[Editor’s Note: This is the second of three columns about immigrant entrepreneurship in Maine written by Kerem Durdag, an entrepreneur who currently serves as president and COO of GWI Inc. You can read the first column here. Durdag is also founder of the Indus Fund, a community supported micro loan program for the immigrant community in Maine.]
Immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners are members of Maine society. Through trials and tribulations that define the self and family, these community members sought to leave their birth countries behind to affirm their lives in a new environment, one that in most cases is free of the toxic dynamics of nepotism, corruption, and dysfunctional state and national institutions. The ideal is one of equality and welcome. The ideal is one that via the intersection of the social contract and belief in self, the immigrant can define the present to be what they desire. The ideal is one of self-actualization on terms that are determined by yourself.
Immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners are a necessity to Maine and driven by an elemental desire to contribute to the state that has provided shelter and a path of living.
Immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners feel the need to create multigenerational change because in it lies the continuing story of traversing land and ocean for family and friends. I, we, have traveled to another soil far from our birth lands because we wanted a better life for ourselves and our children; thoughts that were amorphous and coalesced in immutable ways. We rebirthed ourselves.
And so immigrant entrepreneurs in Maine own businesses and can articulate their success. They create opportunities. They are part of business hubs. They make their mark as part of the business ecosystem. They participate and learn. They are members of the Maine compact on immigration. The immigrant community has extended its hand so that it matters to the Maine community.
In Maine, the immigrant business owner has the following characteristics:
- 2,368 immigrant business owners accounted for 2% of all self-employed Maine residents in 2018 owned businesses that generate $48 million in annual revenue. Given that first-generation immigrants create about 25% of new U.S. firms, the current small percentage of immigrants in Maine holds a significant lever to grow the Maine economy if the size of the community increased.
- 28,129 immigrant workers comprised 4% of the labor force in 2018; which means that about 8% of the immigrant population starts their own businesses today.
The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following industries:
| Industry | Immigrant Share (%) (of all industry workers) |
|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing | 7 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 6 |
| Administrative & Support; Waste Management; and Remediation Services | 6 |
| Manufacturing | 5 |
| Educational Services | 5 |
It is interesting to note that during the pandemic the transportation and warehousing industry carried the significant burden of ensuring the flow of products to society at large and immigrants played a significant role in that effort.
Immigrants are an integral part of the Maine workforce in a range of occupations; the largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following occupation groups:
| Occupation | Immigrant Share (%) (of all workers in occupation) |
|---|---|
| Building and Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance | 8 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 6 |
| Production | 6 |
| Healthcare Support | 5 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 5 |
Think about it; 6% of the computer and math jobs are from the immigrant community (in 2018, 47,418 immigrants were in Maine) that comprised 4% of the population. That is a large fulcrum point.
More than one-third (35%) of adult immigrants had a college degree or more education in 2018, while under one-fifth (18%) had less than a high school diploma; see below.
| Education Level | Share (%) of All Immigrants | Share (%) of Native Mainers |
|---|---|---|
| College degree or more | 35 | 31 |
| Some college | 25 | 30 |
| High school diploma only | 22 | 32 |
| Less than a high school diploma | 18 | 7 |
And yet, the immigrant entrepreneur (whose significant population is a community of color) struggles to be part of the overall economic development conversation in boardrooms, executive management representation in companies, in the makeup of classes, seminar and webinars (either as presenters or in the audience) that are offered for training and knowledge-sharing, in the policies and procedures that would inculcate and sustain diversity and inclusion in for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and in the overall tenor of the measured progress benchmarks for the state of Maine. So we struggle to be part of the conversation even when the conversation is about us.
So the immigrant entrepreneur and business owner in Maine is one who, together with striving to create a life, also strives to include his and her voice. She is a subject of policy analysis and papers, in-depth insights about the value she brings to Maine society, but the translation from those studies to actual and definable tools is vastly under-resourced or absent (and lest it be thought that there are simply insignificant numbers of Mainers who do not believe that immigrants should be part of the Maine fabric, I invite them to read public comments when articles about this topic are posted in online forums). At the end of the day, the immigrant is part of the story of Maine, albeit a participant in various levels of tension, and yet he is often marginalized in the broader ethos (how often do we as Maine society talk about how the Somali community has played its role in revitalizing Lewiston? how often do we as Maine society acknowledge the Hispanic and central African community in opening up the world of Portland?)
So it is vital we seek and evaluate the success points that demonstrate immigrant entrepreneurs can indeed create companies and scale them.
the status quo, as history is a wise guide, is a place where the oxygen of growth and substance is utterly starved
Take Burak Sezen for instance. He was the founder and CTO of Rowdmap, which was acquired in 2017. A USM graduate, Burak (who is Turkish, soccer fanatic and here is a humble disclaimer, close friend of the author) is a well known expert in the realm of healthcare data analytics and is now involved in angel investing and mentoring entrepreneurs. Rowdmap was based in Portland and Lexington, KY, and grew from a founding team to a fully scaled up company at 50 employees that had national customers, recurring large revenue base and reputation for expertise and execution.
Rowdmap was a software technology company here in Maine that was recognized for its ability to parse massive swaths of data to affect patient outcomes. Founded by an immigrant here in Maine.
