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Proximity to Natives: A Frame, a Resource and a Platform for Somali Entrepreneurs

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The Contexts of Diaspora Citizenship

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Migration ((IPMI,volume 17))

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to magnify how proximity to natives, as a social location for migrants, can reveal and generate resources that influence the ‘perceptibility’ of resources and opportunities existent in different environments. In this analysis, proximity refers to being in close distance to natives and it is approached from three different angles, namely; a frame, a resource, and a platform. Through these distinct angles, this article explores how proximity to natives, as a social location held by migrants, can define migrants’ understanding of their own entrepreneurial possibilities, and how it can also influence their business entry decisions. The empirical background of this examination comes from 14 qualitative interviews that convey the experiences and insights of Somali migrant entrepreneurs living in the Republic of Finland, as well as in the states of Minnesota and Maine in the United States of America. In order to highlight the structures that exist between and among people J. Coleman’s (1990) conceptualizations of social capital, and to present how social locations relate to these structures M. P. Fernández-Kelly’s (1995) readings of social capital are utilized. Through this analysis, the lack of proximity to natives is identified as a possible set back in the entrepreneurial activities of migrants as it results in diminished capacity to recognize available resources and opportunities that are available in a given environment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.refugeesinternational.org/advocacy-letters-1/somaliastabilitytestimony?rq=somali%20

  2. 2.

    http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/01/5-facts-about-the-global-somali-diaspora

  3. 3.

    http://vertinet2.stat.fi/verti/graph/Graphserver.aspx?ifile=quicktables/Maahanmuuttajat/kieli_2&lang=3&gskey=2&mimetype=htm

  4. 4.

    https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acsbr12-16.pdf

  5. 5.

    The term ‘vulnerable’ denotes the less qualified migrants for several career opportunities (See 2020 Action Plan, European Union).

  6. 6.

    http://www.mndaily.com/2007/11/12/somali-businesses-growing-locally http://womensenews.org/story/entrepreneurship/071223/somali-women-make-minneapolis-their-business

  7. 7.

    The data is collected in the research project Contexts of Diaspora Citizenship Contexts of Diaspora Citizenship: Transnational networks, social participation and social identification of Somalis in Finland and in the U.S. (Academy of Finland, 2012–2016)

  8. 8.

    Since all the respondents are part of a Muslim community, it is necessary to note that for some Muslims recording human voice or look is not/might not be welcome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Yasemin Kontkanen

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  1. Yasemin Kontkanen
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Correspondence to Yasemin Kontkanen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Päivi Armila

  2. Juvenia – Youth Research and Development Centre, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, Mikkeli, Finland

    Marko Kananen

  3. Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Yasemin Kontkanen

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Kontkanen, Y. (2019). Proximity to Natives: A Frame, a Resource and a Platform for Somali Entrepreneurs. In: Armila, P., Kananen, M., Kontkanen, Y. (eds) The Contexts of Diaspora Citizenship. International Perspectives on Migration, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94490-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94490-6_10

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