The innovation potential of start-ups by migrants / ethnic minority background founders and their potential impact on many areas of economic, social, and cultural life in Europe are undisputed. Unfortunately, this also still applies to the challenges, structural barriers and intercultural hurdles experienced not only by refugees but also by second or even third-generation descendants of migrants and people with an ethnic minority background.
Even though this target group can be shown to have an above-average entrepreneurial mindset, a high willingness to take risks, and expertise in their respective fields, there are still such high hurdles that far too much potential is lost. They have significantly more difficult access to entrepreneurship education (EE) and specific support. Knowledge gaps and missing role models lead to an unlevel playing field and thus to limited access to financing, growth and success. Studies also show that if people with a migration background are given access to the necessary knowledge resources and networks and are thus enabled to acquire the necessary financing, they often achieve significantly more growth and value enhancement than start-ups by native founders with comparable resources.
Policy interest in EE has been strong in recent years as the case for the role it plays in supporting economic growth is well established. This role is all the more important in light of the devastating economic consequences caused by the Covid- 19 pandemic with Europe’s 2020 GDP falling by around 6% compared to 2019.
However, many EE Providers are not making sufficient use of their potential in general – but especially concerning Migrant / Ethnic Minority Background Founders. To generate an impact, EE must be rethought and not only teach generic management basics, but must specifically address the structural and socio-/intercultural challenges of the target group. Many Adult EE Providers are not in a position to adapt their education and to provide relevant, accessible, gender and culture-sensitive, state of the art learning resources that match the specific needs of the target group.
With the INGROW project, we provide Adult EE Providers with modular, flexible and innovative learning and teaching materials, equipped with competence packages, that enable them to exploit their potential impact on a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing learning opportunities to visionaries and thus foster a more level playing field for migrant and ethnic minority background founders.
