic growth, productivity and public finances (Smyth
2009). Finland and Poland were ranked number one and number two in both 2008
and 2009 and firms in Finland have been actively recruiting workers from Poland.
The costs of running a business in Ireland have increased greatly over the last
decade, rising faster than most other counties in the EU, fuelled in part by property
prices ensuing from the building boom but including utilities and services as well.
Between 2000 and 2008, Ireland experienced a 32 percent decline in real price
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
42
competitiveness (NCC 2009). In the period form 2001-2007 among EU countries,
Poland, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Hungary and Finland all had GDP growth per
capita greater than Ireland (NCC 2009).
Positive benefits of increasing immigration include: changes in the mix of human
capital and labor supply including adding skill sets that might not be present or in
short supply in the domestic labor market; increasing diversity that may lead to new
markets or consumer goods along with associated economic activity, i.e., it results in
more variation and more choices; and expansion in size of local markets and growth
in productivity of the local economy, which can drive innovation and open new trade
links (Nathan 2008). When the skills of different individuals are complementary but
they have different perspectives in their approach and unique knowledge of the
market based on prior experience and background, diversity translates into synergy
and increased productivity (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005). Larger markets and larger
economies also help with demographic balance in that it can add younger workers to
pay for social service benefits for aging or retired workers. These positive effects and
implications may reverse urban decline.
IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP CAN TRANSFORM URBAN
AREAS
During the 1980s and 1990s in Los Angeles, many immigrants moved into formerly
obsolete commercial-strip centers and adapted the urban form to create new spaces
that reflect cultural patterns of the new social organizations that have incorporated
cultural diversity including Latinos, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants (Holloway
1996; Loukaitou-Sideris 2002). New arrivals are revitalizing
neighborhoods in many jurisdictions such as the Chinese
immigrants in New York that purchased a small, run-down
grocery store in 1981 and evolved into a five-store chain of
Asian food products that has brought new prosperity around
their locations in Queens, in New Jersey, Maryland and
Virginia over two decades (Ipsen 2000). If it’s not the Asians,
it’s the Hispanics, or even the Guyanese in New York.
In Dublin, Chinese businesses, along with Korean, Polish and
others have transformed a once proud street, Capel Street,
which had been in steady decline into a new vibrant
commercial hub. As recently as 1993, Capel Street had been
described as an “obsolete area” and “something of a
commercial backwater” that was “not sufficiently attractive to property developers
to attract attention” (Pearson 2000). But the immigrant entrepreneurs saw it
differently and they did it largely with their own investments and sweat-equity
resulting in many new entrepreneurial businesses that generate economic activity
“The areas where
immigrants settle have
the potential to
develop new local
diversity which can re-
vitalize them and
support urban
regeneration.”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
43
and taxable income for the city. And the immigrants make these regenerated
communities their home too contributing to the social fabric of the area. On Capel
Street, the Asian immigrants occupy half of the residential units on the floors above
the shops (Suo 2008).
According to the OECD, urban regeneration is a key challenge and identified
opportunity for cities (OECD 2006). They conclude that underperforming cities may
constitute the next best hope for major improvements in a city’s competitiveness
and cities should include strategies for achieving this in their plans. This philosophy
has now been incorporated into state policy (Dept. of the Environment 2007). In
guidelines for development plans, they note that cultural diversity and
entrepreneurs from other countries give cities a competitive advantage and can
significantly contribute to urban regeneration. It is the innovative approaches that
immigrants bring with them and the links with their
home countries that are valuable as innovative
approaches to development and urban regeneration.
They state: “The areas where immigrants settle have the
potential to develop new local diversity which can re-
vitalize them and support urban regeneration” (Dept. of
the Environment 2007)
Today’s ethnic enclaves (Walsh and Mottiar 2008), or
landscapes of difference (Loukaitou-Sideris 2002) are
different from yesterdays ghettos. In the 19
th
century
ghettos, new immigrants coalesced in homogeneous
enclaves that represented closed worlds where in many
cases they could not escape because of the maintenance
of and dependence on their previous language and
traditions. The outside majority population shunned
these neighborhoods. Contemporary ethnic city spaces
are not homogenous but mixed as to various new
immigrants and the remaining native-born residents in
the districts. But many people live in other areas of the
city also and commute to the ethnic strips that
transcend national lines that bring together different
groups who interact around commerce (Loukaitou-Sideris 2002). They may be
predominantly Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese as in Los Angeles or Chinese, Polish
and African as in parts of Dublin, but they are no longer closed districts where
people have the view that outsiders are not welcome and residents may never leave.
They are true urban spaces that rely on diversity and opportunity to facilitate
integration instead of segregation that are melding appreciation for older cultures
with indigenous culture resulting in revitalization and economic development in a
new multi-cultural form.
Capel Street is certainly not the only example in Dublin. It is largely immigrant
entrepreneurs who are operating businesses and opening new storefronts on Talbot
They are true urban
spaces that rely on
diversity and
opportunity to
facilitate integration
instead of segregation
that are melding
appreciation for older
cultures with
indigenous culture
resulting in
revitalization and
economic
development in a new
multi-cultural form.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
44
Street and contributing to redevelopment of the commercial area from Mary Street
to Henry Street and North to Parnell Street. As many as 70 percent of the business
on Parnell Street are ethnic businesses including predominantly Chinese but also
African, Korean and Polish (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). Low costs of entry for street-
cart entrepreneurs are helped by common acceptance in immigrant communities
and ethnic enclaves. Many traders who have grown into conventional businesses
start out in the casual sector. This is common in the Liberties area of Dublin and on
Moore Street, which has had street traders continuously since the 19th century
(Pearson 2000).
