Finding a way: Exploring the most common barriers that immigrant woman entrepreneurs face in Skåne-Sweden and how to overcome them.

Abstract: This paper investigates the barriers that immigrant woman entrepreneurs (IWEs) face in starting their firms, and the strategies they use to overcome them. The study interviewed seven IWEs in Skåne, Sweden to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences. The study uses a theoretical framework that focuses on gender, family, culture, social and human capital and the institutional barriers as the basis for the investigation. The findings suggest that IWEs faced these six main barriers when start their businesses to varying degrees. The study also found that the participants used an array of strategies to mitigate those barriers. Strategies employed were influenced by many factors, including the sector in which the business operated, the cultural background of the entrepreneurs and personal resources. One of the most interesting finding in this study is that language often surfaced when discussing other barriers, such as social capital, human capital, cultural and institution barriers. This implies that language should play a more prominent role in the discussion of barriers faced by IWEs in order to foster a deeper and nuanced understanding of the challenges and successes as they launch their firms.