How migrant business owners turn their identity into an asset, despite some bumps along the way
- Written by Shea X. Fan, Associate Professor, Human Resource Management, Deakin University
Too often, it’s anti-immigration sentiment dominating headlines in Australia. But a quieter story is going untold. Migrants are not just fitting into Australian society, they’re actively reshaping it through entrepreneurship.
Starting a business is difficult for anyone. But migrant entrepreneurs often do so without the networks, credit history, or local knowledge many Australian-born business owners take for granted.
Our new research drew on interviews with 38 migrant business owners from 25 different countries, who had all lived in Australia for at least five years.
We found many are able to turn everyday exclusion into entrepreneurial fuel. Many have been able to survive – even thrive – by turning their identity into an asset.
Yet there is still more we can do to take migrant entrepreneurship seriously and make it a core part of our economic and social planning.
Key challenges
Our research reveals migrant business owners face many forms of marginalisation. Some of these are well-understood among the public, others less so.
One of the biggest is social. Arriving in a new country without established relationships in the community or financial sector, many struggle to gain customer trust or secure loans. It can also mean having less of a safety net.
As one interviewee put it:
I don’t have networks built up over the generations to sustain me and give me time to jump back out [of financial difficulties] […] For migrant entrepreneurs, we often do not have such a structure to absorb risks.
Cultural stereotypes also hinder migrant entrepreneurs, and negative media portrayals can reinforce these biases. Even with local qualifications, they are often perceived as less professional or competent due to race, religion, accent or appearance.
Many interviewees spoke of constantly having to prove their legitimacy – being overlooked, second-guessed or treated as representatives of their ethnic group rather than as individual business people.
Structural barriers
While the lack of networks and cultural acceptance undermines confidence and connection, structural barriers directly constrain access to the resources needed to survive and expand.
Without a local credit history or collateral, many are ineligible for loans, yet need those very funds to build their credit standing. Even long-settled migrants found Australia’s legal, bureaucratic and financial systems difficult to navigate.
Language barriers and unfamiliar regulations can add layers of complexity to this problem. While government support programs exist, they are often inaccessible, or the availability of those programs are poorly communicated to culturally diverse communities.
These social and systemic disadvantages can push migrant business owners into informal markets or ethnic enclaves, where opportunities are fewer and risks higher.
Turning identity into an asset
Despite these barriers, migrant entrepreneurs often find ways to survive. One key strategy is to turn marginalised identities into business strengths.
Our research found some migrants begin by serving customers from their own ethnic communities, leveraging shared language, culture and trust. Once established, they expand to other migrant groups or the broader public.
In sectors such as food, fashion and wellness, cultural authenticity can be a competitive advantage.
One hairdresser from Korea, for example, drew clients by offering Korean styling techniques popularised by the global rise of the Korean popular music style K-pop. She said this gave her work appeal among other migrant groups:
Korean hairdressers are actually attractive to other Asian countries because Korean hairstyles are considered fashionable and detailed. It’s getting popular here too. This is like free marketing for me.
And rather than simply competing on price, many migrant businesses offer something different: handmade, ethical, sustainable or culturally-rooted products. An Indian small business owner started her business by selling curry pastes made from her own family recipes, telling us:
I use my family’s traditional Indian recipes to create small spice packs, making it easy for Australians, mostly non-Indian customers, to cook authentic dishes at home.
Such ventures create not only economic value, but also spaces of cultural exchange and community belonging.
There’s more we can do
The most recent figures show migrant entrepreneurs make up one in three small business owners in Australia. Research conducted in 2017 found the vast majority of migrant entrepreneurs had not owned a business before migration.
With fewer systemic barriers and better support, their potential to contribute would be even greater. There are a range of actions policymakers, local councils, support organisations and local businesses could take.
First, access could be expanded to small business grants by removing overly complex eligibility and documentation barriers.
We should also support migrants to navigate collectively “gatekeeping” practices that lock them out of lending, investment and business certification.
That could include developing alternative credit assessment tools for migrants without a local credit history. There are already some microloan schemes tailored to new migrants or visa holders, including Thrive Refugee Enterprise.
At the same time, we need to ensure such schemes are being effectively communicated to the communities they’re intended to serve.
And we need media narratives and public campaigns that highlight successful migrant businesses. Crucially, both policy and practice must be informed by the voices and experiences of migrant entrepreneurs themselves, not just as case studies, but as co-designers of better systems.
Authors: Shea X. Fan, Associate Professor, Human Resource Management, Deakin University
