The first generation of immigrants are successful founders

DrThe fact that the Enhbold Neuhaus is thanks to its boldness and cool, damp North Sea climate. Newhouse comes from Mongolia. She is a first-generation immigrant. In 1996, she followed her husband to Germany. When she was fluent in the language, she looked for a job as a Russian teacher. She had practiced this profession in her homeland. “I didn’t have a chance,” she says. The Russian language was not in demand after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During a vacation in the North Sea, Newhouse discovered that sweaters from Mongolia are an excellent match for the low-pressure regions of Central Europe. She started selling clothes to friends, and rented stalls at the Christmas markets and fairs. The woman from the town of Schönefeld in Brandenburg has had an online store for clothes made from cashmere, camel hair and cow wool since 2015. Her sister runs a company in Mongolia with a handful of knits. They produce what Enhbold Neuhaus has rated as German flair in long discussions with clients. “We Mongols love bright colors,” she says. “It was difficult for my sister to understand that a lot of dark blue, gray and black are worn, especially in Berlin.”

High start-up potential

Like many of the other immigrant founders, it dealt with a mentality that was strange to it at first. “A lot of Germans are objective, but we’re very emotional,” says Newhouse, of the Mongolian farm owners who have always been nomads across the Asian steppe: “When we encounter a problem, we look for a workable solution.” Help her get started. Own business.

The recently published study “Migrantische Ökonomie” shows: between 2005 and 2019, the number of German founders decreased by 10 percent, while the number of immigrants increased by 52 percent. In Migrant Founders Monitor 2021, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation found that 20 percent of all founders now have an immigrant background. Most of them, 57 percent, migrated only in their life path. Important regions of origin are Europe, especially Poland and Turkey. “The first generation of immigrants in particular has a high potential for starting work,” says sociologist René Leicht of the University of Mannheim, who has worked on the study of “migrant economics”.