Consequently, immigrant entrepreneurs have a great deal to offer the city in terms
of economic development and rejuvenation if they are encouraged to strike out on
their own simply because they frequently taken on challenges that are written off by
native born business people and operating in areas of commerce or geographical
space that are just deemed to be not potentially profitable by the mainstream. In
fact, ethnic clustering does not have to be a leaderless process. Immigrant property
entrepreneurs can also influence locational decisions of co-ethnics that can make an
area more desirable and ameliorate some of the challenges and perceived difficulties
of immigration and opportunities to start new businesses. Jane Jacobs called
attention to immigrants and diversity in cities as a means of powering innovation
and the growth of cities (Jacobs 1961). Since the 1970s a great deal of Los Angles real
estate has been purchased by Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs who began buying
property for development, which they later sold to other immigrants in order to
create housing or commercial opportunities (Light 2002). In Dublin, a Chinese
entrepreneur began acquiring long-term leases of a significant number of buildings
on Parnell Street in 2002, which he began to sub-lease to businesses from his own
ethnic community (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). These initiatives resulted in changed
neighborhoods and new opportunities from immigrant businesses that were spurred
from within the community itself.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
45
CHAPTER 5
CHALLENGES FOR IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
The Small Business Forum of Ireland enumerated issues that were particularly acute
for growing businesses, the small business sector and start-ups in particular (Forum
2006). Based on their report, immigrant entrepreneurs face the following challenges,
and more, for successful new venture creation:
? Difficulty in accessing finance.
? Weak management capability.
? Lack of innovation.
? Under-exploitation of Information Technology.
? Burdensome administrative regulations.
? Rising local authority charges.
? Poor access to information and advice.
? Inadequate infrastructure.
? Lack of a systematic approach to entrepreneurship.
In a study of immigrant groups in Britain, France, the
United States, Germany and the Netherlands, Roger
Waldinger identified seven common challenges that
immigrant groups face regarding ethnic
entrepreneurship (Waldinger, Aldrich et al. 1990).
These are:
? How they acquire information that they need to
establish a business and survive.
? How to acquire capital necessary to fund the
business.
? Where to get the training and acquire the skills
necessary to run a small business enterprise.
? How to recruit and manage an honest,
competent and affordable workforce.
? How to manage customer and supplier
relationships especially with different language
or business practice models.
? How to survive serious competition in the new environment.
? How to protect themselves and co-ethnics from political attacks.
These remain important and significant challenges for immigrant entrepreneurship.
Some of the issues are explored in more depth below.
“Treating ethnic
entrepreneurs the
same is not equal
treatment because
they have different
issues and challenges
that should be
addressed by public
policy in order to truly
address equal
opportunity”
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
46
BANKS
There is a need to encourage banks to create new programs to encourage immigrant
entrepreneurs to place their money on deposit with the banks and encourage
traditional banking business tools such as use of checks and credit cards. In general,
the banks don’t offer an open door to immigrant business start-ups and put
limitations of financing (Rehman 2008). There is a need to increase or create
opportunities for micro lending. Banks for example, will not issue a credit or even a
debit card to an immigrant unless they have had an account with their bank for 12
months, even if the money on deposit with the bank is grossly in excess of any
charge limit. Unless cash-only businesses are to be encouraged, which is certainly
contrary to the interests of the bank, the simple utility of a Visa credit card should be
readily available. Sometime this results in many business owners operating on a cash
basis out of necessity. In China, for example, cash-business is the norm. It is a
cultural practice there that the immigrants are repeating in their new country (Suo
2008). It also results in many of them not paying taxes and not obtaining proper
business permits. Most of the money that they make is sent home to family in their
home country either to support them or to pay them back for the costs of coming to
Ireland (Wang 2008). Many borrow money to establish themselves in a new country
and need to pay back their families (Suo 2008). If there are any concerns with credit
worthiness it is simply a matter of applying a credit limit or using the debit card
approach, both of which are readily accepted in the global world of banking, outside
of Ireland. Another aspect that should be addressed is the policy of the banks to
require greater capitalization to open a business bank account than the government
requires in order to establish a business (Rimkus 2009).
REGULATORY
Regulators need to realize that zoning laws and building
codes may be different and not intuitive for immigrants.
There is a need to increase efforts at education and to
replace punitive outcomes in favor or encouraging
compliance with enforcement efforts. Sometimes a lack
of education in established practices and familiarity with
sometimes overly bureaucratic paperwork and legal
documentation works against the immigrant start-ups.
The challenges for immigrant entrepreneurs compared
to most native-born entrepreneurs include lack of
familiarity with how business is traditionally done in the
country, lack of awareness of local regulations and legal
requirements, limited experience with traditional financial tools and procedures and
often no documented credit history. Not to mention the obvious that for many
Zoning laws and
building codes may be
different and not
intuitive for
immigrants. There is a
need to increase
efforts at education…
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR
47
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
(Bowles and Colton 2007). Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
(Levie 2007). The phenomenon of
share the same national background or languages, has been positively correlated
with the greater incidence of self
born, which surpasses 15 percent for some national groups in the U.S.
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
compliance with business regulations, tax reporting responsibilities
of trust of government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
co-nationals by virtue of ethnic solidarity
such relationships for trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
formal. Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
size that they can grow because of the small scope of the sub
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
his customers are Lithuanian or Polish, he has been selling to Irish
hiring an Irish salesman to approach
without an Irish colleague he find
collection is more difficult.
