Migrant entrepreneurs’ views on the potential impacts of Brexit on their UK businesses

With numbers close to 250 million globally, migrants account for just 3% of the world’s 8 billion population, and yet issues concerning this relatively small group occupy multiple media and news channels, much of it with negative connotations. However, data compiled by the United Nations shows that the number of migrants worldwide has indeed been growing since the millennium at an average rate of just over two per cent per annum and the proportion of migrants worldwide has risen from 2.8% in 2000 to 3.4% in 2017. As may be expected, migrants move mainly to higher-income countries and these countries now account for around two-thirds of the global migrant population. On average, migrants make up 14% of the population of high-income countries, and the migrant population of close to 9 million in the UK, the fifth largest economy in the world by GDP, is just below this at 13% of the national population. Nevertheless, media coverage of migrant-related issues is widely believed to have strongly influenced the outcome of the EU-Brexit referendum in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, the Brexit negotiations are still ongoing and the aim of this research is to provide a snapshot of how that process is affecting migrant entrepreneurs and their businesses in the UK. The results indicate that, while a minority of migrant entrepreneurs (1 in 5) see some potential upsides from Brexit, the majority (4 in 5) take a much more negative view, with many seriously considering relocating their businesses while, at the same time, being willing and able to share their thoughts and to actively support efforts to strengthen the UK economy.