Immigrant Businesss in Ghana. A Study of the Lebanese in Accra

Abstract

One important mechanism that immigrants mostly adopt as a means of integrating economically in the host country is the establishment of small-scale businesses of their own (Bonacich and Modell, 1980; Cummings, 1980; Glazer and Moynihan, 1963; Light, 1972). This study was conducted to examine the business practices of Lebanese immigrants in Accra Ghana, as well as contribute to the literature on immigrant businesses, which focuses predominantly on immigrants in Western societies. Using a qualitative research method, six in-depth interviews were conducted with Lebanese immigrant business owners in Accra. The study revealed that due to previous business and employment experiences Lebanese immigrant business owners have realised that certain forms of social capital are better accessed for business establishment whiles others are better utilised in business management. For this reason, business owners do not rely on kin networks for business management but are likely to utilise kin networks for business establishment and this goes contrary to the popular notion that immigrants use kin networks for both business establishment and management. In addition, non-kin networks are used for business management and not for business establishment.