Entrepreneurship and Innovation Update - January 2015

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Latest Research

New report illustrates how immigrant “Main Street” businesses help local economies grow. A new report from Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) and the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) explores ways in which immigrant small businesses contribute to local economies. In addition to quantifying the role of immigrants as small business owners in the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, the report takes an in-depth look at how immigrant entrepreneurship has promoted economic growth and neighborhood revitalization in three cities: Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Nashville. 

Ideas for economic benefits from immigrant entrepreneurs at the federal, state, and local levels. A new resource from the Kauffman Foundation highlights immigration policy innovations around entrepreneurship at the federal, state and local levels. The resource explores federal level ideas such as a startup visa, foreign students as entrepreneurs, and administrative action on immigration. At the state level, the document considers a “global entrepreneurs in residence” program, state-based work visas, and recognition of foreign degrees. And at the local level, the resource highlights innovations such as welcoming initiatives. 

News Updates 

The entrepreneurial advantage. A January 15 piece for the Huffington Post describes the United States’ entrepreneurial advantage as a nation of immigrants. The article also describes some of the barriers immigrants face under the current system, particularly for potential entrepreneurs to start business, and for foreign students graduating from U.S. universities to stay and contribute their talents and skills in the U.S. 

The most entrepreneurial group in America wasn’t born in America. An article in the February 2015 issues of Inc. magazine observes that “immigrants now launch more than a quarter of U.S. businesses.” But the piece also notes that U.S. immigration policy has largely ignored the contributions of immigrant-founded businesses. “Driven by the politics of short election cycles, the U.S. is missing the larger economic cycle of immigration,” the article describes. “We should support immigration reform, and not only because it’s in keeping with the American character of attracting world-class talent. As entrepreneurs know better than anyone, the American economy needs the dynamism and creativity of go-getters.” 

Senators take another shot at Startup Act. Several senators recently introduced the fourth version of their “Startup Act.” Specifically, the measure would create a new start-up visa for foreign-born entrepreneurs. According to a January 18 Washington Post article, the act would “tweak the nation’s tax code, immigration laws and regulatory system in ways intended to help revive America’s entrepreneurial economy.” 

Immigration reform is one remedy to America’s stalled startup activity. In a January 22 piece for Forbes, Dan Stangler, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, describes how immigration reform would help reignite America’s stalled startup environment. Other countries—like Australia, Canada, and Chile—recognize this and are establishing new programs to attract more immigrant entrepreneurs. Stangler also highlights the growing number of states and cities around the U.S. that are pursuing initiatives to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs as part of their local economic development strategies.  

Immigrant entrepreneurs prosper on Main Street. Several articles highlight the new report from AS/COA and FPI about immigrant small businesses. A January 14 piece in Fusion highlights the three where immigrants helped revitalize neighborhood “main street” business corridors: Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Nashville. “These are businesses that don’t often get a lot of attention from economic development officials, and don’t have huge profits. But they play a big role in neighborhood revitalization, and they can be an important economic step up for the entrepreneurs,” said David Kallick, author of the report, in a January 13 piece in the Wall Street Journal. In Nashville, for example, The Tennessean observed that 29 percent of “main street” business owners are immigrants. And in Philadelphia, community development financial institutions, like Finanta, manage lending circles as one way for new small business owners to access capital, as the Philadelphia Inquirer observed in a January 15 article. 

Mayors and community leaders highlight economic benefits of immigration and integration in cities. Speaking at a January 20 event in Washington, D.C., hosted by National Journal, several mayors and community leaders described how cities are adapting to demographic shifts and are working to strengthen immigrant integration. Mayors observed that, despite continued debate over immigration policy at the national level in Washington, D.C., the nation’s cities actually drive the national economy and cities need to step up to ensure their collective voice is heard. For example, dozens of mayors from cities around the country filed an amicus brief on January 26 in support of executive action on immigration reform. 

A welcoming moment for U.S. cities. A January 13 piece for Living Cities explores how cities in the U.S. have an opportunity to grow economically in part by becoming more welcoming toward immigrants. The article notes that how cities—the places where policy plays out in communities and neighborhoods—respond to immigration changes will reflect “our commitment to the values that define us as Americans.” As the article describes, “ensuring that our neighbors who qualify under Administrative Relief can participate is a good thing for all Americans. Not only do immigrants add social and civic value to towns and cities, they also help their communities become stronger economically.” 

Charlotte Immigrant Integration Task Force unveils immigrant-friendly proposals. The Immigrant Integration Task Force in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently unveiled their recommendations for the City Council, part of the growing “welcoming cities” trend, according to a January 14 article in the Charlotte Observer. The comprehensive recommendations, based on a year-long study process with many community listening sessions and other methods, include ideas to support immigrant and refugee entrepreneurship and small businesses by supporting small business growth, creating a “shop local” list of small businesses and increasing small business certification, and establishing a program for neighborhoods to apply for designation as “international corridors.”