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Networking and ethnic minority enterprise development: insights from a North London study

Akin Fadahunsi, David Smallbone, Salinder Supri

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

ISSN: 1462-6004

Article publication date: 1 September 2000

1638

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the role of networking in the development of ethnic minority enterprises, using empirical data drawn from a wider study of 82 ethnic minority businesses in North London. The paper uses a broadly based definition of networks that focuses on the exploitation of both formal and informal relationships for business development purposes, which includes social networks as well as voluntary and necessary business‐based linkages. More specifically, the paper considers the role of networking in raising capital, recruiting labour, identifying and finding customers, as well as accessing business support. The results show that personal and community‐based networks are used both to mobilise resources and to generate sales by business owners in all groups, although the nature and extent of the activity varies at different stages of business development. As other studies have shown, there is a very low level of take‐up of business advice and support from mainstream support agencies by these ethnic minority enterprises, not because of a lack of awareness but because of a range of negative attitudes towards them.

Keywords

Citation

Fadahunsi, A., Smallbone, D. and Supri, S. (2000), "Networking and ethnic minority enterprise development: insights from a North London study", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 228-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006842

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited

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