In the last show we heard about different working cultures but what if you are newly arrived in the country and you cannot get a job because you don’t speak the language, your qualifications and experience are not recognised and other challenges? In that case you may consider starting your own business.
Welcome to absolutely intercultural, show 318. My name’s Anne Fox, this show is coming from Denmark and today we have an expert on what we can call migrant entrepreneurs. Dimitris Polychronopoulus, himself a Greek migrant to Norway, has just completed a PhD on the topic of how best to support migrant entrepreneurs. I wanted to ask him about whether there are certain types of businesses that migrants set up, what challenges they face and what sort of help is most effective.
And at the very end of the show we’ll find out about a possible development in the EU that could help you set up a business more easily as you move between countries.
absolutely typical
Let’s go absolutely typical and find out first if there is such a thing as a typical migrant entrepreneur profiles.
So the transnational business is often a defence mechanism, you know you will probably succeed when you start getting native customers as well as your fellow country folk and you don’t just need finance to start a business but also use your human capital, which is your education and experience, and your social capital, which is that dreaded word, your network.
And it’s great news that the EU may be able to help by allowing people to set up a limited company for 100€ very soon. Fingers crossed.
If you want to share your experiences of migrant entrepreneurship on the podcast then let us know by adding a comment on the website
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Our next show will be coming to you on the fifth of June from Germany.
Until then, stay tuned!
Editor: Anne Fox (French/British)
