This article focuses on how future immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland search for information when planning to start a business and defines which types of information they find most important. The findings are based on the implementation of the “Path to Entrepreneurship for Immigrants” (Maahanmuuttajien yrittäjyyspolku, MYP) project, coordinated by Laurea University of Applied Sciences and supported by the European Social Fund. The paper focuses on search strategies that are used by immigrants in the early stages of the entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, the study presents the main categories of information needs of future immigrant entrepreneurs. The research insights indicate the need to provide better visibility of public services and early intervention to help immigrant entrepreneurs find important information that affects business creation.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in promoting employment, innovation, and integration, especially among immigrants who bring diverse skills and experiences to the host country’s economy. The report The Missing Entrepreneurs 2023 presents growing immigrant entrepreneurship: the share of self-employed with foreign background in the EU nearly doubled (from 7 % to 12 %) between 2013 and 2022 (OECD, 2023). In Finland, supporting immigrant entrepreneurship is at a highly developed level, and future entrepreneurs can receive high-quality advisory support from public services and different organizations. Moreover, the proportion of self-employed immigrants in the whole population of self-employed in Finland is constantly rising (12,3 %; Integration database, 2024). However, the process of starting a business in a new country can be complex, especially when language, legal systems, taxation, and cultural expectations differ significantly from the native countries of entrepreneurs.

According to existing research, the main problems that entrepreneurs with a foreign background face are language issues and a lack of cultural understanding (Aaltonen & Akola, 2012). Therefore, this leads, for example, to offering their products or services at a cheaper price than local entrepreneurs (Rueda-Armengot & Peris-Ortiz, 2012). In addition, they encounter problems with providing the necessary information for commercial loans (Sambou & Anna, 2020).

The ”Path to entrepreneurship for immigrants” project (MYP: Maahanmuuttajien yrittäjyyspolku – Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu), is being implemented during 2024-2025 and is partially funded by the European Social Fund. The project is coordinated by Laurea University of Applied Sciences in partnership with Espoo Region Enterprise Agency (ESUYK) in cooperation with the City of Espoo. The aim of MYP is to support immigrants who are interested in entrepreneurship, self-employment, or employment, especially in sectors facing labour shortages or undergoing structural changes. The project develops pathways to entrepreneurship and offers courses as well as a foresight workshop for immigrants who are considering starting a business in Finland.

As part of the MYP project, we conducted research to better understand how immigrants willing to establish a business in Finland search for information. By identifying common information sources and categorizing the most frequently mentioned knowledge needs, we aim to support the development of more effective, accessible, and inclusive advisory services for immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland. Ndofor and Priem (2009) show that education, management experience, and entrepreneurship experience affect the entrepreneurial way of acting for immigrants and identify that previous experience as an entrepreneur positively influences the use of strategy, while management experience affects the dominant approach. Understanding how immigrant entrepreneurs search for information and understanding which information is important for them is essential to designing effective support ecosystems and projects that foster inclusive entrepreneurship.

In our project, we collected answers through the online open-ended questionnaire. A total of 166 participants, living in Finland, completed the questionnaire during 2024-2025. Responses were gathered anonymously to encourage honest and detailed answers. We present and discuss the key findings of our survey below.

Overall, the data shows a blended strategy that includes digital tools, institutional resources, and informal social networks.

Searching for Information about becoming an entrepreneur: Sources and Strategies

The main tool for searching information was Google, used by 57.2% (95 out of 166) of respondents. This shows that general search engines play the main role in the early stages of starting a business. It also indicates that immigrants’ future entrepreneurs face some challenges in finding information through the public portals that specialise in providing information about starting a business in Finland.

In addition to the search engines, friends’ advice (28.9 %) and social media (22.9 %) are very important sources of information. This refers to the point that due to the language and cultural barriers, as well as a lack of trust, the formal advice services are used to a lesser extent. Future migrant entrepreneurs prefer to get information based on experience-based guidance from immigrants from local communities.

These three sources can be determined as an informal strategy of searching for information for future entrepreneurs with an international background. In our questionnaire, the AI way of searching for information wasn’t added. Just a few participants mentioned that they use ChatGPT as an AI tool. We assume that this tool has become more popular during the time we conducted our research. Future research is needed to verify our assumption.

Use of Advice Services

While unofficial sources seemed to prevail, institutional sources mentioned in the questionnaire were also widely used. Nearly half of the respondents (47.6 %) mentioned municipal business advisory services (e.g., NewCo Helsinki, Business Espoo), and 42.2 % cited Business Finland as a source. These results indicate growing awareness of public advisory services in Finland. This suggests that reaching these services might still be difficult due to issues with discoverability and language adaptation, despite municipal business advisory services offering their services in a variety of languages.

