New Migrant Communities: Polish Entrepreneurs in Leicester

In autumn 2006, the BBC highlighted a large increase in the number of Polish immigrants coming to the United Kingdom. This finding is mirrored by anecdotal evidence and personal observation in Leicester and the Midlands; an area that is often associated with immigration. Unlike other ethnic minorities, the demographics of the Polish immigrants, in particular the size, age and gender composition, as well as the skill level and educational background, are subject to much speculation. This inevitably also affects our understanding of the professional activities of those people. Although a variety of shops have been opened by Polish immigrants, indicating their entrepreneurial activities, our understanding of these businesses and with it their potential impact, was underdeveloped, if not to say nonexistent. The proposed study aimed to gain a first insight into Polish businesses and business aspirations in Leicester and the Midlands, thus providing first answers and, perhaps more importantly, a route map able to inform future research.

In 2006, CREME sponsored the research into a qualitative assessment of Polish businesses in Leicester with the objective to examine the skills, aspirations and potential of Polish nationals towards entrepreneurship; investigate their business experiences in Leicester; assess barriers to business development and identify business support needs for those ethnic-owned firms.

To meet the aim and objectives, a two-phase approach was used:

• Initialising the project was the assessment of the scale of Polish entrepreneurial activity in Leicester and the Midlands. Starting with communal focus points like Polish shops, bars or restaurants, interviews were used to identify and map Polish business in Leicester.
  
• In a second phase the team selected a group of 10 Polish companies, representative of the Polish business community in Leicester and the Midlands. Interviews were conducted with the respective proprietors in early 2007.

Dr. Natalia Vershinina and Dr. Michael Meyer devised semi-structured questionnaires based on forms of capital framework (Bourdieu, 1986). This built on the work that was already carried out by Prof. Monder Ram and Dr. Nick Theodorakopoulos on the state of Somali enterprise in Leicester. The interviews were carried out using narrative approaches in the form of the life-story and immigration history with this select group. The interviews were recorded, typed, and analysed with the help of NVivo qualitative software.

Portraying the Polish immigrant society has raised awareness for particular needs of this group, as well as their contribution to Leicester. Filling this picture in with facts, rather than relying on speculation, helped to fence off the real impact these people have on communities in which they operate. Moreover, we can clearly see the ways in which forms of capital are used by different Polish nationals to create different entrepreneurial activities and that these are time bounded and relate to the period of their entry into the UK. This study is limited by the sample size as well as the selection process. This did reflect the lack of information available on Polish immigrant entrepreneurs within this geographically bounded area. Despite this, the findings suggest that ‘super-diversity’ needs to be acknowledged – as ethnic communities are not homogeneous and this needs to be addressed by research and policy. Moreover, the diversity within ethnic communities is a changing phenomena and this affects the means and modes of capital available: the value of capital changes with use, while forms can increase or decay with storage, therefore that what can be used at one point in time may not be available or valuable at another. Conveying the key characteristics of Polish businesses, especially barriers they encounter, to governmental bodies may contribute to an informed integration of these people, as well as help to actively improve the areas business conductivity.


For more information on the research project please contact the corresponding author:
Dr. Natalia Vershinina on nvershinina@dmu.ac.uk


To date the study resulted in an Occasional Paper, two conference papers and a journal paper currently under review:

Vershinina, N., Barrett, R., Meyer, M. “Polish Immigrants in Leicester: Forms of Capital Underpinning Entrepreneurial Activity”, under review in Work, Employment and Society.

Vershinina, N., Barrett, R., Meyer, M. (2009) “Polish Immigrants in Leicester: Forms of Capital Underpinning Entrepreneurial Activity”, Leicester Business School Occasional Paper Series, N86 (August), ISBN: 978-1-85721-401-7 9 [PDF link]

Vershinina, N., Barrett, R., Meyer, M. (2009) “'Researching Immigrant Entrepreneurial Development: An Ethnographic Study of Polish Entrepreneurs in Leicester”, EIASM RENT XXIII - Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference, Budapest, Hungary (19-20 November 2009)

Vershinina, N. and Meyer, M. ( 2008) “Polish Entrepreneurs and Social Capital” , International Entrepreneurship - promoting excellence in education, research & practice, 31st International Small Business Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland

A Brief Introduction to the Supply Leicester Project

A few months ago, work began on an exciting two-year project called Supply Leicester. Modelled on the successful Supply London project, Supply Leicester aims to work with public sector procurers in Leicester to encourage greater engagement with local SMEs. In particular, Supply Leicester targets female, disabled and black and minority-ethnic (BME) owned SMEs in Leicester’s disadvantaged areas. The project provides these businesses with advice, guidance and support on how to access procurement and supply chain opportunities in the public sector.

