Immigrant founders’ perceived barriers to funding in the early stage - A study of the Finnish market

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master_Wang_Runqing_2025.pdf (2.54 MB)

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School of Business | Master's thesis
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Date

2025-11-19

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Mcode

Degree programme

Master's programme in Global Management
Globaalin johtamisen maisteriohjelma

Language

en

Pages

94

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Abstract

The increasing recognition of immigrant entrepreneurship highlights the significant barriers faced by immigrant founders in getting funding. This thesis examines these barriers and explores the critical factors that influence investor decisions. Based on signaling theory, I target identifying the difficulties in getting funding that immigrant founders encounter and the corresponding strategies. This study employs qualitative research methods and data is collected through in-depth interviews with eight candidates who are either local or immigrant founders in Finland. The interview data is analyzed using thematic analysis, revealing that immigrant founders face substantial challenges in conveying effective signals due to various barriers. In the end, suggestions to cope with these problems, such as showing real products or prototypes and joining more events to expand social networks, are given. This study contributes to two main areas. First, it addresses the Finnish market and finds the barriers that immigrant founders encounter when applying for funding. Secondly, the study builds on the traditional signaling theory by combining an understanding of the difficulties encountered by founders and the assessment priorities of investors, to find strategies for immigrant entrepreneurs that can enhance the credibility and attractiveness of their start-ups. The research focuses on the Finnish start-up market, particularly exploring the early stage of immigrant business. Future research can improve based on the contributions of this study and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced and strategies adopted by immigrant entrepreneurs. This research provides insights to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote the success of immigrant start-ups.

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Kähäri, Perttu

Keywords

immigrant entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial barriers, start-up, signaling theory, investors’ decision-making

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202512119065

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