A project to help hundreds of entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities overcome obstacles to starting up and developing their own businesses was officially launched yesterday.
A total of 340 entrepreneurs will take part in the two-year Emerge programme at centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway. It is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Barriers identified by ethnic minorities to starting up businesses here include a lack of Government policy to deal with entrepreneurship among ethnic minorities and difficulties obtaining finance and accessing information on entrepreneurs' rights and responsibilities.
Kenneth Germaine, chairman of Emerge, said it was important society took such steps to help ethnic minorities form part of the community.
"The development of new ethnic minority communities is a relatively new phenomenon. However, it is a reality and as a society Ireland now must adapt to this reality," he said.
"These ethnic communities have come here to make a better life and many wish to be self-employed and self-sufficient."
Launching the project in Cork yesterday, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said Ireland was proud to have so many different cultures in towns and cities around the State.
He said he hoped the businesses to emerge from the project would go on to contribute in an integrated way to the economic and social fabric of the country.
A member of the Emerge development partnership, Chinedu Onyejelem, the founder of Ireland's first multicultural newspaper, Metro Éireann, said issues such as racism, language barriers and social exclusion made it difficult for entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities to start up businesses.
"The need for this project is clear. There is currently no specifically designed mainstream programme that targets particular problems encountered by ethnic minority entrepreneurs," he said.
The programme will involve three stages of training: preparing to set up a business, the first year, and growing over two to four years.
Mr Germaine said: "There are a significant number of potential and actual entrepreneurs. It represents a real move to understand the needs of ethnic minority entrepreneurs and overcome their specific barriers."
Application forms and further information are available at: www.equalemerge.ie