Employment Week Presentation Brussels

© Prevista Ltd, April 12, 2023www.mbdi.org.uk

Minority Businesses Diaspora Interchange

Ramesh Prema Prevista

Paul HannaBirmingham Chamber of Commerce

June 2007

© Prevista Ltd, April 12, 2023 www.mbdi.org.uk

Introduction - Prevista

Founded in 1995 Consulting company that manages and implements contracts

and services for the public sector Specialist fields - enterprise, regeneration and skills Local and regional government, EU projects, partnerships Assisted over 15,000 new start ups and SMEs 60 staff and 70 specialist trainers and consultants www.prevista.co.uk

http://www.prevista.co.uk/


Purpose of the presentation

To provide a summary of the BAME contribution to the economies of London & Birmingham, UK

To provide summary information regarding the ‘Minority Businesses Diaspora Interchange’ EQUAL project

To outline the key achievements of the project


Ethnic Business Group Number of businesses in key ethnic groups

London Birmingham

Contribution to the economy and Current trend

South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghan and Nepalese)

Catering, Food retailing, Clothing/Textiles and Transport

Indian c10,000

Pakistani c4,000

Bangladeshi c900

3,500

1,600

600

Indian-owned businesses is the largest and most successful enterprise community with £20bl turnover in 2004. Rates of self-employment in all these communities exceed the white population.

Black Caribbean and Black AfricanPersonal Services (hairdressing and beauty),

Catering, Car repair services, Import& Export, accountancy and small scale construction

16,000 (approx) 2,800 Estimated £10bl turnover with £4.4bl disposable income. Under-represented in self-employment.

East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian and Philipino)

Textiles, Travel, Catering, and Export-Import

Mostly dominated by Chinese businesses

1,000 Mostly service based, Chinese are the highest educated group in UK, shifting from restaurants to technology, Financial and professional services. In Birmingham, almost a third of the Chinese population are engaged in self-employment.

West Asian (Turkish, Turkish Cypriot, Kurdish and Middle East communities)

Catering, Textiles, Export and Import

2500 (approx) West Asian businesses, Turkish are the largest.

Limited numbers Turkish- catering, retail and textile trades

Middle East- Highly educated with strong international trading link

Greek Cypriot- Cloth manufacturer, restaurant.

New arrivals (Somali, Kurdish, Yemeni and a range of other groups)

Catering, Internet Cafes, retail

No official figures Initial survey in 2006 indicated c150 and

growing rapidly

Fast changing picture. New arrivals tend to locate in inner city cheap premises, operate in retail and service sectors, esp businesses with low barriers to entry and low returns.

BAME Business Communities at a glance:


Key features of BAME businesses in London and Birmingham

Significant number of BAME owned businesses concentrate in the traditional and ethnic niche sector: Majority of BAME businesses are small

Status of the businesses: Mostly sole trader and private limited company

BAME’s gradually shifting from ethnic niche market to more mainstream and international growth sector.

Successful 2nd generation BAME businesses in mainstream and international sectors: Banking and Financial, Professional Services, ICT, Media, Fashion, Recruitment

Most of the successful BAME business owners are highly educated.


Barriers, Growth and Success:

Access to finance problem - 25% Black business (and less likely to use informal sources) - 11% Asian owned businesses - 10% white owned businesses

Finding suitable skilled staff

Access to private and public sector contracts- BAME owned businesses are under-represented in public sector contracts and have difficulty breaking into new markets

Access to business premises- lack of suitable commercial office premises and low-cost office accommodation holding back BAME enterprises

Access to business support and advice – still a dearth of knowledge of what is good practice

International trade and partnership


Strategies for BAME business Success: Three main strategies adopted by BAME businesses for development and sustainability

Moving from immediate ethnic market to wider community Start-up in mainstream and growth sector International and global trading

Support agencies need to:

Improve the data they have about BAME businesses Engage with them more effectively Promote sectoral diversity Improve access to finance Share good practice


The Minority Diaspora EQUAL project

Aims and objectives:

To Identify and exploit new ways of supporting BAME entrepreneurs by working with targeted minority business groups (African- Caribbean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Bangladeshi and Latin American) in urban areas across the UK and Europe which would:

Open up opportunities for minority entrepreneurs to grow their businesses Increase the survival rates of these businesses through stronger business

networks Accelerate minority businesses rates of growth and impact on employment levels Support transitioning businesses from the informal to the formal business sector


Project Work Streams

BME Business Networks:

Engaging, supporting, establishing and developing existing and new networks

University Research: Barriers faced by Refugees and New Arrivals, Procurement

International Networks:

Bangladeshi, Chinese, EU partners – Italy, Holland, France

Creative enterprise Support:

Focus on supporting start ups n the creative sector

Mainstream Business Support:

The role of enterprise agencies, chambers and business links


Cultural Communities Business Sectors

Business Themes Geographical Locales

- Chinese- African Caribbean- Latin American- Bangladeshi- Vietnamese

- Creative Industry- Hair & Beauty- Carnivals, festivals, - Mela’s

- Procurement- Supply Chain Access- International Trade- Research

- UK- France- Netherlands- Italy

FOCUS


The Minority Diaspora EQUAL project

Achievements – Outputs and Outcomes

450 Businesses Supported

30 Jobs Created

Tailored Business Support Models – Specific to the following sectors:

Carnivals, Festivals, Mela’s

Creative Sector

3 significant pieces of research

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