Entrepreneurial Capital: The Experience of Black African Migrant Women in Britain

Entrepreneurial resources both financial and non-financial are essential for the success of any nascent entrepreneur. In many studies, greater emphasis has been placed on financial resources like the amount of cash one has or whether the prospective entrepreneur will be able to obtain financial assistance. In the context of migrant ethnic minority groups considering starting their own businesses, other forms of non financial resources (human capital, social and cultural capital) are equally important and can to a large extend, determine the trajectory of their entrepreneurial ambitions. Within the ethnic minority groups, access to these sources varies and generally men have greater access to these resources than women due to a number of factors such as background, tradition and culture. Most studies have focused on certain ethnic groups such as Asian and Chinese women and little is known about the effect of these factors on black African women migrants operating their businesses in the Diaspora. This limitation has resulted in little being known about their experiences of starting and sustaining those businesses. This paper addresses this gap in academic fields of entrepreneurship through an investigation of the experiences of the 1st generation migrant black African women entrepreneurs in the acquisition of entrepreneurial resources in Britain. The discussion that follows is based on theoretical and empirical evidence obtained during a recent study of 35 black African migrant women carried out in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. Preliminary findings suggests that the women have difficultly on accessing certain resources such as financial resources and the absence of close family and friends in the UK limit their ability to network and benefit from their social networks. Despite their lack of financial and social capital, they have reasonable amounts of human capital in the form of education, training, work experience and experience from previous ownership of businesses. The implications of this are that without the necessary institutional and Government support in the areas they are deficient in, they may find it difficult to start businesses that develop beyond subsistence level.