FIGURE 5-1. GOVERNMENT
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
9. Which of the following Government and State
Agencies involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
ROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
. Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
. The phenomenon of immigrant enclaves, i.e. places where residents
l background or languages, has been positively correlated
with the greater incidence of self-employment of immigrants compared to native
born, which surpasses 15 percent for some national groups in the U.S. (Borjas 1986)
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
compliance with business regulations, tax reporting responsibilities and general
government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
ethnic solidarity (Walsh and Mottiar 2008). They also rely on
r trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
ecause of the small scope of the sub-market. The food
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
his customers are Lithuanian or Polish, he has been selling to Irish-owned stores by
hiring an Irish salesman to approach them (Rimkus 2009). He also indicated that
without an Irish colleague he finds that Irish store owners do not pay on time and
OVERNMENT SUPPORT AGENCIES REACHING IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
9. Which of the following Government and State
Agencies involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
Bord Bia, www.bordbia.ie
Companies Registration Office,
www.cro.ie
Department of Enterprise, Trade
and Employment,
www.entemp.ie
Dublin City Council,
www.dublincity.ie/business
Enterprise Ireland,
www.enterprise-ireland.com
Patents Office,
www.patentsoffice.ie
Revenue Commissioners,
www.revenue.ie
Health and Safety Authority,
www.hsa.ie
UBLI N
competency with the language may usually be an initial or continuing constraint
. Immigrant entrepreneurs may more readily attract other
immigrant workers because of the comfort level that exists between worker and
manager where they share a common language and customs or social connections
, i.e. places where residents
l background or languages, has been positively correlated
employment of immigrants compared to native-
(Borjas 1986).
There are other general issues such as knowing where to go to get information,
general lack
government issues in some communities. Consequently, many immigrants
are attracted to ethnic enclaves where they rely on information sharing among their
. They also rely on
r trading networks where extension of credit is easier and less
Because of this, many immigrants will start a business with appeal to their
own community and don’t look beyond it to the general population, which limits the
market. The food
marketing manager from Lithuania, Tomas Rimkus said that although 90 percent of
owned stores by
. He also indicated that
s that Irish store owners do not pay on time and
MMIGRANT
Companies Registration Office,
Department of Enterprise, Trade
ireland.com
Health and Safety Authority,
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
48
LANGUAGE
This in part relates to language proficiency as most if not all regulations are strictly in
English. They should be available in multiple native languages. Chinese immigrants
have reported the ability to speak the language, which they have learned in Ireland,
but they are not competent, by their reckoning, to read the English language.
Consequently they generally do not look for or refer to documents and materials
that are written in English.
Jian Wei Zhang, owner of Golden Beach Supermarket on Parnell Street, said that
many Chinese students come to Ireland to learn English with no prior English skills.
He said that although they learn to speak and can do business with English speakers
they still find it difficult to read English (Zhang 2008). Some have referred to
anecdotal evidence that some English language schools effectively operate as a front
for the sale of visas to non-EEA nationals who obtain student visa instead of going
through the work permit system (Ruhs 2005). Zhang said that it would be better if
basic information was available in languages other than English so many immigrants
in this situation can learn about services available and take advantage of more
training.
Due in part to language or cultural barriers, even if immigrant entrepreneurs had
owned businesses in their home country they may find in a hard to participate in
established business organizations in the new country (Wolfington 2006). Hafeez
Rehman, a Pakistani who started Ayska’s Spice House after coming to the conclusion
that driving a pizza delivery vehicle was not his future said that language is a big
challenge because it usually means that all ethnics are looked at in the same way in
public perception, i.e., negatively (Rehman 2008). He said that this is also
contributed to by the influence of the media who generally don’t report on success
stories such as his business that has grown to a seven-employee operation in retail
and wholesale trade. Instead they rely on negative stories when they portray
immigrant communities. U.S. Census data between 1980 and 1990 reflect that
English language proficiency is increasing in relevance as a determinant for self-
employed immigrant earnings in the U.S. (Davila and Mora 2004).
Many immigrant businesses in New York City also fail after a short time as compared
to non-immigrant start-ups (Bowles and Colton 2007). This results from the high
costs of real estate, possibly overzealous code compliance agents, increased
competition due to low cost of entry and basically unsustainable business models in
particular related to constrained market size. A 1994 study in the United States
indicated that highly educated immigrants and those who were affluent prior to
starting their business venture were associated with successful new ventures. In this
regard the study found differences across ethnic groups whereas Korean immigrants
were more likely to be highly educated and invested heavily in their start-ups but
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
49
immigrant business owners from Africa generated more sales and improved
profitability despite lower initial investments in their businesses (Bates 1994).
Other ethnic communities seem to do particularly well in business start-ups either
because of family connections, wealth, or commitment to entrepreneurship. The
East Indian community in the U.S. has been described as the richest foreign-born
group in the country. By the mid ‘90s they had been reported as owning 40 percent
of the motels in the country. In the U.K., Indians own 60 percent of independent
retail shops (Bates 1994).
Although education, experience and capital for business formation are desirable and
contribute to chances of success, this is not always possible and is not the case for all
immigrant groups. Rates of entrepreneurship in Ireland are highest among those
with third level (11.6 percent) and fourth level education (8.2 percent) (Fitzsimons
and O'Gorman 2008). Even less-well educated immigrants are successful in business
and contribute to the economy. They are providing returns to the country as
consumers and taxpayers. But a reasonable question is: is it a precondition for
success? To bridge the gap for immigrant entrepreneurs less financially
accomplished or financially excluded from traditional capital sources, a higher
proportion of immigrants turn to micro-loans (Cranfield 2006). The median planned
investment in a business for most entrepreneurs in Ireland is €30,000 and three out
of four entrepreneurs expect to start with less than €100,000 (Fitzsimons and
O'Gorman 2008).
