Enterprise support and ethnic minority firms

Abstract

Encouraging ethnic minority communities into business has been an implicit feature of the small firm policy agenda since the 1980s. However, comparatively little is known of the views of those directly involved in providing enterprise development support. This subject is addressed here through a study on the experiences of those engaged in the ‘front‐line’ provision of such support to ethnic enterprise. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 22 key informants in four British cities ‐ Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester ‐ data relating to organisational objectives, funding, service delivery, and networking, are presented. The results highlight significant constraints upon the delivery of effective enterprise support. First, there was a lack of basic data on the make‐up of local ethnic minority firms. Second, the rationale for interventions was often unclear; were they to promote competitive advantage, economic development or equality of opportunity? Third, the funding regimes of support agencies generated what was seen as unhealthy competition, and militated against effective networking. Fourth, ‘effectiveness’ was often equated with meeting contractual requirements rather than business needs. Finally, many officers perceived themselves as marginal in comparison with better resourced ‘mainstream’ providers.