We are afraid of getting sick because a lot of us are in frontline jobs without adequate health insurance. We feel utterly devalued because even though we have advanced degrees we are changing bedsheets at motels and fulfilling janitorial obligations, simply because our degrees are not considered equal (many of us have been told to go to University of Southern Maine or University of Maine for another fours years to get a degree and so we do). We are afraid our children are drowning in inequity in their schools. A not so brightly advertised ICE facility will be present in Maine and scares us; it scares us because the legal and law enforcement system is a system. Information is parceled in byzantine and complicated fashion (check out the application forms for grants, loans and other funding mechanism) that only people in the know can understand; how is the immigrant business owner to be in the know if they are not included (how many members of the immigrant business community are in the room for all the annual dinners, celebratory events and functions?)? One may think that these are on the same order of magnitude of challenges any other business owner or entrepreneur may face; what is missing from the logic of such sentiment is that the immigrant has to overcome these challenges that are dominantly beyond his control or influence. It is a struggle against a very large mechanistic organism; the state itself (it’s governance, its society, its participants and members). She has to battle hurdle upon hurdle that is arbitrarily created. As if there are not enough hurdles to starting, creating, running and sustaining businesses, the immigrant has to overcome the presence of additional walls.
If you look at the story of Gael Karomba, these walls are overcome. Gael is the founder of a company that now has 200 employees (Gael’s story is one of overcoming) and is actively involved in leveraging the talents of the immigrant community for workforce development while being a multiplier agent in doing good for society at large. Whether it be his desire to impart financial literacy or empower those who want to create multi-generational opportunities, his forward-leaning attitude is a credit to the Maine work ethic. He is present in the Lewiston-Auburn community and is an example of what we all need to do; which is to lean into the room.
Burak and Gael are folks who are seen in the proverbial room, but we need to do more as a society. If we are not seen, how is the immigrant entrepreneur to have an identity that is affirmative and positive?
I am not the only immigrant business owner who has been told to “go back to where you came from” in Maine. I am not. How does one express without splintering into molecules, that this is also my home. Choosing a home is a zero sum endeavor.
There are members of our economic development ecosystem who suggest, “forget the national politics about it” (how many countless times have I been singled out and profiled by the TSA when I travel because I am Turkish and Pakistani? Too many.) and that is indicative of the challenge our greater society has because there is this tacit clinging on to local parochialism. As if the greater global dynamics will simply not matter because the bubble of Maine is rooted strong. To further say, “you are from away” (yes, yes, yes, saying that is a harbinger of xenophobic beliefs so let us delete this vernacular from our speech and language) assumes that in a monumentally predominantly white demographic of Maine, the minority of us who are immigrants, of color, and economically marginalized actually don’t belong. This subversion of the spectrum of humanity that is the “other” is rampantly toxic and the doorway to injustices past, present and future.
And against this backdrop, there are realities here in Maine where there are doors of acceptance, of assistance, of listening, of doing, of working hand in hand intentionally to include. These stories are present. But these realities are not imminently visible at scale; they are not a scale where the majority of the citizens of Maine as a culture, find the immigrant central to its survival. Yet.
Yet it is elemental that we replicate what entrepreneurs like Imad Khalidi have accomplished. Imad is the founder and CEO of Auto Europe, one of world’s largest rental agencies that services the tourist industry in Europe (and at least in 2012 had 240 employees). Located here in Portland, Maine, the company has an established presence in thousands of pick-up locations in Europe. It is a global company with a global footprint that handles thousands of rental bookings and transactions a month utilizing world class cloud computing infrastructure allowing it to leverage scalable IT architecture.
There is an oncoming present where new industries are being created and Maine needs to participate in them; we can not be mired in lost opportunities. There are waves of opportunity that are at hand that require a hard work ethic, a dedicated entrepreneurial workforce, the most current knowledge-base, a fearless spirit that allows for success and failure and a desire to be relevant. And it is here that the immigrant community can provide moments of celebration.
If Gimbala Sankare can create his start-up Stashup.io here in Maine to educate and empower the immigrant community on how to manage their finances, how can that not be a moment to celebrate?
If Ebenenzer Akakpo can build his jewelry business using 3D printing and bringing his sensibility of sophistication, authenticity and vibrancy to the arts and crafts ecosystem of Maine, how can we not joyfully smile at his success and that of Maine?
If Orson Horschler can start a high-end carpentry and residential renovation company, and have a mission to change the paradigm of what constitutes a construction workforce, how can we not want to encourage more of these companies to be part of our Maine ecosystem?
And if Alyne Cistone can have her consulting business that helps The Jackson Laboratory to grow and contribute to the economic well being of Mount Desert Island, couldn’t that be a template for other communities in Maine?
There is a need to find solutions to societal challenges on a massive scale of which Maine needs to (and can) be ready to contribute. For all of these dimensions, not being aware of the presence of the immigrant business and entrepreneur that needs to be part of these efforts, is a lazy excuse of not wanting to step out of the comfort of the status quo. And the status quo, as history is a wise guide, is a place where the oxygen of growth and substance is utterly starved.
You see my dear reader, we belong to each other. And in that belonging is meaning.
Hence, Maine needs to realize the connective tissue to its success is in its ability to be a society that cares, is progressive in its intentions to create solutions, and can be a functional organism that integrates the multiplicity of cultural inclusion. Its future depends on it.
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