According to Cooney and Flynn (2008) the distinctive challenges that immigrant
entrepreneurs face in Dublin include:
? Lack of business connections in their new environment.
? Indeterminable credit history.
? Lack of sufficient collateral for borrowing.
? Weak business plan documents.
? Little or inadequate prior business experience.
? A degree of distrust exhibited by lenders either for the individual applicant or
for the ethnic minority in general.
It would appear that new business start-ups by immigrant entrepreneurs do not rely
much on support agencies because they do not know where to find them. The same
goes for research to support a business plan. If you don’t know where to go for
information, you can’t use it. Material available in a language that they cannot read
makes it nearly the same as not having the material prepared in the first place. The
Department of the Environment Guideline for Planning Authorities recommends an
assessment for special needs regarding translation of issue papers (Dept. of the
Environment 2007, p. 56). The availability of volunteer translators in ten languages
that are listed in the Guide to Enterprise in Dublin City that was jointly produced by
Dublin City Council and the Dublin City Enterprise Board should be a ready reference
in all government offices to enable immigrant entrepreneurs help in navigating the
system in their native language if necessary (DECB 2009).
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR
In the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
they have heard of to any extent was
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
the Dublin Business Library (11 percent), the Komp
the Website www.startingabusinessinireland.com
Statistics Office (20 percent)
FIGURE 5-2. ENTERPRISE
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
GENERAL ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
growth (Zachary 2000).
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
to include entrepreneurs from overseas
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in
experienced, as a hostile place for differences of any kind including
sexual orientation, color
communities with a positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
economically, socially and
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
8. Which of the following Organizations and
Associations involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
ROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N
Entrepreneurship Profile Survey most respondents did not have any familiarity
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
they have heard of to any extent was the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 45 percent,
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
the Dublin Business Library (11 percent), the Kompass business registry (11 percent),
www.startingabusinessinireland.com (11 percent) and
Statistics Office (20 percent) (Pinkowski 2009).
NTERPRISE SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS REACHING IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
(Pinkowski 2009)
CCEPTANCE BY THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
. The national government in Building Ire
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
to include entrepreneurs from overseas (Ireland 2008). Immigration an
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in
a hostile place for differences of any kind including ethnic origin,
color, age, or gender (GLEN 2009). Immigrants seek welcoming
positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
and politically. It is up to communities to recognize these
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
8. Which of the following Organizations and
Associations involved with new venture support do you
know? Please choose all that apply.
Enterprise Ireland,
www.enterprise-
IDA, www.ida.ie
ISME, www.isme.ie
Institute for Minority
Entrepreneurship, www.ime.ie
Small Firms Association,
www.sfa.ie
Dublin City Enterprise Board,
www.dceb.ie;
www.enterpriseboards.ie
First Step, www.first
NTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
50
most respondents did not have any familiarity
with existing enterprise support agencies. The only networking organization that
the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 45 percent,
with only about 10 percent of respondents having known any other organization.
Practically none of them had heard of any of the business research sites including
ass business registry (11 percent),
and the Central
MMIGRANT
ARGE
Acceptance to openness to immigration is a key factor in innovation and economic
The national government in Building Ireland’s Smart
Economy has included an action plan to make Ireland a hub of innovation in Europe
Immigration and integration
policies need to take into account the diversity of people and celebrate differences
as contributing factors to a flourishing economy lest the city is perceived, or in-fact
ethnic origin,
Immigrants seek welcoming
positive attitude toward diversity. They need to feel included
politically. It is up to communities to recognize these
motivations and encourage and support diversity and participation across all sectors,
Enterprise Ireland,
-ireland.com
ISME, www.isme.ie
Institute for Minority
Entrepreneurship, www.ime.ie
Small Firms Association,
Dublin City Enterprise Board,
www.enterpriseboards.ie
First Step, www.first-step.ie/
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
51
including the newcomers (Clark 2008). Although immigration
policy is decided at the national level, it is often the cities
and the local level that have to deal with the practical
consequences of failed or weak integration practices
because strong economies, in particular, attract migrants
from all over the world (Spencer 2008). This is not to
overlook the issues of integration and acceptance of
differences from disparate groups from within a country that
also can have significant implications for domestic strife and
economic progress. According to Issah Huseini, national
coordinator of the New Communities Partnership, there is
greater acceptance of the new citizens in Dublin than
elsewhere in the country. According to Huseini, “in Dublin
there is some openness but outside of the capitol there is
complete denial that there has been a change” (Huseini
2009). He said that this contributes to the immigrants
focusing on business with their own communities because if
they tried to market just to the mainstream as immigrant
entrepreneurs, the indigenous people would not patronize
the business. Huseini cited an example of a business couple
operating a restaurant where the wife was Irish and the immigrant husband had to
take a lower profile as a kitchen porter rather than acknowledge that he was also
one of the owners.
Adeola Ogunsina, who left his employment with Shell Oil Corporation to embark on a
service station franchise that grew to a four-station operation, said that he found
general distrust of Nigerians in seeking financing (Ogunsina 2008). He said that it was
even difficult to get trade credit due to the distrust of immigrants in general. He had
to give suppliers a personal guarantee to receive products on normal trade payment
terms.
LIMITATIONS OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Immigrant entrepreneurs and minority-owned business have remained more limited
in their appeal to mass markets. Yet Bowles (2007) lists many businesses that have
become household names that were started by immigrant entrepreneurs including,
e.g., Warner Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Anheuser Busch, Goya Foods, Fortunoff, Max
Factor and Sbarro. Only small numbers of ethnic restaurants open additional
locations or develop into restaurant chains. Few businesses focused on ethnic
products have attempted to follow the migration pattern of their sub-market into
other jurisdictions in preference to a pattern of remaining local (Bowles and Colton
2007).
