Access to start up finance for ethnic minority graduate entrepreneurs in the West Midlands: a gendered perspective

Paul Hannon, Javed Hussain

    Research output: Preprint or Working paperWorking paper

    Abstract

    This aim of this paper, from a study funded by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), is to explore access to finance for ethnic minority graduate entrepreneurs (EMGEs) with a particular focus on comparisons between different ethnic groups, and men and women. The authors interviewed selected individuals based upon a review of literature on finance for ethnic minority enterprise. A number of key results from the survey, in that EMGEs: • use external finance significantly (more so than non graduates) and encounter barriers in accessing finance at start-up, in particular those belonging to poor families. • rely excessively on personal savings and family finance, at the start-up and long after the start-up stage, that has implications for the optimal capital structure. • start up businesses that are, on average, larger than non-graduate enterprises and have the potential to reduce economic inactivity amongst the ethnic population. • have, in contrast to general graduate start-ups, a high level of unemployment, take a longer period of time to enter employment and there is a higher level of dissatisfaction with career progression. These findings raise the question whether the right financial advice is taken and whether this behaviour constrains EMGEs' expansion.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationBirmingham
    PublisherAston University
    ISBN (Print)9781854496744
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2007

    Bibliographical note

    RP0704

    Keywords

    • ethnic minorities
    • finance
    • graduates
    • gender
    • small firms
    • entrepreneurship

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