Today's entrepreneur

The range of immigrant entrepreneurial talent in Ireland is clearly evidenced by the businessmen and women highlighted in the increasing number of ethnic business awards programmes.

Most recently, Kenyan born Rita Shah, founder and director of Shabra Plastics in Monaghan, was named TSB Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year in a ceremony where she was honoured by President Mary McAleese.

Shah set up Shabra Plastics in 1986. The company recycles and manufacturers plastic products and is the number one recycling company of plastic waste in Ireland.

Shah also was selected as the winner in her category for Technology Entrepreneur of the Year.

Other award winners include Juan Jimenez of Bella Cuba Restaurant who won Best Service Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year; while Emerging Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year was won by Olga and Jimmy Gashi for Word Perfect Translation Services Ltd.

Social Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year was won by Salome Mbugua from AkiDwA, a non-governmental network for African women living in Ireland. Best Business Idea of the Year went to Aiyshas Spice House owner and director, Hafeez Rehman.

Another event, the Ethnic Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition, run by Emerge, an EU-funded Irish development programme offering support to ethnic minority entrepreneurs, produced 200 entries this year.

Three winners will go on to represent Ireland at a European level competition.

The three that were selected are: Elvina Grosu, who started consultancy Culturewise Ireland in July 2006 with a mission to prepare clients to understand and work with culturally diverse populations; Anand Narayanan, an information technology specialist from India who has branched out to set up with food and snacks import company Shree Foods; and Vonniebeth Acob, a Filipina with a Blanchardstown-based creche called the Jolly Bee Kids Kingdom.

A recent Forfás study indicated such people signal the beginning of the rise of the foreign-born entrepreneur in Ireland. One in 10 of the Irish population is now a foreign-born national, and with a greater proportion of non-nationals aged between 25 and 44 (50 per cent) compared with Irish nationals (28 per cent).

"As this is the age group that is predominant among early stage entrepreneurs, it suggests that, all other things being equal, a higher percentage of non-nationals would be active as entrepreneurs, than is the case for Irish nationals," say the authors of Towards Developing an Entrepreneurship Policy for Ireland.

However, they say, "it may be some years yet before the full impact of this group as entrepreneurs is apparent."

Rita Shah of Shabra Plastics in Monaghan as she was named Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year by President Mary McAleese earlier this month.