Acceptance to
openness to
immigration is a key
factor in innovation
and economic growth.
Immigration and
integration policies
need to take into
account the diversity
of people and
celebrate differences
as contributing factors
to a flourishing
economy.
52
The challenges facing immigrant entrepreneurs include possibly new attitudes of
racial prejudice and segregation (Mac Cormaic 2008). According to a report from the
National Consultative Committee on Racism and
Interculturalism (NCCRI), a challenge related to issues
concerning housing and schools is the natural tendency
to cluster where they have friends who are also
newcomers, or where their native language is spoken.
The report concludes that this can lead to segregation
unless social integration is included as a key aim of
housing policy (Watt 2008).
Unfamiliarity with traditions of business in Ireland and
gaining trust with Irish customers and suppliers has
been reported as significant challenges (Cooney and
Flynn 2008). In personal remarks during a focus group,
Tomas Rimkus, a Lithuania national who has been in
Dublin for two years said that he notices a certain
politeness but lack of acceptance when making
proposals to Irish business for his line of imported food
products (Rimkus 2009). He has put on Irish sales
persons and the difference in success in marketing to Irish customers by the Irish
sales people is dramatic when compared to Lithuanian marketers to the same Irish
customers. Yet a survey of ethnic entrepreneurs reported that the majority of
respondents had not experienced any instances of discrimination and it did not
impact their business operations to any appreciable degree (Cooney and Flynn
2008).
STUDENT WORKERS AND PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS
With the decline in the economy, Billy Kelleher TD, Minister for Trade and
Commerce, said that he has an obligation to protect Irish workers and those from
the European Economic Area (EEA) (McInerney 2009). But OECD research and
empirical literature has determined that immigration generally has little influence on
unemployment and wages of local workers (OECD 2008a). Immigrants from the EEA
have had unlimited access to the Irish labor market since 1992. Most non-EEA
nationals who came to work in Ireland were subject to the work permit system and
until 2003 this was employer led as to recruitment and application for work permits,
with the associated payments to the government (Minns 2005). Work permits are
very restrictive as to alternative employment and duration or permissible stay. They
are limited to one year and the permit holders are not entitled to social welfare,
medical, or education benefits.
International students from non-EEA countries are admitted to the country for
education and some have been staying on to start micro businesses. Between 220
A survey of ethnic
entrepreneurs
reported that the
majority of
respondents had not
experienced any
instances of
discrimination and it
did not impact their
business operations to
any appreciable
degree
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
53
and 2004 the number of non-EEA students almost doubled from 11, 000 to over
20,000 (Ruhs 2005). They have not been encouraged, supported, or in many cases
made welcome in such entrepreneurial initiatives. Since April 2007, tertiary students
are allowed to stay in Ireland to find employment, but only for six months (OECD
2008a). It does not address the possibility and positive outcomes that could accrue
from encouraging entrepreneurship among higher education graduates. Non-EEA
student visas are limited to working no more than 20 hours per week, which many
student entrepreneurs ignore. However, student visas allowing 20 hours of
employment is more generous than many other countries that are receiving
immigrants (Minns 2005). Unlike other EU countries, someone must be in the state
for ten years before they can apply for permission to remain without conditions,
which will be determined on a case-by-case basis (Cranfield 2006). In other countries
it is a five-year period and an accepted right. There is transparency in the process
that makes clear the conditions for acceptability, which
is missing in Ireland.
A key finding of a report that studied immigrant
business founders in the United States indicated that
although more than half of the foreign-born founders of
technology and engineering businesses came to the
United States initially to study at universities; very few
came with the sole purpose of starting a company
(Wadhwa, Rissing et al. 2007). Only 1.6 percent
immigrated to the United States with the sole purpose
of entrepreneurship. And they typically did not establish
their companies until they had been working and
residing in the U.S. for an average of 13 years.
Education provides the preparation that needs
incubation until some precipitating event or circumstance become manifest. This
includes, for example, being made redundant. Potential entrepreneurs surface and
take the initiative when the right opportunity presents itself, which they can
capitalize on because of their prior preparation (Krueger and Brazeal 1994).
Consequently short term horizons regarding student visas or investor visas would
not seem to allow for maturation of the outcomes that can come from the evolution
of students to high-tech entrepreneurs.
In recognition of the growing significance of the international education market, the
government of Ireland established the International Education Board Ireland to
facilitate and develop the state as an international education center. They cite
Ireland’s share of this market today as small compared to its competitors, €5.6
billion in the U.K., €2.99 billion in Australia and €1.1 billion in New Zealand (IEBI
2006). This is only the economic impact of tuition and fees. The economic
development potential of cultivating high-tech innovative immigrant entrepreneurs
from the higher education market is unlimited. The UK and India have established
linkages before leading to partnerships in innovation, science and technology but are
More than half of the
foreign-born founders
of technology and
engineering businesses
came to the United
States initially to study
at universities; very
few came with the sole
purpose of starting a
company.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
54
being encouraged to appeal to policymakers at this time to address conditions that
would make cross-border partnerships more conducive (Poirson 2009).
