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Minority Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise and Other Opportunities

Minority Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise and Other Opportunities. P rof Thomas M. Cooney Academic Director – Institute for Minority Entrepreneurship Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland) www.thomascooney.com. Income Generation Options For Each Individual. Tax generating Employment

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Minority Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise and Other Opportunities

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  1. Minority Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise andOther Opportunities Prof Thomas M. Cooney Academic Director – Institute for Minority Entrepreneurship Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland) www.thomascooney.com

  2. Income Generation OptionsFor Each Individual • Tax generating • Employment • Self-employment • Farming • Tax usurping • State Support / Welfare • Crime • Tax neutral (although may have positive / negative tax effect) • Begging • Inheritance • Marriage • Sponsorship • Pensions • Gambling

  3. Under-Represented / Disadvantaged Communities • Women, Immigrants and Youth are frequently considered in terms of employment and entrepreneurship • BUT WHAT ABOUT: • Prisoners • People with Disabilities • Roma / Travellers / Gypsies • Gay • These communities face additional and distinctive challenges in starting up their own business

  4. Prisoner Community

  5. Ex-Prisoners - Economic Rationale • Approximately 6,364 prisoners in Sweden • Re-imprisonment rate is 35% • Profile of re-offenders • Unemployed prior to re-offence • Male • Younger (under 30) • Career options on leaving prison • Back to crime (a prisoner costs on average SEK 2,000 per day) • State support (costs state in excess of SEK 320-680 per day) • Employment (contributes tax, hard to get a job) • Self-employment (contributes to tax and economic activity)

  6. Distinctive E/Ship Challenges Faced By Prisoners • Lack of suitable contacts / role models • Inability to drive due to lack of license • Lack of financial support / credit history • Credit payment schemes not available due to record • Business insurance very expensive • How to present yourself to the bank?* • Poor educational and literacy abilities • Stigma attached to having a record • Lack of follow-through, persistence, dedication (lack will to overcome setbacks) • Problems related to the dulling effects prison exerts on some individuals • Unable to test-market idea • Lack of continuing support • Lack of self-confidence (want to set up business while in prison, but rarely follow it up on release)**

  7. Training Needs • Holistic approach needed • Seed funding required • Business mentors required (not Probation Officers) • Must have pre-programme interviews • Build one-to-one sessions into the programme • Only those being released within 12 months should be on the programme • Support of other organisations is critical

  8. People With Disabilities

  9. Employment Among Disabled • 15.7 % of Swedish population age 16-65 (919,000) have a disability - 47.3% male and 52.7% female • Higher rates of unemployment - 67% of disabled persons were in the labour force, compared to 80.3% of non-disabled population • Fewer in full-time employment • Lower levels of income (internationally) but state support provided to employers in Sweden • Poorer levels of education

  10. Motivations for Self-Employment • Desire to overcome disability • Inability to secure / retain job • Wish to increase income • Flexibility in working hours and workload • Rebuild self-esteem • Suits / accommodates disability • Fear of discrimination in the workplace • Autonomy from obstacles such as: • Transportation • Fatigue • Inaccessible work environments • Need for personal assistance • BUT few tailored self-employment programmes available internationally for people with disabilities

  11. Barriers to Self-Employment • Difficulties in obtaining start-up capital • Lack of own financial resources • Poor credit rating • Disinterest from the banks • Fear of losing regular benefit income (‘welfare trap’) • Unhelpful attitudes of business advisers • Lack of access to appropriate training and support

  12. Developing Appropriate Support • Address low educational qualifications • Provide tailored training programmes (online) • Provide on-going business support • Establish microloan funds • Implement disability awareness training for business advisers • Facilitate self-employment through vocational rehabilitation • Actively market services to socially excluded groups • Reduce work disincentives • Address labour market disadvantages

  13. Traveller Community (Gypsies/Roma)

  14. Background to Roma / Travellers • It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 60,000 Roma in Sweden today • Recently Swedish police were found to have illegal databases of Roma names • Have their own distinct culture • Highly entrepreneurial • Suffer from limited education, poor health, discrimination, etc • General perceptions • Want to live on the side of the road, • Do not want to be part of Swedish society, • Are to blame for crime and anti-social behaviour, • Are cheats who do not pay taxes and do not pay for the services that they receive on halting sites, • Are associated with violent behaviour (problems with alcohol), • Are work shy • Significant amounts of money being given to this community through various government schemes

  15. Employment • Unemployment rates are very high • Roma / Travellers want to access waged employment but have • to hide their identity • a lack of recognised skills • low levels of education • to face discrimination in the marketplace • Traditional industries and skill needs are being lost to a knowledge-based economy • Laws on street trading had negative effect on Roma / Travellers

  16. Future Developments • Enormous challenges involved • Societal perception • Roma / Traveller issues • Few role models • Health and education need to be addressed as a priority • Future programmes require 1-2-1 mentoring • Role models needed to break through at local level • Solutions need to be highly innovative and long-term in vision – not more programmes that continue dependency • Many previous programme providers have decided to no longer work with the Traveller community. • BUT – what does the Traveller Community want for itself? • Lessons from / for Maori and Aboriginal communities?

  17. Gay Community

  18. Different Needs • Internationally, 18% of gay community are entrepreneurs • ‘Lavender ceiling’ • No family commitments • Higher capital availability • Current research by IME suggests that: • 11% are entrepreneurs (417 responses) • 78.1% view themselves as ‘an entrepreneur who is gay’ • Target gay community as one of many markets • Their desire to contribute to the gay community through employment, etc is of minor significance • Have suffered abuse in personal circumstances but positive about business practice • Homophobia not an issue in starting a business • Swedish gay population is estimated at 6%

  19. Bringing It All Together • “We treat everyone the same” is not working • Must take a tailored approach to each community • Working with organisations within the community must occur • Pre-start-up and early start-up requires our help, afterwards they should be mainstreamed • It makes sense economically and socially to take a proactive approach that is based on results and tangible outcomes • Significant research, training and policy opportunities exist in all countries for work in these areas

  20. A Broader Perspective • Entrepreneurs are key agents of change and innovation • Entrepreneurs are not limited to commercial environments • Entrepreneurs are also active in many sectors, including the social sector … so we call entrepreneurs active in the social sector social entrepreneurs

  21. Contribution of Social Entrepreneurs • Social entrepreneurs are agents of societal change • Do the statistics back this up? • A global network of social entrepreneurs has found the following from an impact assessment survey: • 49% have created significant policy changes at a national level • 54% have created significant policy changes at a local level • 90% have had their innovative approaches replicated by other outside groups • 71% are recognised as leaders in their field after 5 years • At the end of the day, it means real impact on real people

  22. Bigger Context • Remember social entrepreneurs are only one part of the solution • Charities, NGO’s, state sectors organisations and private sector initiatives are also essential components of an overall solution • However, social entrepreneurs can drive innovation and change and offer the possibility of tackling old problems in new ways, making the world a better place for all • Does this mean taking a business approach to tackling social problems?  It means taking an entrepreneurial approach (with is common to both the business and social sectors) to tackling social problems

  23. You can make a difference through your research, work, and attitudesorYou could become aSocial Entrepreneur http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ecKK3S8DOE

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