Somalis in Minneapolis. What can we learn?

On may 23rd Regionförbundet Södra Småland, together with FORES, held a seminar on Somalis’ situation in Sweden. Hussein Samatar, head of the African Development Centre in Minneapolis, was invited to share his experience from the positive integration of Somalis in Minnesota, and to discuss what Sweden can learn from their success.

Somalis have in recent years become one of the largest immigrant groups in Sweden, and are expected to continue to be so in the foreseeable future. At the same time, Somalis have experienced one of the lowest employment rates among all immigrant groups, which during the last ten years has consistently been below 30 %. Somalis also have a smaller share of self-employers compared to other immigrant groups in Swedish society.

In contrast, the situation is very different in e.g. the United States and the United Kingdom. In parts of the US, employment rates among Somalis are about double as high as in the Scandinavian countries. Self-employment is an important reason for the higher employment numbers. In the state of Minnesota, and in particular the city Minneapolis, Somali entrepreneurs have started over a thousand companies. In the United Kingdom, although employment levels are low, the number of self-employed Somalis is much higher than in Sweden.

Political adviser to the Swedish Minister of Integration, Catharina Bildt, started of by emphasizing that although people in Sweden, on a national level, are showing increasingly more positive attitudes towards immigration, there are still challenges with intolerance towards specific groups in society. The new Government reform as of December 1 2010 will hopefully make it easier for immigrants to enter the labor market and learn the Swedish language, and as a result, the integration process in general, said Bildt. With the new reform, the Swedish Public Employment Office will assume the coordinating responsibility for the introduction of newly arrived in Sweden, which previously was held by the municipalities. She also highlighted the importance of civil society participation, which has played a vital part in, for example, the successful Canadian integration model.

When comparing the US and Sweden, Benny Carlsson, professor from Lund University, pointed out that it is hard to know the exact number of Somalis, especially in the US. However, available numbers show that the share of self-employed Somalis in Sweden is only 0,6% compared to 3,7% in the US. Although the numbers have increased in Sweden since 2000, they are still very low. This holds especially for self-employed Somali women – with a number of just above 20 persons in total in 2009.

Bildt also stated that it is critical to separate what we mean by immigrants and entrepreneurs. Regardless of background, entrepreneurs first a foremost see themselves as entrepreneurs and not as immigrants. Hussein Samatar, executive director of the African Development Center in Minnesota, also acknowledged this as an important and valid point. Samatar underlined that entrepreneurship ultimately has nothing to do with ethnicity, but purely the product you are selling and good service.

The way in which ADC works to help the African community in Minnesota is by, for example, organizing business planning workshops as well as home ownership and financial literacy training. Additionally they offer technical assistance, micro-lending and partnerships with banks, community developers and local governments. This has proven to be a successful strategy in Minneapolis, although Samatar emphasized that migrating to another country is naturally related to some challenges like learning a new language, culture and starting a new life, and are not associated with just one immigrant group. For example, when Swedish immigrants first came to Minnesota they where told they would never make it there, reminded Samatar.

Towards the end of the seminar, some of the obstacles for improved Somali integration were discussed, and some solutions suggested included the following:

• Lack of formal skills/education and how to validate previous experience, which can be difficult for Somalis, and immigrants in general, when applying for a job in Sweden. Some of the suggested solutions where: better guidance for introduction guides and an improved coordination between public authorities throughout the validation process.

• Communication problems, as many Somalis lack Swedish language skills and some are even analphabet. Suggested solutions included offering advice through video and oral information in Somali on the Internet.

• Difficulties when it comes to the housing market, was another topic up for discussion. Unfamiliarity with how the process works is a problematic for immigrants coming to both the US and Sweden. Judicial advice for immigrants on how to become a house owner was pointed out as important. Furthermore, demanding private developers to set aside certain amount of projects for low-income groups, as it is in the US, was suggested as a possible strategy for Sweden’s housing market.

• Prejudices among employers, which makes it more challenging as an immigrant to get a job. The proposed improvements where first of all to identify the by the immigrants perceived and experienced obstacles. Also, mentorship for employers as well as employees, to bring awareness about existing negative preconceptions and how to overcome them was suggested.