The ties with universities, especially where they include some of the highest ranking
institutions in the world is an opportunity that should be exploited for greater
potential. The government of Ireland has said that it seeks a position as a location of
choice in the international education market (Ireland 2008). Dublin Institute of
Technology has several programs focused on entrepreneurship. The Hothouse
Venture Program targets high-potential start-ups with a one-year program designed
to help potential entrepreneurs develop entrepreneurial
skills and practical business knowledge. The success of
the program is measured by the number of companies
supported, 145, the number of jobs created in those
companies, nearly 1,000, and the extent of investment
and grant support garnered by the start-ups, which was
over €45 million (Cradden 2009). University College
Dublin (UCD) has attracted over $200 million in
investments over ten years through its Nova UCD, its
Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre (O'Toole
2009). This program is also focused on knowledge-
intensive start-ups, the life sciences and technology-
based firms that commercialize research ideas
developed at the university. In March 2009, Trinity
College and Dublin City University announced a joint effort to create an innovation
corridor between the two schools that would focus on innovation as an equal core
part of their mission alongside research and education. They have an objective of
creating at least 300 new companies out of this initiative by 2019.
More proactive efforts to work with the state and the higher education institutions
to allow graduates to stay in the country to develop business ideas would pay
excellent returns. The development of high technology start-ups in the U.S. has been
a substantial benefactor of such as policy there. But there are also many other
businesses that students can start because of their creativity and energy, which
should be given a chance to develop in Ireland. In part it repays a return on
investment in education resources that otherwise goes to benefit other countries
where the students return to or move to in order to pursue opportunities.
BUSINESS PERMISSIONS
For citizens of countries outside the EEA, Business Permission must be sought and
granted from the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform. Only about 100
permissions are granted in any year (Cranfield 2006). Actually, data from the
Department of Finance only show 97 permits issues in 2004, with none in 2005, 2006
and 2007 (OECD 2008a). And the failure rate for applications for business permission
reaches 85 percent (ICCI 2009). This business permission is not required if you are
More proactive efforts
to work with the state
and the higher
education institutions
to allow graduates to
stay in the country to
develop business ideas
would pay excellent
returns.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
55
resident in the state for at least five years or married to an Irish citizen. The
permission requires an initial investment of €300,000 and is only valid for one year.
It is questionable how many people would consider such an investment with no
assurance of continuation beyond one year. It is also not evident that these investor
immigrants have made a substantial contribution to either inward direct investment
or trade flows in general (Minns 2005). The process of requiring business permission
for non EEA citizens would better serve the economic development interests of the
country if it were related to the likely viability of the business and assessed on that
basis (Emerge 2007).
JOB CREATION REQUIREMENT
Perhaps the requirement that is hardest to understand about this policy, especially
in light of the high failure rate of the applications and very low number granted, is
the motivation for the particulars of the policy. It requires a number of employees in
the start-up stage that exceeds the employment model of half of the country of
Ireland. “Most Irish start-ups are one-person operations” (Forum 2006, p.54). Of the
233,000 businesses in Ireland, 131,000 have but one employee (Forum 2006). That
is, 56.2 percent of Irish businesses would not qualify for the business permission if
they had to apply for it, which requires employment of two EEA nationals besides
the business owner (Emerge 2007). The nascent immigrant entrepreneurs and
prospective entrepreneurs included in the Entrepreneurship Profile Survey also bear
this out. If they are already established in business (34 percent are and 46 percent
are thinking about it), for 26 percent it has been for less than five years, 36 percent
employ only one or two persons besides themselves (Pinkowski 2009). Another fact
regarding immigrant owned small business is that frequently family members are the
employees and may not be paid a salary.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENT
The amount of capital required, for government permission to operate a business by
a person from outside the EEA is also perplexing as to the basis of such a monetary
requirement. This stipulation calls for an investment of €300,000, which is far in
excess of what a typical small business entrepreneur starts in business with. A 2005
Small and Medium Enterprise Survey indicated that small businesses have difficulty
raising a sum even less than €100,000 for start-up capital and growth (Forum 2006).
A bank officer whose bank has opened over 300 accounts for new immigrant owned
businesses in the last year said that the typical limit for lending in this market is
€50,000 (Li 2009). Most entrepreneurs only look for debt finance in the range of
€25,000 (Forum 2006) and few start out with a capital investment of €300,000.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
56
CHAPTER 6
STEPS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN
TAKE TO REALIZE THE PROMISE
What can cities do to improve the acceptance and appreciation for diversity and
immigrants? One aspect of local government that relates to this question is the
realization that municipal administration is usually one of the larger businesses in the
community. In some cities, the municipality is the largest single employer (Spencer
2008). The city can go beyond promoting non-
discrimination and equal opportunity policy and play a
critical role in acceptance and integration by actively
recruiting members of the immigrant communities into
public administration. The benefits to be gained from a
culturally diverse workforce to serve a diverse
population are well established and discussed elsewhere
herein (Waldo 1948). This needs to go beyond the
specialists who are assigned to deal with immigrant or
integration issues or compliance with anti-discrimination
issues and include immigrant workers who contribute to
raising standards in the provision of mainstream services
to the community at large, including native groups and
new citizens.
Some European cities have experienced hostile public
reaction to providing services for immigrants and there
has been resistance among some staff themselves
because they do not appreciate the necessity for
diversity policies and proactive inclusiveness (Spencer 2008). Advances in recruiting
can be achieved without itself being discriminatory by targeting job advertising in
the immigrants’ own languages and communities. Posting announcements in the
media and source material that immigrants reference on a regular basis would be a
major step forward. Traditional media do not reach the new citizen communities.
See the results of a survey of Prospective Immigrant Entrepreneurs elsewhere herein
for identification of what those media sources are in Dublin. Application forms and
training materials can also incorporate sensitivity to foreign languages used by the
new citizens. Cities in Australia and Portugal have begun using mobile phone
technology to provide real-time translation services to public administrators in the
field (OECD 2008a).
