Participating in the labour market is vital to newcomers’ successful integration in the host country. Although most newcomers participate through wage earning, some start their own businesses. Refugee entrepreneurship has substantial benefits not only for these business owners but also for their host communities; however, newcomers aspiring to begin their own businesses face several obstacles.
Through a systematic literature review and selected global case studies, this paper identifies some of these challenges with respect to market opportunities, access to entrepreneurship, human capital, social networks and the social environment in the context of newcomer entrepreneurship.
While the lack of research on newcomer entrepreneurship and the vast differences among newcomer scenarios hinder the development of standard solutions, this paper aims to provide a foundation on which further investigation, strategic planning and efforts to implement solutions could be based. Active, informed and engaged leadership is needed to champion the transition of the newcomer image from a passive and vulnerable recipient to an empowered contributor.
