Between ethnic entrepreneurship and political participation: the experience of representatives of the Brazilian new black diaspora
Audrey Silva Hein, Pedro Jaime
The Bottom Line, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp.154-172

This paper examines the dynamics of ethnic entrepreneurship among representatives of the Brazilian New Black Diaspora (BNBD). It aims to understand how these entrepreneurs start their businesses and how they mobilize them as a form of political participation.

The research made use of a qualitative approach, using netnography, life narratives and comprehensive interviews with BNBD entrepreneurs and civil society actors.

The results reveal that BNBD entrepreneurs are often driven into necessity-based entrepreneurship due to exclusion from the formal labor market and use their businesses to address racism and xenophobia in the public arenas. While ethnic solidarity is typically emphasized in previous studies on the phenomenon of ethnic entrepreneurship, the findings uncover tensions within co-ethnic networks.

The research challenges the idea of ethnic solidarity as a fundamental condition for business success in ethnic entrepreneurship as well as the romanticized view of entrepreneurship as a panacea for economic problems, particularly in the context of migration.

Although BNBD entrepreneurs face harsh realities, their ventures become important platforms for political advocacy, acting as vehicles that empower them to engage in the public arenas to influence public policies on migration and racial equality.

The study provides a new perspective on ethnic entrepreneurship through the lens of the sociology of public problems, emphasizing the social and political roles entrepreneurs play in addressing racism and xenophobia and highlighting competition over cooperation within their ethnic networks.