- The Can Déu Civic Centre in Barcelona hosted more than 70 participants on April 3 and 4 as part of the Migrant Entrepreneurship Support. Access to Finance conference.
- M-UP (The Network for Migrant Entrepreneurs to Scale Up and Grow) and MAGNET (Migrant Acceleration for Growth – Network for Entrepreneurship Training) are the two European consortia that organized the event.
With the aim of detecting and analyzing the needs and barriers in migrant entrepreneurship, particularly in access to finance, the conference organized jointly by
M-UP and
MAGNET brought together various participants over two days in Barcelona: representatives of the migrant community, organizations that support migrant entrepreneurs, and policymakers linked to improving the business environment.
One of the key points of the event was the
networking spaces where attendees had the opportunity to share ideas and experiences and identify potential new collaborations with the aim of supporting migrant entrepreneurship in a collective way.
During the sessions, the importance of providing
support to migrant entrepreneurs was highlighted in order to foster economic development, social cohesion, and community integration.
Day 1 – Highlights
Mercè Garau, director of the
Public Employment Service of Catalonia,
welcomed the representatives of M-UP and MAGNET to the conference, highlighting the social and economic benefits of migrant entrepreneurship: “Successful entrepreneurs can become leaders and role models in their communities… Business creation and entrepreneurship is one of the main drivers of development.”
The day began with a speech by
Klaas Molenaar from
The Hague University of Applied Sciences who encouraged participants to reflect on and recognize the
blind spots in support for migrant entrepreneurs. Challenging assumptions and misconceptions, he stressed the importance of considering not only the financial capital of migrant entrepreneurs but also their social and human capital.
Jörg Schoolmann, Director of Development at
KIZ Sinnova, presented the main findings of his research on the
financing needs of migrant entrepreneurs in Germany and Spain. Comparing these two cases, he explained why the results of these two countries are different: the context, background, mindset, and cultural environment, as well as the challenges each country faces, are key factors for entrepreneurs’ access to finance.
Furthermore, during the first day,
five immigrant business owners shared their stories about how they became successful entrepreneurs in Spain. One of the testimonies,
Ousman Umar, an entrepreneur originally from Ghana and founder of
Nasco Feeding Minds, explained how he created the initiative that currently provides children and young people in Ghana with access to IT and digital education with the aim of gaining new skills and finding employment in their home communities.
The afternoon session focused on presenting different support policies for the creation of migrant businesses in various European contexts, as well as analyzing the difficulties and opportunities for accessing finance. Facilitated by Dr.
Daniela Bobeva, participants shared their perspectives on financing, from challenges to available opportunities in the sector, highlighting that a comprehensive approach to policymaking in support of immigrant entrepreneurship is essential to incorporate social and economic rights.
“It is incredible to work together with a group of experts and organizations that share best practices and develop recommendations to improve access to finance for immigrant entrepreneurs in Europe.”
Day 2 Highlights
Ewa Bankowska, from the
Microfinance Centre, opened the second day with a plenary session followed by group discussions on experiences in accessing finance. The facilitators for each group were representatives from both consortia who generated debates among the other participants by sharing their professional approaches.
Workshop group discussions
During the second day, Klaas Molenaar presented a new session to promote current FinTech solutions for migrant entrepreneurs and how they can leverage access to finance.
The Barcelona Declaration
During the final session, work was carried out on the creation of a manifesto on migrant entrepreneurship which, in addition to the focus on access to finance, also included approaches to ICT, regulation, social networks, and capacity building.
Based on the results of these discussions, the
Barcelona Declaration: Manifesto for Migrant Entrepreneurship will be created, incorporating one of the main conclusions of the conference: a holistic approach is needed to access finance in immigrant entrepreneurship.
About M-UP:
M-UP (The Network for Migrant Entrepreneurs to Scale Up and Grow), funded by the European Union’s COSME Programme, brings together expert organizations from across Europe to help migrants navigate the challenges of turning their existing micro-enterprise into a successful small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). Visit the website for more information.