Another thing that cities can do is to capitalize on their size as a consumer of goods
and services within the community. Cities including Copenhagen, Stuttgart and
Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands, have been using equality and diversity
principles in tenders and contracts when outsourcing municipal services (Bosswick,
The city can go beyond
promoting non-
discrimination and
equal opportunity
policy and play a
critical role in
acceptance and
integration by actively
recruiting members of
the immigrant
communities into
public administration.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
57
Lüken-Klaßen et al. 2007). Preference policies can
involve point scoring in evaluating competitive
proposals, which is an established technique for
giving preference to disadvantaged groups, given
otherwise equal qualifications. Governments also use
minority set-asides to achieve integration and
equality of opportunity goals.
These suggestions have related to demonstrating in
policy and practice greater appreciation for diversity
and incorporating such a philosophy in day-to-day
operations. However, the greatest gain can come
from promoting and facilitating immigrant
entrepreneurship. Recommendations in this regard
from New York City (Bowles and Colton 2007) include the following:
? Integrate immigrant entrepreneurs into the overall economic development
strategy;
? Create a new framework to provide business support services to immigrant
communities because existing pathways are not adequately reaching immigrant
entrepreneurs;
? Accept the fact that many immigrants, due to their cultural background or
previous homeland experience, will not seek the assistance from government-
run centers and trust of the organizations will have a lot to do with taking the
first step. This can be overcome by increased partnering with local organizations
that have already established their credibility within the immigrant communities;
? Add resources to help immigrants think outside of their own communities for
export and growth by creating agencies focused on immigrant business in the
mainstream;
? Create additional support on the micro-financing level as immigrant
entrepreneurs may start out smaller than typical businesses and access to seed
capital is particularly hard because of a lack of a local documented track record,
possible lender distrust, unfamiliarity of rules and business customs and
language barriers;
? Create ethnic focused business neighborhoods
and citywide ethnic cultural events, with
dedicated marketing campaigns to spread the
appreciation for differences in a multicultural
milieu.
The National Competitiveness Council cautions that
social exclusion undermines competitiveness and
cities need to realize that diversity should be nurtured to make the most of
opportunities to reach wider markets (NCC 2009). They point out that Dublin is
Ireland’s only city of international scale and cites are competing for citizens, workers
and investment. The economic performance of cities impacts the quality of life of
Advances in recruiting
can be achieved
without itself being
discriminatory by
targeting job
advertising in the
immigrants’ own
languages and
communities.
Integrate immigrant
entrepreneurs into the
overall economic
development strategy.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
58
people living and working in them. Local governments directly influence economic
growth and enterprise development and diversity and creativity, including immigrant
entrepreneurs, provide a richer cultural experience for citizens and visitors alike
(NCC 2009).
The contribution that community leaders can make to the preparation/opportunity
circumstances is to be visible and consistent in support for entrepreneurship
activities. They should support the perception that entrepreneurship is both
desirable and feasible (Krueger and Brazeal 1994). This includes visible support for
existing entrepreneurs that highlight their successful contributions to the economy.
The nascent entrepreneurs will get the message and take the initiative on their own
once they are convinced that the timing and preparation is right in a community that
is receptive.
REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY
(Waldo 1948). Essentially this dogma challenges any viewpoint of public
administration that assumes a value-free, non-partisan approach. It establishes the
position that to make government more efficient and more effective one must
address different needs differently. That is not the same as unequal treatment, and
certainly is not the separate but equal model, but it encompasses an approach of
equal treatment through accommodation to different needs, capacities, or native
understanding. The theory suggests that public organizations perform better if their
workforces actually reflect the demographics of the constituent populations
(Andrews, Boyne et al. 2005). This includes employing people in public
administration that can relate to disparate groups in
society because they are part of those constituencies
themselves and have better and more relevant
experiences with which they can relate to such sub-
groups.
Across the EU, few non-nationals are employed in public
administration, only 1.9 percent in the EU15, the prior
cohort of EU states before expansion. Among all
immigrants the number is 4.5 percent for foreign-born
workers (Spencer 2008). This compares with 14.1 percent
of foreign-born workers employed in manufacturing, 10.8% in construction and 9.2%
in hotels and restaurants. The smallest number of immigrants found jobs working in
public administration (only 0.2 percent). Yet 25 percent of Polish males, for example,
were qualified at third level qualification in social sciences, business and law, the
highest number by college level education for the Poles in Ireland (CSO 2008d). This
is also true for Lithuanians, where this discipline nearly equaled engineering degrees
with approximately 900 persons qualified (CSO 2008d). The same is true for Latvians
where 70 percent had upper level degrees mainly in social sciences, business and law
Representative
bureaucracy has been
an established policy
in public
administration for
more than forty years.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
59
(CSO 2008d). Outside of the EU15-25 cohort, the Nigerians also reflect substantial
qualifications in social sciences, business and law (31 percent of those with a third
level qualification (CSO 2008d). Since 2000, employment in the public sector in
Ireland has increased by 40 percent, in part necessitated by the high levels of inward
migration with its expansion of the population (NCC 2009).
