Iranian Refugee Entrepreneurship and Inclusion in the Netherlands

Abstract

Abstract Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of entrepreneurship for migrants’ integration. Nonetheless, the impact of entrepreneurship on refugees’ inclusion and sense of belonging has been largely overlooked. This article explores how entrepreneurship contributes to the inclusion of Iranian refugee entrepreneurs, considering the different aspects of a refugee’s identity components such as ethnicity, age, class, gender, and religion. The life stories of 14 Iranian refugee entrepreneurs, who immigrated to the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s are analysed. We illustrate how different dimensions of their identity shape entrepreneurial motivations, resources, and entrepreneurial strategies. The results show that intersecting identity components impact Iranian refugee entrepreneurs’ sense of belonging. Notwithstanding the diverse ways in which individuals experience belonging, our study identifies three particular modes of belonging: hybrid, cosmopolitan, and transnational belonging. Drawing on interviews with individual refugee entrepreneurs, we conclude that entrepreneurship is a vehicle for greater acceptance and inclusion within the host society. Our study points to an urgent need to go beyond the integration paradigm by applying the concept of inclusion. The notion of inclusion enables us to gain a deeper understanding of refugees’ position in the labour market and the receiving society more broadly.