The escalating global refugee situation, combined with labor shortages in numerous EU member states, as well as the high unemployment rates among newcomers, highlights the pressing need to act for migrants and the key
requirements needed for their economic inclusion. The core purpose of The Starting New Coalition is to share crucial knowledge about newcomer entrepreneurship in Europe, support the advocacy and adaptation of impactful policies and practices for their socio-economic inclusion, as well as promote relevant policy changes to better allow newcomers to build business networks that boost innovation, create jobs and foster economic growth and social cohesion.

The members of the Starting New Coalition declared, “In our mission to support newcomer entrepreneurs, we observe which environments and policies work best for their success and which don’t. We understand how European, national and
local authorities can empower newcomers, unleashing their untapped potential faster to create value in Europe, while also recognizing their right to live in dignity. Our goal is to not only elevate the best practices being launched in different local
contexts, but to also extend our vision to distant jurisdictions, ensuring that every corner benefits from our insights and guidance.”

Ahead of the upcoming European elections and in conjunction with the coalition’s launch, a high level policy position paper titled “Newcomer Entrepreneurs: The Missing Heroes of EU Prosperity” is being released. This paper addresses the
pressing need to recognize the vital contributions of newcomer entrepreneurs to Europe’s economic landscape despite the significant barriers they face such as regulatory complexity, financial constraints and discrimination. In the past decade only, the proportion of self-employed individuals originating from outside the EU surged by 60%, comprising 8% of the self-employed workforce. In addition, in 2022, 13% of all working immigrants in the EU were self-employed. These businesses owned and operated by newcomers serve as bridges between local and international markets and play an increasingly vital role in today’s EU economy, providing jobs to a large part of the population.

This reality calls for urgent economic policies to further support their enterprises.

Highlights of the Policy Paper:

• As Migration Scales, So Does Newcomer Entrepreneurship: The paper stresses the significant growth of self-employed individuals originating from outside the EU, underscoring their increasing role in the EU economy.

• Newcomer Businesses Have the Potential to Drive the EU Economy: It highlights the economic benefits generated by newcomer businesses, including tax revenue, GDP growth, job creation, and market competition. A major blindspot across Europe, newcomer entrepreneurs are an undeniable source of innovation, economic dynamism, and job creation already – even with the existing barriers.

• Entrepreneurship Puts Newcomers on the Fast Track to Inclusion: Entrepreneurship offers a pathway to empowerment and self-reliance for newly arrived migrants and refugees, facilitating their inclusion and economic participation by allowing them to regain control over their lives and actively contribute to society. Facilitating newcomer entrepreneurship also has an important impact on reducing governmental expenses on welfare and integration for newly arriving refugees – allowing to counter the narrative of polarizing groups by turning the contribution of newcomers into an economic net-positive.

• Newcomers Entrepreneurship Upholds Human Dignity & Social Cohesion: Entrepreneurship promotes social cohesion by embedding newcomers into local communities and fostering social acceptance of migration. It also touches upon the importance of inclusive policies as a long-term investment that prioritizes well-being of both newcomers and host communities.

• Actionable Recommendations for both EU and National Policymakers: The paper presents a set of 10 actionable recommendations to ultimately create inclusive policies that prioritize the economic empowerment and long-term inclusion of newcomer entrepreneurs.

Recommendations for EU policymakers to avoid siloing Newcomer Entrepreneurs:

1. Enhance the functionality of the Single Market for newcomer enterprises.

2. Incorporate migration and inclusion priorities within the European Green Deal (EGD).

3. Streamline support for newcomers in the Sustainable Finance Initiative.

Recommendations for both EU & national policymakers from the ground:

4. Reinforcing multi stakeholder coordination that effectively links civil society organizations to national governments, local authorities, public and private sector stakeholders.

5. Ensure genuine collaboration, sustainable funding, and complementarity with organizations that work locally with newcomer entrepreneurs.

6. Increase investment in creating conducive conditions for the economic empowerment and long-term inclusion of newcomers.

7. Improve the regulatory framework for business creation and residency.

8. Facilitate financial access, and incentivize financial institutions and investors to support newcomer entrepreneurs and their businesses.

9. Reform the certification systems and professional exams for skills and qualifications so that they become more accessible for newcomers.

10. Link newcomer businesses with the mainstream economy through networking activities for beer access to private and public supply chains and procurement.

The insights presented in this policy paper underscore the urgent need for policies that recognize and support the potential of newcomer entrepreneurs. By harnessing their talents and contributions, Europe can chart a more constructive path forward in addressing the crippling challenges of migration that can range from regulatory complexity to financial challenges, in addition to language barriers, discrimination as well as limited networks and lack of support service.

As a coalition of actors working with and for newcomer entrepreneurs, Starting New Coalition added, “We advocate for the incorporation of newcomer entrepreneurship as a fundamental component of a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to migration. This approach seeks to rebalance the predominant emphasis on migration control with a more nuanced consideration of the societal and economic needs, while upholding the EU’s international humanitarian obligations.”

Discover our Policy Paper “Newcomer Entrepreneurs: the Missing Heroes of EU Prosperity” and the positive change we support. For the latest updates from the coalition as well as our recent research insights, subscribe to our newsletter and visit our website: https://startingnew.eu/