The formal strategy should be the first way of receiving information on the road to entrepreneurship and business planning. However, future entrepreneurs are considering these services only after exploring unofficial options and obtaining an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of the process.

Core information for future entrepreneurs

Our data show a structured hierarchy of information that future entrepreneur immigrants would like to know for starting a business in Finland. All received answers were grouped into several key thematic groups based on the frequency of mentions.

The most frequently mentioned was the group “Finance & Tax”, which collected approximately 30 %, that is, most of the total number of answers. This group comprises taxation regulations, access to funding and grants, financial management, and banking procedures. Hence, understanding financial and taxing systems is essential for future migrant entrepreneurs. This knowledge would enable them to be self-confident on their pathway to a new business and to manage their business in a foreign country.

The second valuable group that appears from the questionnaire responses is “Legal & Procedures” (25 % of responses). Respondents expressed a strong need for clear information regarding company registration, shareholder and director rights and responsibilities, business licenses, as well as operating a business according to Finnish legal frameworks. Thus, there is a need for accessible legal guidance tailored to immigrants who may lack an understanding of local business regulations and requirements.

A considerable number of answers (15 %) were related to “Business Ecosystem” questions regarding starting and running a new company in Finland. This group included the following topics that can support business development: understanding of available support networks, incubation services, and governmental assistance programs.

Nearly 12 % of responses fell under the “Business Skills” group, which represents needs in information about marketing, communication, risk management, and strategic planning. The other significant number of answers could be combined into the “Language & Communication challenges” (8 % of responses). This group represents different competencies that future entrepreneurs need to manage and grow a business, including linguistic barriers that interfere with getting the necessary information.

Conclusion

We explored the information-seeking behaviours and key informational needs of future immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland. While public business advisory services are both available and utilised, initial information-seeking behaviour among prospective migrant entrepreneurs often reflects a reliance on unstructured and unofficial sources. Notably, the main search tools are search engines such as Google, advice from friends, and social media platforms. Therefore, future entrepreneurs might not receive professional support, which could lead to gaps in their understanding of business in Finland. Consequently, public services must become more visible and attract future entrepreneurs, in order to turn to the public services first and foremost.

Furthermore, the findings illustrate a prioritised structure of informational needs among aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland, emphasising the importance of financial literacy, legal clarity, and ecosystem awareness. These insights suggest that tailored support services addressing regulatory, operational, and communicative challenges could significantly enhance the entrepreneurial readiness and integration of migrants into the Finnish business landscape.

In conclusion, this reveals the significance of the critical importance of tailoring business support services to better meet the needs of a growing population of entrepreneurs with an international background in Finland.

Author

Antonina Petrovic (PhD, PM) is a social scientist who works at Laurea University of Applied Sciences RDI Specialist and Project Manager.

References

• Aaltonen, S., & Akola, E. 2012. Lack of trust-the main obstacle for immigrant entrepreneurship? Turku School of Economics, University of Turku. Microsoft Word – Aaltonen_Akola_Lack of trust.docx
• Integration database 2025. Employment (online publication). Helsinki: Centre of Expertise in Immigrant Integration, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Accessed on: Share of entrepreneurs among employed persons (Reg) by Area, Origin and background country, Year and Information. PxWeb. Retrieved 31.8.2025.
• Ndofor, H. A., & Priem, R. L. 2009. Immigrant Entrepreneurs, the Ethnic Enclave Strategy, and Venture Performance. Journal of Management, 37(3). Accessed on: Immigrant Entrepreneurs, the Ethnic Enclave Strategy, and Venture Performance – Hermann Achidi Ndofor, Richard L. Priem, 2011.
• OECD & European Union 2023. The missing entrepreneurs 2023: Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship and self-employment. OECD Publishing. The Missing Entrepreneurs 2023 | OECD
• Rueda-Armengot, C., & Peris-Ortiz, M. 2012. The emigrant entrepreneur: A theoretical framework and empirical approximation. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 8(1), 99-118. Accessed on: The emigrant entrepreneur: a theoretical framework and empirical approximation | International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
• Sambou, A. 2020. Understanding the motivation, survival, and growth of immigrant businesses in Finland. Accessed on: Understanding the motivation, survival, and growth of immigrant businesses in Finland – OuluREPO