a world of opportunity: understanding and tapping the economic potential of immigrant entrepreneurs
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A World of Opportunity:Understanding & Tapping the
Economic Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Immigrant Contributions to New York’s Economy Upwardly Global Panel Discussion
April 22, 2009
Presentation by Tara ColtonDeputy Director
Center for an Urban Future
A World of Opportunity
February 2007 report from the Center
for an Urban Future which documents
that immigrant entrepreneurs are
starting a greater share of new
businesses than native-born residents,
stimulating growth in sectors from food
manufacturing to health care, creating
loads of new jobs and transforming
once-sleepy neighborhoods into thriving
commercial centers.
Major findings
• Immigrants drove all of the growth in the city’s self-employed population between 1990 and 2000: the number of foreign-born individuals who were self-employed increased by 53% while the number of native-born people who were self-employed decreased by 7%
• In 2000, foreign-born individuals comprised 36% of NYC’s population, yet they accounted for nearly half (49%) of all self-employed workers in the city.
Major findings
• Citywide, 9.27% of foreign-born workers are self-employed, compared to 7.71% of native-born workers.
• In Queens and the Bronx, self-employment rates for foreign-born individuals in the workforce are nearly twice those of native-born workers—9.98% to 5.74% in Queens, and 7.31% to 3.98% in the Bronx.
“These entrepreneurs are
the future of New York.
These people are taking
risks, putting their
savings on the line, and
growing businesses.”
NYC neighborhoods transformed by immigrant entrepreneurs
NYC neighborhoods transformed by immigrant entrepreneurs
Industries in NYC with large numbers of immigrant-owned businesses
• Food manufacturing• Child care• Transportation • Jewelry industry• Import and wholesale sector• Garment industry• Ethnic press• Wedding services • Professional services• Travel agencies
Challenges• Immigrants face formidable challenges as they attempt to start
and grow businesses– Language and cultural barriers– Lack of awareness about local regulations– Limited financial literacy and, often, no credit history– High costs of doing business in NYC (real estate, health care,
energy, insurance, ticketing)• Immigrant entrepreneurs remain largely disconnected from cities’
local economic development planning. • Immigrants often don’t know about or trust the established
nonprofits that support entrepreneurs and small business owners, and few of the groups have made genuine efforts to reach out to immigrant entrepreneurs.
• Without this help, many immigrant business owners take bad advice and make costly mistakes.
Recommendations
Government• Integrate immigrant entrepreneurs into cities’ economic development
strategies• Develop new framework for providing business services to immigrant
communities and partner with local organizations that have credibility • Initiate programs to help immigrant-run businesses export their products
beyond their own community• Create marketing campaigns to promote major ethnic business districts • Rein in overzealous regulatory enforcement efforts
Banks and Foundations• Support efforts to get more immigrants into the banking system• Refer rejected business loan applicants to microlenders• Assist microfinance groups with capacity-building efforts
Contact information
Tara Colton
Deputy Director
Center for an Urban Future
(212) 479-3341
tcolton@nycfuture.org
The full “A World of Opportunity” report and all of our research on immigrants and New York City’s economy is
available at www.nycfuture.org
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