On: Apr 23, 2014 @ 2:11 PM

Wiadomość: Dear colleague, I am writing to ask if we could organise a short meeting to discuss a new Council of Europe project for migrant entrepreneurs in London. Diversity in the Economy and Local Integration (DELI) is funded by the European Commission and I would be very grateful to be able to call briefly on your expertise and knowledge in this area. The DELI project is about recognising and supporting the value of diversity among local entrepreneurs and enhancing the contribution of migrant entrepreneurs to the local economy. To that end the project will draw up quality standards for supporting entrepreneurship, promoting supplier diversity and including social clauses in public procurement. The project will be run in ten cities across Europe and London, through Lewisham Council, is one of the partner cities. Promoting migrant entrepreneurship and introducing effective support for their business means assisting people of migrant origin to take control of their professional future, attain professional satisfaction, realise a better income and contribute to local and regional growth. Within the project, Lewisham Council will provide an outline description of migrant enterprises in the borough by looking at the typology of migrant enterprises and at the types of migrant entrepreneurs. We will also research the personal, cultural and legal factors influencing migrants’ decisions to move into enterprise, to enable us to identify obstacles to migrant entrepreneurship and diversity procurement in the borough. However, there is a lack of official data on this this field, and we would be very grateful for your input as a key stakeholder/organisation supporting migrants. Taking into account data from the Census in 2011, over one-third (33.7%) of Lewisham residents were born outside of the UK. From 2001 until 2011, the composition of migratory flows changed significantly; the number Polish residents have increased from 413 in 2001 to 4,347 in 2011, over a ten-fold increase. I would be very grateful if you would be able to have a brief meeting with me, at a time that suits you. Please let me know if you will be able to meet and I will be in touch to arrange the details. Thank you very much for your assistance! Sincerely,