Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and business creation is fundamental to a healthy economy. Companies less than five years old create an average of 1.5 million new jobs for Americans each year.† Immigrants in particular play an important role in creating jobs as they are more likely to start a new business than the rest of the population. Despite this, the United States lacks a startup visa to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs with a proven idea and solid investment. This results in many business owners struggling to stay—at a cost to our economy and its workers.
† Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, “The Importance of Young Firms for Economic Growth,” September 13, 2015. Available online.
TERANGA Special Recipe
We at New American Economy were so excited to have Nafy Flatley joining us Sunday, June 28, for a very special and exclusive demo on our Instagram Live! Nafy is the founder of Teranga, a food and beverage company inspired by baobob and hospitality. Nafy is bringing Senegalese cuisine from… Read More
Yeyo’s El Alma De Mexico Special Recipe
We at New American Economy are so excited to have Rafael Rios joining us Tuesday, May 5, for a very special and exclusive demo on our Instagram Live in celebration of Cinco De Mayo! Rafael is the Executive Chef, Founder, and CEO of Yeyo’s El Alma De Mexico. Yeyo’s is… Read More
MáLà Project Special Recipe
We at New American Economy are so excited to have Amelie Kang joining us Tuesday, April 28, for a very special and exclusive demo on our Instagram Live! Amelie opened the first location of MáLà Project in East Village at just 24-years-old, turning her love for original Chinese home cooking… Read More
James Chang Special Recipe
We at New American Economy are so excited to have James Chang joining us Monday, April 20, for a very special and exclusive demo on our Instagram Live! James is a captain at Waldo Thai, the pioneers of Thai Food in Kansas City. However, for today’s ingredient, James will be presenting… Read More
La Newyorkina Special Recipe
We at New American Economy are so excited to have Fany Gerson joining us Thursday, April 16, for a very special and exclusive demo on our Instagram Live! Fany is the founder of La Newyorkina, A woman owned, Mexican sweets company specializing in all natural, handmade paletas, ice cream, baked… Read More
Sambuxa NYC Special Recipes
We at New American Economy are so excited to have Gladys Shahtou joining us Thursday, April 9, for a very special and exclusive cooking demo on our Instagram Live! Gladys is the founder of Sambuxa NYC and the only Sudanese caterer in NYC. She is known for her hand-made samosas… Read More
Sybil’s Bakery Special Recipe
We at New American Economy are so excited to have Amanda Bernard joining us Tuesday, April 7, for a very special and exclusive cooking demo on our Instagram Live! Amanda is the daughter of Ken Bernard, the owner of Sybil’s Bakery in Queens, New York. You can learn more about… Read More
Immigrant helps promote small business development in Middlesex County, NJ
Luis DeLaHoz was granted asylum and moved to the United States in 2004. By 2005, he was running his own-income tax preparation business in New Brunswick. He had a good education behind him. Raised in Manizales, in the coffee region of central Colombia, DeLaHoz had a bachelor’s degree in economics… Read More
From coding to coaching — an immigrant entrepreneur makes it his mission to help the next generation succeed
Rashaad Bajwa arrived in the United States when he was 3 years old. Learning English was easy, given his age. And his parents, educated in British schools in Pakistan, spoke English at home. But he still lived the immigrant experience. “I still am,” he says. “Even though I grew up… Read More
New Data Shows Immigrants Make Up More Than 60 Percent of Middlesex County’s STEM Workers and Nearly Half of Business Owners
Immigrants held $9.4 billion in spending power– 42.8 percent of the total spending power in the county–and contributed more than $4 billion in taxes in 2018. Middlesex, NJ — Despite making up 34.5 percent of Middlesex County’s population, immigrants accounted for 64.4 percent of the county’s Science, Technology, Engineering,… Read More
Immigrants Create American Jobs
How many jobs do immigrant entrepreneurs create? The data shows that firms owned by immigrants provide millions of jobs for U.S. workers and generate billions of dollars in annual income. With new business formation slowing in the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs have a critical role in many parts of the country, creating jobs for all Americans.
What percent of businesses are owned by immigrants?
The act of moving to another country is inherently courageous and risky. So, it comes as no surprise that immigrants tend to be more entrepreneurial than the rest of the population. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 21.7 percent of all business owners in the United States, despite making up just over 13.6 percent of the population and 17.1 percent of the U.S. labor force.
Where Immigrants Are Most Entrepreneurial, 2019
Immigrants and the Recovery from the Great Recession
Foreign-born entrepreneurs and the jobs they created were instrumental in the recovery from the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2011, immigrant entrepreneurs founded a large share of new businesses across the country and in several key states.
Share of New Businesses Founded by Immigrants in Select States, 2007-2011
Which Industries Are Immigrant Businesses Most Prevalent?
As important as the frequency with which immigrants start businesses is the diversity of fields in which they start them. Immigrants start more than 25 percent of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to grow the fastest over the next decade. They also play a large role in founding both Main Street businesses1 and high-tech firms.2
Sources:
1 David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” New York: Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 2015. Available online.
2 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Share of Businesses Started by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Seven Key Sectors, 2007-2011
Immigrants Found both Main Street Businesses and High-Tech Firms
Business Ownership Among Immigrant Groups
Looking at specific ethnic and national origin groups within the immigrant population, we find that many exhibit entrepreneurship rates higher than the native-born. At right we highlight the particular contributions of Middle Eastern business owners in Detroit, a group frequently credited with helping to spur the city’s recent economic comeback.
Sources:
3 Steve Tobocman, “Guide to Immigrant Economic Development,” Welcoming America, accessed July 5, 2016. Available online.
4 New American Economy, "Reason for Reform: Entrepreneurship," October 2016. Available online.
Entrepreneurship Rates for Immigrant Subgroups, 2014
Immigrants and the Fortune 500
Consistent with past NAE research, a significant number of firms on the most recent Fortune 500 list were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies make enormous contributions to both the U.S. and global economy. They also live on beyond their founders, generating jobs and revenue long after their visionaries retire or move on.
Visa Obstacles
Currently, there is no visa for those who want to come to the United States, start a company, and create jobs for U.S. workers. To access a visa, many immigrant entrepreneurs choose to sell a majority stake in their company and then apply for a visa as a high-skilled worker rather than as the owner of the firm. Our broken H-1B visa system, however, means that many entrepreneurs cannot get a visa before the cap is exhausted each year. In 2016, the White House proposed a rule that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to remain in the country, but it is clear a more permanent, legislative fix is needed.5
Sources:
5 Issie Lapowski, “White House Proposes a New Immigration Rule for Entrepreneurs,” WIRED, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
6“USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016,” USCIS, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
Low-Skilled Entrepreneurship
Immigrant entrepreneurs are hardly a monolithic group. While much of the attention is focused on high-skilled foreign-born entrepreneurs that drive innovation in Silicon Valley, immigrant entrepreneurs with humbler backgrounds continue to play critical roles in the U.S. economy. Founding retail shops, restaurants, and personal service businesses, these immigrant entrepreneurs help towns and cities across the United States stay vibrant. In sum, the over 2.1 million immigrant entrepreneurs with less than a college degree have a significant economic impact, creating billions of dollars in economic activity and providing jobs to thousands of Americans.
Top Industries Among Immigrant Entrepreneurs with Less than a Bachelor’s Degree, 2015
Entrepreneurship Rates of Workers in Various Demographic Groups, 2015
Business Income of Less-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs, 2015
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Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
