Business

Asian communities are really doing the business


29/ 7/2005

THE number of Asian and black business starts-ups has reached record levels and now accounts for 11 per cent of all new businesses.
They have grown a third, from 32,000 in 2000 to 50,000 last year according to research from Barclays.
The growth numbers are also bolstered by real success with ethnic minority businesses performance out-stripping that of their white counterparts.
They are three-times more likely to have a turnover between £250 thousand and £1 million and to employ staff.
Small business marketing director for Barclays, Louise Fowler said: "The rise in black minority ethnic (BME) business is due to a surge in the number of young entrepreneur from these communities, with more than twice as many running their own business compared to their white counterparts.
"They are focusing on being innovators in business/professional services and catering, unlike the older generation where almost half are retail entrepreneurs."
However despite the findings which show the important contribution BME communities are making to the economy they still face some barriers.
The biggest barrier includes access to financial help as young BME entrepreneurs rely on family for informal finance and would rather turn to family and friends for advice than solicitors.
In almost a quarter of businesses, family members physically helped out.
Regionally, London has the highest number of Asian and black owned businesses, followed by the west Midlands, south east and the north west. These areas have large ethnic minority populations with a few claiming to be involved in trade outside of their local area which suggests that many of these business cater for their own communities in which they are based.
Other findings showed that of all the ethnic minority businesses, Pakistani and Chinese business owners showed the highest rates of entrepreneurial activity with 22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
South Asians were more likely to be involved in transport or property/finance whilst African/Caribbean and Middle Eastern are more likely to be involved in retail and Chinese are most likely to be in catering.


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