Ethnic Business and Economic Change:An Overview

Abstract

Peter Wilson is a partner in New Enterprise Development, a small business training and research organisation based in London. Professor John Stanworth is head of the Small Business Unit at the Polytechnic of Central London and Director-General of the Small Business Research Trust.

Against a background of growing concern for the welfare of ethnic minority communities in Britain, attention is now firmly focused on the opportunities for business development among black groups. Racially motivated recruitment and promotion practices in large organisations restrict employment opportunities for black minorities, increasing the need to seek economic self-reliance through business ownership. This has been a traditional route for disadvantaged minorities. But contemporary economic and social conditions require new solutions to the crisis in which recent immigrant groups find themselves. It is the purpose of this paper to examine recent evidence of change in business ownership in the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities in London, to compare and contrast their business performance and to identify the determinants of any revealed differentials. The paper concludes with some implications for policy formulation and for business development initiatives.