The increasing entrepreneurship among the Ghanaian diaspora in Finland

It seems more Ghanaian migrants in Finland are going into entrepreneurship or self-employment, and today I focus on the increas­ing economic activities of some people in the Ghanaian migrant community.

This is important because it shows the positive side of some Ghanaian individual migrants or groups (or their companies) who are accom­plishing or trying to accom­plish much for their wellbe­ing in Finland.

Some time ago, I wrote on the same topic, and today, I continue on that tangent but with a closer look on the expanding entrepreneurial endeavours among Ghanaian migrants in Finland. In this write up, I concentrate on the rise of business ventures that Ghanaian migrants in Finland usually engage in as part of their economic activi­ties in Finland.

Such ventures include hair salons or barbering shops, grocery shops or shop keep­ing generally, etc. which are operated in some Finnish cit­ies, especially in the Helsinki capital area (such as Espoo, Helsinki, and Vantaa).

Existing research studies show that migrants may start their own companies based on their entrepreneurial as­pirations and/or necessity as it may be difficult for them to find suitable jobs matching their education. Other stud­ies point out that migrant entrepreneurs also 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. Whatever the case, I think both scenarios go well with Ghanaian migrants in Finland.

Hair salons and barbering shops

I previously wrote that bar­bering shops and salons are becoming increasingly pop­ular and are patronised by other Ghanaian or African mi­grants in Finland, especially women. Recent new barber­ing shops and hairdressing salons opened by Ghanaian and other African migrants to add to the number of exist­ing ones attests to this point. Other Ghanaian/African migrant entrepreneurs are into African clothing shops or dress-making/fashion indus­try. The artefacts or clothing shops usually sell fabrics brought from Ghana and other parts of Africa.

Aside this, some Ghanaians have established cleaning companies or a business in housing apartment rentals.

Shop keeping and African foodstuffs

Ghanaian migrants/entre­preneurs living in Finland are involved in shop keeping (or buying and selling) ventures.

There are also African restaurants that serve Afri­can dishes. The cooking and serving of “Ghanaian food” is encouraged at events organ­ised by Ghanaian groups and individuals. It is therefore not surprising that the dishes sold in restaurants are highly patronised too.

The selling of Ghanaian or African food and artefacts has been common among the Ghanaian migrants in Finland. One can easily buy Ghanaian foodstuffs such as yams, garri, and others imported from Ghana and other African countries. I think this could make things easier should anyone set up a Ghanaian/African restaurant.

The IT sector/Online business

The information technol­ogy (IT) sector is another area that is gaining interest among the Ghanaian mi­grant entrepreneurs. Many potential entrepreneurs are considering going into the 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 going to operate online.

As I mentioned some time ago, many Ghanaian migrants in Finland have acquired more expertise and resources (academically, economically, technically, technologically, etc.), and the IT sector looks to be 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

These days the question whether the business op­portunities is a positive sign of integration of Ghanaian migrants in Finland keeps coming to my mind.

Could it also offer opportuni­ties for them to team up with Finnish companies for busi­ness and investment oppor­tunities either in Ghana or in Finland? Maybe!

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 an enabling envi­ronment created within the Finnish business and entre­preneurship sector for people who are business-minded, including migrants. Thank you!

perpetual.crentsil@yahoo. com

By Perpetual Crentsil