A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

Entrepreneurial Capital: The Experience of Black African
Migrant Women in Britain
Thomas Domboka
Leeds Metropolitan University, UK
t.domboka5337@student.leedsmet.ac.uk
Abstract: 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 1 st 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.
Keywords: black African migrant women, entrepreneurial capital, ethnic minority, migrant entrepreneurship
1. Introduction
The subject of capital is considered important in any entrepreneurship studies and the role it plays in
influencing the trajectory of any business venture. In small business entrepreneurship this capital is
often referred to as entrepreneurial capital and it is made up of three elements (four for migrants)
namely; human capital which consists of the attributes, background and characteristics of the
entrepreneur; social capital - which is the ability of the entrepreneur to form or be involved in social
and business networks through which the entrepreneur can obtain information, advice and support;
financial capital - sometimes referred to as economic capital which is the amount of cash and assets
at the disposal of the entrepreneur; and for ethnic migrants, cultural capital which are the traditions
and shared values shared by some ethnic groups. Early studies have shown that migrants and
particularly migrant women and other ethnic minority groups often start businesses with fewer
entrepreneurial resources. They lack of human capital due to for instance negative labour market and
managerial experiences (Carter et al. (1997): Fielden, et al. 2003), fewer financial resources resulting
in undercapitalization of their businesses (Marlow and Patton (2005); Shaw et al, (2005), and they
have limited social networks (Shaw et al, (2005) : Fuller-Love et al., (2006) : Aldrich (1989).
This paper explores the entrepreneurial resources at the disposal of black African migrant women
entrepreneurs and the impact they have on their ability to start and sustain their own businesses. The
paper specifically focuses on 1 st generation Black African migrant female entrepreneurs who have
settled in the United Kingdom in the past decade and considers their experiences and challenges in
relation to these resources.
2. Literature review
Firkin (2003) introduced the concept of entrepreneurial capital as a way of explaining the importance
of both financial and non-capital capital to the entrepreneur. The amount and type of entrepreneurial
capital available to an individual can have a significant impact on the individual’s experience of
business ownership and the growth of the business. Firkin’s view was influenced by the work of
Bourdieu (1986) who argued that the amounts and types of capital in an individual’s possession and
the values attached to such capital determine his/her position in as far as business ownership is
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