Women from minority ethnic backgrounds still have to overcome social, cultural and institutional obstacles if they want to start their own businesses according to a recent research project carried out by Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (MMUBS). The survey of two groups of women from the Oldham and Rochdale areas looked at their motivations for starting a business as well as the difficulties they had faced.

The women had all taken part in the New Entrepreneur Scholarships (NES) programme between September 2002 and April 2003 and the research findings highlight once again the importance of flexible, appropriate business support.

The women were especially motivated to 'go it alone' by the attraction of independence, freedom and control over their lives which became even more important for mothers and carers. A further motivation was the influence of role models which the research shows to be more ethnic group specific. Ironically these role models were all men so there is an apparent need to involve ethnic women in outreach, recruitment and mentoring.

The survey draws together the main obstacles facing women entrepreneurs from different communities - common issues of childcare and lack of confidence continue to dominate - but disapproval from some members of the minority community and poor family support is a deterrent for some people.

Research project director Kevin Boles of MMUBS believes the obstacles faced by these and other women from minority ethnic communities can be addressed if business start-up programmes are well developed. "For many people, particularly women with a young family, self-employment is the only real way out of welfare dependency. This research project clearly confirms and supports the purpose and direction of the NES programme as an opportunity for less advantaged individuals with little or no experience, and lacking financial resources, to be able to fulfil the dream of starting a new business."

The New Entrepreneur Scholarships programme is funded nationally by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and this particular piece of research was supported by Barclays Bank. Richard Roberts, Head of Barclays SME Research said "This research will enable everyone involved in business support to develop and even greater understanding of the perceptions and behaviours of ethnic minority women entrepreneurs as well as some of the problems they face. I am sure the research will help drive positive changes to the NES programme. It has also provided Barclays with further insight to enable us to meet the needs of ethnic minority women more effectively".

The NES programme is managed by the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) in partnership with the Prince's Trust and the Association of Business Schools. Speaking on behalf of the partners, NFEA Chief Executive George Derbyshire said, "it is our objective to spread the word that entrepreneurship really is an option open to all, whatever their circumstances and background. This important research deals directly with specific issues faced by women from minority ethnic communities but my hope is that the findings will be applied to tackle barriers to enterprise faced by any section of our community."

The NES programme includes part-time management education to give the scholars the skills to develop a workable business plan and to see it through. The scholarships also provide support for various categories of start up cost, up to a maximum of £3,500, and a programme of on-going business mentoring providing access to support and advice at all times.

The idea for the New Entrepreneur Scholarships came from the Treasury and was developed by the DfES through the Learning and Skills Council. Research shows that people from disadvantaged areas are less likely than others to start their own businesses. The reasons for this have been identified as lack of business training, lack of personal confidence, poor access to seed finance and few contacts to provide the necessary encouragement and wise counsel that all start up businesses need.

Click here for the NES Programme website.