Success for ethnic entrepreneurs

A survey says people from ethnic minorities are doing well in business

The number of people from ethnic minorities starting up businesses in Wales has reached a record high.

Research has found that, across the UK, the numbers have grown by a third.

In Wales, more than 4,000 small businesses are now owned by people from ethnic minorities.

A study by Barclays has also revealed that many of these businessmen and women are outperforming their white counterparts.

Gassan Saraff from Iraq has set up his own computer repair business in Cardiff. He is convinced that coming from outside the UK helps many entrepreneurs like him succeed.

The family is at the core of any successful business Businessman Shelim Hussein

"The culture is part of it, because you are taught not to rely on the government to support you," he explained.

"You are taught not to rely on an employer, who will, after a while, say to you, 'I don't need you - you're out'.

"The other thing is, that the ethnic minorities are worried of discrimination when they go to work places and when they apply for jobs, so they go out on their own and open their own businesses."

Asian businessman Shelim Hussein agrees. He started his company, Euro Foods, in Newport, 14 years ago. This year, he is expecting a turnover of £55m.

He believes that being Asian helped him establish his business, and that having strong family support is the key to his success.

"I think it helped me a lot," he said. "My family are not well-off. The only reason I came to this country was to earn money, and I was going to make sure that I earned quite a lot of it.

"I think because I'm Asian, I had more help than obstacles. I got a lot of help from my own community. I started the business supplying the Bengali restaurants and, because I'm Bengali, everybody supported me."

Mr Hussein knows that having a good network of relatives behind him has helped his business.

"The family is at the core of any successful business, I believe - especially in Asian families," he said.

"If you get into any trouble, everybody jumps in - your father, your brother, your mother - everybody helps you out and tries to make sure that you succeed.

"Even if you are successful and you have problems with staffing levels, the family will jump in again and help you."