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Trails

Taking Care of Business features dozens stories of migrant entrepreneurship for you to discover. We’ve designed a series of trails, each featuring stories focused on a different aspect of migrant entrepreneurs’ identity and experiences.

Which trail are you going to explore today?

Family Affair

Families are at the heart of so many immigrant-founded businesses, from corner shops and takeaways to some of the biggest companies in Britain. Discover why migrant entrepreneurship is so often a family affair – and what it’s like to grow up, work in and run a family business.

For Us by Us

Migrant entrepreneurs are good at spotting gaps in the market that mainstream businesses aren’t serving, often responding to demand from their own or other communities. From hair and beauty products to safe spaces to party, discover businesses past and present that have been created ‘for us, by us’.

Quintesentially British

From Marmite to M&S, fish and chips to KP Nuts, some brands, businesses and products have become such a central part of our lives that they are now seen as integral to what it means to be British. But just like so many aspects of our national life, these ‘quintessentially British’ brands wouldn’t exist without migration.

Refugee Businesses

For centuries, people have come to the UK seeking refuge from war, disasters and persecution. Forced to start new lives in a new land, many have also started businesses. From French Protestant financiers to Jewish garment makers, Ugandan Asian shopkeepers to more recent arrivals, discover stories from generations of refugee entrepreneurs.

We are Lewisham

London’s Borough of Culture for 2022 is home to businesses founded by people with roots spanning the globe. From fashion labels to greasy spoons, local favourites to London legends, discover stories from entrepreneurs whose businesses are central to the lives of so many of us living, studying and working in Lewisham – and beyond.

Who Runs the World?

It’s a fact: women remain massively underrepresented in business. And yet, whether at the forefront of companies and brands we know and love, or behind the scenes making it work, women are the backbone of so many migrant-founded businesses.