The project has three main partners: Leicester City Council (LCC); De Montfort University’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME); and private sector consultants. In its role as lead partner, LCC will manage the project and will engage strategic partners, contract specialist support, and deliver services and support to SMEs.

Building on its longstanding work on procurement, CREME will ensure that the project’s interventions are grounded in the evidence base. Key sources include the two best practice guides produced for the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (.pdf link); and the recent Handbook on Supplier Diversity in Europe (.pdf link). Supply Leicester will therefore benefit from emerging best practice in procurement.

Consultants appointed to deliver support to the project will be responsible for delivering the products and services to bring about change for procurers and suppliers.

This project will look at several key areas during the course of the project:

• Evaluating procurement opportunities vs. SME capacity to fulfil them

• Improving communication between certain buyers and suppliers

• Make recommendations on simplifying the procurement process based on the research

• Introduce and provide support in the possible future implementation of the Single Equalities Bill (if passed in 2010)

• Improving access to supplier opportunities

• Create opportunities for diversifying supply chains

Currently, the project is still in its initial phase but we will keep you up to date once the first pilots and seminars start taking place.

-Alex Kiselinchev

MEECOE's Response to National Developments

A key element of the Minority Ethnic Enterprise Centre of Expertise’s (MEECOE) work is to ensure that its advice and activities are aligned with national developments on ethnic minority entrepreneurship. To this end, MEECOE has been monitoring, and contributing to the deliberations of the Government’s national Ethnic Minority Business Task Force (EMBTF). In July, the Task Force presented a report to Lord Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. In anticipation of the Government’s response to the Task Force report this month, MEECOE reports on how it is responding to, and building on, the work of the EMBTF in its new Briefing.

MEECOE already builds on the work of the Task Force and its response includes developing the evidence base, improving understanding of the requirements of finance providers, working to develop a culture of ‘good practice’ with business support intermediaries, and the development of a hub for procurement activity in the West Midlands. Details of these and other strands of the MEECOE repsonse are outlined in the third Briefing document.

For your copy of this new Briefing, you can contact MEECOE via meecoe@dmu.ac.uk

MEECOE Profiles Ethnic Minority Businesses in the West Midlands

Drawing mainly on data from the 2001 Census and the Annual Population Surveys from 2005, 2006 and 2007, this Minority Ethnic Enterprise Centre of Expertise (MEECOE) report presents the principal features of and trends in ethnic minority business (EMB) in the West Midlands. With, in 2006, ethnic minority groups making up 16.4% of the regional population, EMB has been an increasingly prominent part of the West Midlands economy since the 1970s but in recent years entrepreneurial activity in several communities has started to move from traditional to non-traditional sectors including IT, financial services and consultancy.

Unlike the first generation immigrants who were often forced into self-employment by their circumstances, the British-born generations have more options. Whilst this resulted in falling levels of self-employment, it has also brought about a shift away from labour-intensive sectors to into higher value-added activities, where rewards are earned through the application of management, expertise and technology rather than brute labour power.

Appropriate support for the region’s ethnic minority entrepreneurs is crucial. It needs to be sensitive the changing nature of this dynamic segment of the small business population. Opportunities are emerging to encourage growing EMBs, as well as encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs from new migrant communities. These should be recognised by business support providers.

As might be expected, the overall verdict on EMB in the West Midlands is highly mixed, one of essentially progressive trends towards diversification, penetration of new market sectors and advancement up the value added chain (albeit uneven between the different groups); but one which still has far to go before EMB is established as an unproblematic part of the mainstream local economy.

The key elements captured in this report, written by Trevor Jones, David McEvoy, and Monder Ram, are a next step in acknowledging the diversity and social contribution of EMBs and in making ethnic minority business, everyone’s business.

The full report, or a Briefing document outlining its key points are available upon request from meecoe@dmu.ac.uk


Funded by Advantage West Midlands, the Minority Ethnic Enterprise Centre of Expertise is an exciting two-year project (Dec 2008 – Nov 2010) that will promote a strategic and innovative approach to supporting ethnic minority businesses in the West Midlands. A consortium led by De Montfort University’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) works with public and private sector stakeholders to enhance policy and practice for ethnic minority enterprise in the region. MEECOE works closely with AWM’s other Centres of Expertise to develop an integrated approach to diversity and enterprise activity.

