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Minority ethnic groups are the 'key to EU enterprise'
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There is now a strong feeling by EU enterprise commissioners that ethnic minority communities could hold the key to Europe's economic growth. Unfortunately, too many obstacles still lie in the way of real progress. One commissioner made such comments at a recent conference in Brussels as he outlined the case for giving more support to EU immigrant entrepreneurs.
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And according to statistics cited by the commissioner, minorities in EU member states like the UK, Sweden and Denmark are more likely to start a business than the home-grown population. The announcement follows the publication of a Green Paper on European entrepreneurship, which highlights the fact that the entrepreneurial drive is much lower in the EU than it is in the US.
He says that minority businesses could help to redress the balance, but only if certain obstacles are removed and if they become more ambitious in their business goals.
Traditionally, ethnic businesses are tiny and seldom develop into major market players.
They focus on narrow business fields and are often reluctant to shift into more profitable areas. And partly because of this, ethnic-run businesses are more likely to close down than other companies.
The commissioner said that action needed to be taken in two of the areas which pose problems for entrepreneurs generally, but that somehow seem to affect ethnic minorities more: access to finance and exposure to support services. The ethnic business tendency of 'keeping themselves to themselves' means that they are less attractive to investors, while their general lack of voice in policy formulation means that they sometimes miss out on government help.
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