In order to benchmark progress in integration of the bureaucracy, it will be
necessary to begin to collect data on employees’ ethnic backgrounds or their
national origins. Many cities have begun to measure the ethnic composition of
municipal staff and to assess its impact on policies and services. Policy initiatives
would be less effective unless managers are held accountable internally for building
a diverse team and successfully providing services across the spectrum of a diverse
community (Spencer 2008). This has not been accompanied by increased diversity in
many branches of the public service as yet. Dublin City Council is operating under a
policy where it is restricted from even asking employees their ethnic or national
origin due to a concern that this may be interpreted as a form of discrimination
(Cudden and O'Leary 2008). This seems to be a questionable position given that the
Irish Census expressed the will of the government when it added such questions in
2006 to begin to collect data on ethnicity for the purpose of tracking demographic
changes in Irish society. The National Competitiveness Council has called for a new
integrated approach to government departments that would address social inclusion
in order to serve national competitiveness and to address long-tem needs of the
citizenry (NCC 2009). As Cooney points out, treating ethnic entrepreneurs the same
is not equal treatment because they have different issues and challenges that should
be addressed by public policy in order to truly address equal opportunity (Cooney
and Flynn 2008). A policy of one size fits all fails to take into account significant
aspects of the local situation that can address institutional patterns related to
characteristics unique to the immigrants themselves and which otherwise may
contribute to vulnerability (Bosswick, Lüken-Klaßen et al. 2007).
There is a need to recruit immigrants into support agencies to provide information to
immigrants on services that are available as well as questions related to potential
entrepreneurship ventures. A participant in a focus group in 2005 stated the benefits
to be gained on both sides from adding immigrant trainers: the level of confidence
would be high – you would feel a sense of belonging, not so them and us in a way
that at present leads to identifying or labeling people as being different (Cranfield
2006).
A simple and humorous demonstration of the need for diversity in the workforce and
disadvantages associated with the lack of inclusiveness is the case of Ireland’s most
notorious reckless driver, Prawo Jazdy (Mac Cormaic 2009). It seems that this name
appeared on more than 50 entries in police logs before June 2007 for varying
offences including speeding, reckless driving and parking violations. Despite his
extensive police record, he was never brought to justice because he could not be
apprehended for a court appearance. Ultimately the mystery was solved when
someone consulted the Polish-English dictionary and discovered that Prawo Jazdy is
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
60
Polish for driving license. Officers, unable to read Polish, wrote down the prominent
words on the driving license, mistaking them for the offender’s first and surname.
Such simple and understandable human errors can be avoided by greater cultural
inclusion in staffing. An Garda Síochána, the Irish police authority, has been making
inroads in recruiting new citizens to help them address community policing on the
local level with some unexpected outcomes. The top recruit in the 2009 graduating
class was Ofelia Hough, a woman from Romania who incidentally speaks five
languages (Healy 2009).
Issah Huseini, national coordinator of the New Communities Partnership, indicated
that from his perspective the biggest challenge in Dublin is the attitude of the people
in charge (Huseini 2009). He said that he fields many complaints from new citizens
who say they are hit with a wall when it comes to going to access information. It may
be the accent, the name, or even the personal attitude of the employee
representatives, but people from the new citizen communities are put off, resulting
in there essentially being no help to them from public institutions. His suggestions to
correct this oversight include cultural awareness training in the city. He also said that
a little empathy regarding the challenges that the immigrants are facing in their new
land would go a long way. An understanding that this is a new permanent home for
many of them would contribute to an improvement concerning the willingness of
the bureaucrats to help their new citizen brethren. There is a perception, Huseini
said, that the immigrants are only capable of minor business enterprise instead of
bigger projects, which pigeonholes immigrants to second-tier status.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
61
CHAPTER 7
MARKETING, PROMOTION AND
NETWORKING
Consistently through the focus groups in Dublin, a recurring theme was that
immigrants who are prospective entrepreneurs do not know to whom to turn for
information and services. A survey of over 1,100 ethnic businesses indicated that the
participation rate with six training providers was extremely low, from 8 percent to 25
percent (Cooney and Flynn 2008). The most common reason for this in this survey
was lack of awareness. Although no time and cost too high were also selected as
reasons for not availing of training. As is the case many times, people may assume
certain things and not look into it because of these assumptions, which may not be
accurate nor a reliable indication because many programs are no cost or very low
cost. There are even training programs that target immigrant communities. But more
than two-thirds of respondents did not know about them. For example, the aim of
the Emerge program is to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs. This support is
available before a business is established through start-up and following in terms of
training, instruction and mentorship. Only 50 ethnic minority businesses were
provided support from Emerge last year and the organization believes that there is
far more opportunities to provide support to the ethnic minority entrepreneurs
(Allen 2009).
Although practically a quarter of the respondent cohort indicated that they
principally rely on ethnic media for their information, overall they had very little
personal involvement with traditional business networking organizations in Ireland.
Most did not know about these or how to join them. The Entrepreneurship Profile
Survey identifies the most common media that immigrant respondents said they
refer to on a regular basis. For most, it is their native language media or the no-cost
dailies that they selected. Small numbers of several of the mainstream newspapers
were included in the open ended category – other.
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
62
FIGURE 7-1. MEDIA USEFUL FOR REACHING IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
7. Which of the following sources of news do you read or
refer to on a regular basis? Please choose all that apply.
Metro
Metro Éireann
Herald AM
Evening Herald
Polski Herald
Nasz Glos
Polish Kurier
Polski Express
Other, please specify
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
FIGURE 7-2. NETWORKING ORGANIZATIONS KNOWN TO IMMIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
10. Which of the following business networking
organizations do you know? Please choose all that
apply.
PLATO, www.plato.ie
MicroTrade,
www.microtrade.org
Dublin Chamber of
Commerce,
www.dubchamber.ie
BRITE ICT Network,
www.dceb.ie/networking/brit
e-ict-network
BNI (Business Network
International), www.bni.com;
www.bnitrinity.com;
www.bniabbey.com
Source: (Pinkowski 2009)
CHALLENGES AND PROMI SE FOR IMMI GRANT ENTREPRENEURSHI P I N DUBLI N
63
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