13th EMB Conference is underway!

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EMB Conference Programme

Click on the images to see the programme for this year's Ethnic Minority Business Conference, to be held in Leicester on Oct 14.

Two Takes on Supplier Diversity

This year's Ethnic Minority Business Conference is fast approaching. This conference has regularly provided a platform for policy and practitioner initiatives designed to encourage small business owners to take advantages of supply chain opportunities in the large public and private sector organisations. This process is often referred to as supplier diversity; and it is clear that significant progress is being made to spread its influence. Our contributors to this session provide interesting accounts of the ways in which the private and public sector are responding to the challenge of promoting supplier diversity.

Mick Wain, Director and General Manager of Staples Advantage, provides a fascinating account of how a major multi-national corporation, with a strong presence in the Midlands, is working to develop partnership working with small firms from under-represented communities. A commitment to ‘give something back’ is a core feature of the Staples philosophy. Mick demonstrates how the company puts this into practice in its operations in the UK; and outlines the plans that Staples has to develop activities in the Midlands.

For supplier diversity to succeed, small firms seeking to secure access to contracts have to be ‘fit to supply’. They have to have the capacity and capabilities required to comply with the often demanding requirements of large organisations. For many years, Supply London has been assisting small firms to make the leap to becoming suppliers to large firms. Michael Gutierrez, Supply Chain Advisor of Supply London, describes the crucial role that this organisation has played in supporting small firms, often run by ethnic minorities, to pursue their ambitions to become suppliers to large organisations.

There are important lessons here for other parts of the country, and for anyone interested in how procurement can promote economic development as well as entrepreneurial growth.

MEECOE's Staples Advantage Event a Success

MEECOE and Supplier Diversity Europe held a 'Meet the Buyer' event at Staples Advantage Head Office, giving local entrepreneurs and corporate buyers the opportunity to meet. You can find a report on how the day went below, just click on the images to enlarge them.

Regional Business Support in the Spotlight at EMB Conference

The East Midlands is one of the most diverse and entrepreneurial regions in England. It is home to some of the most advanced and sophisticated ‘knowledge’ driven business in the country; and, at the same time, benefits from a considerable rural landscape which itself generates significant entrepreneurial activity.

East Midlands Business Ltd. (EMB Ltd.) is a body charged with the challenging task of ensuring that all the region’s businesses have the opportunity to take advantage of support that will enable them to survive, develop and grow. Given the challenging economic climate, this role has never been more important. Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd, will set out the steps that have been taken to support the region’s businesses through the recession and towards economic recovery. EMB Ltd. is acutely aware of the region’s diverse business base, including the significant numbers of ethnic minority entrepreneurs that operate in the East Midlands. Stephen will outline key initiatives to support these and other diverse groups in business. Importantly, EMB Ltd. is in the process of recruiting a number of ‘community-based’ business advisers whose key task will be to encourage and support ‘under-represented’ groups in the region. At the other end of the spectrum, EMB Ltd. has actively encouraged growing ethnic minority businesses to take advantage of supply chain opportunities with large organisations in the public and private sector.

Working in partnership is central to the operation of EMB Ltd. Together with the Economic and Social Research Council, EMB Ltd has supported CREME to deliver an innovative project to support the region’s new migrant entrepreneurs. For the last year, Alex Kiselinchev and Lovemore Muchenje of CREME have been working closely with EMB Ltd to encourage new migrants to develop their businesses. Alex and Lovemore share their experiences of working on this project, including:-

• The considerable interest in entrepreneurship as a career option amongst new migrants
• New migrant involvement in a diverse range of business activities
• Unacknowledged human capital within many businesses
• A lack of awareness of the existence and role of ‘mainstream’ business support agencies
• Active interest in pursuing appropriate support to develop and their businesses
• A willingness to engage with business support professionals

-Prof Monder Ram-

More Speakers Confirmed for EMB Conference

More speakers have been confirmed for the EMB Conference on Oct 14.

Alex Kiselinchev and Lovemore Muchenje, researchers at CREME, De Montfort University, and Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of East Midlands Business Ltd, will be speaking during the session 'Business Support: a Regional Perspective'.

Speaking on 'Promoting Supply Chain Opportunities' will be Mick Wain, Director and General Manager of Staples Advantage and Michael Gutierrez, Supply Chain Advisor for Supply London.