Features
Ghanaian migrant students in Finland as entrepreneurs

A few months ago, I wrote about the increasing entrepreneurship or self-employment within the Ghanaian diaspora in Finland.
Today, I look specifically at international students turning into entrepreneurs or becoming self-employed. Someone may ask how and why Ghanaian/African migrant international students turn into entrepreneurs in Finland. That is, what makes international students who come to study in Finnish universities and other institutions of higher education end up as entrepreneurs in Finland?
Research shows that generally, migrants may start their own companies based on their entrepreneurial aspirations or out of necessity since they cannot find suitable jobs matching their education.
According to information, there are more international students from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. These countries are popular for international studies in Finland.
A positive sign?
Migrant entrepreneurs generally create their own jobs and tend to employ other migrants if the business is successful, thus helping to reduce the unemployment burden in the host country.
As I previously wrote, there is increasing economic activities by some people in the Ghanaian migrant community in ventures such as hair salons or barbering shops, grocery shops, etc. in various places mostly within the Helsinki capital region (such as Espoo, Helsinki, and Vantaa).
This is important because it shows the positive side of migrant entrepreneurs in their quest to accomplish something positive for their own wellbeing in Finland and the good of the Finnish society.
The role of Finnish educational system
As we look at how and why (Ghanaian) international students transition into entrepreneurship, we need to consider the role of the Finnish educational system. What privileges do international students have and what bottlenecks do they face? We could examine this deeply later.
For now, we can say there is no doubt that the Finnish higher educational system plays a big role in moulding international students into realising their entrepreneurial skills. The academic training offers migrants, including Ghanaian international students, who go into entrepreneurship an avenue to improve themselves and contribute to the Finnish economy.
IT education and online business
One area that seems to help Ghanaian migrant entrepreneurs is education and competence in information technology. Finland has a top-notch education in the information technology (IT) sector. IT is studied as a major subject, but even students of other subjects are trained to be computer literate and have competence in IT.
With that level of competence, many entrepreneurs and potential ones even consider going into IT start-ups and entrepreneurship. I do not have much information about what the situation is but I would not be surprised to hear one day that some of them have actually taken off and are doing well. It could also be that some businesses are mostly operating online.
As I mentioned some time ago, following their education at the university and other institutions of higher learning, many Ghanaian migrants in Finland have acquired more expertise and resources (academically, economically, technically, technologically, etc.), and the IT sector looks very promising for venturing into entrepreneurship.
Other African migrants may currently be operating or have previously owned media (including videography) or newspaper/magazine outlets, particularly in the capital city of Helsinki.
Opportunities for integration
All this also shows the opportunity for entrepreneurship or self-employment as a positive sign of integration of Ghanaian migrants in Finland.
Their education and entrepreneurial skills could offer them opportunities to work on their own or team up with Finnish companies for business and investment prospects either in Ghana or in Finland.
As I keep pointing out, Finland encourages migrants’ participation in the planning of issues concerning the migrants themselves, as one of the efficient ways to improve their inclusion in the Finnish society.
There is undoubtedly an enabling environment created within the Finnish business and entrepreneurship sector for people who are business-minded, including Ghanaian migrant students. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
Email: perpetual.crentsil@yahoo.com