Nominate an Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year!

Suomen Yrittäjät is searching for an Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year for the first time. It wants to use the competition to bring successful and exemplary entrepreneurs to the fore.

“We are looking for doers who, in spite of language barriers and a different operating environment, have succeeded, created something new in their fields, and shown an exceptionally entrepreneurial attitude,” Aicha Manai, network manager at Suomen Yrittäjät, says.

The winner will be chosen from among five finalists. The Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 will also receive a €3,000 prize provided by the pension company Elo.

“It takes a lot of courage to start and run one’s own business. Everyday life is full of all sorts of challenges,” Joni Tikkanen, chief marketing officer at Elo, says.

Aicha Manai says that to win, an entrepreneur’s business must be profitable and have growth prospects.

We hope the entrepreneur will convey a positive attitude to life and business.

The idea for organizing the competition came from immigrant entrepreneurs.

“As someone who’s worked in Finland for a long time, I know that running your own business is hard, particularly for entrepreneurs. There are a lot of people out there running low-threshold businesses, but they are not seen or noticed anywhere,” Ali Giray, chair of the Suomen Yrittäjät immigrant entrepreneur network, says.

Candidates for the award may be nominated by 20 November in Finnish or English.

“For immigrant entrepreneurs, language difficulties and finding the right knowledge increase challenges, as the survey carried out by Suomen Yrittäjät shows. At the same time, they have a strong appetite for growth and often operate on international markets,” Aicha Manai says.

toimitus (at) yrittajat.fi

PARTICIPATION CRITERIA

• The entrepreneur was not born in Finland.
• His or her native language is not Finnish, Swedish or Sami.
• The entrepreneur is an exciting example for other immigrants and entrepreneurs in general.
• The entrepreneur has registered a business in Finland which has been operational for at least three years.
• The entrepreneur and business have an unblemished reputation.
• The business has the requirements for continued success and its finances are in order. The entrepreneur and business have met their tax and other statutory duties as an employer and an entrepreneur.
• A pair or team of entrepreneurs may participate in the competition. A single-person business may also be nominated.
• The entrepreneur can not be a member of Suomen Yrittäjät’s Immigrant entrepreneur network’s management team

You may nominate an entrepreneur by using this form.