Newry and Armagh MLA pledges to unlock opportunities for entrepreneurs

He was speaking at the ‘Time to Change’ event held in the Long Gallery, Stormont.

The event was co-hosted by Steve Pollard and Dr Laura Bradley, Ulster University Business School, and included a number of guest speakers.

Its purpose was to enable policymakers, along with community and business representatives, to share the progress to date on the ‘Time to Change’ report.

It is a blueprint for advancing the UK’s Ethnic Minority Businesses.

Panelists discussed the key recommendations, and explored how people might become involved in addressing the specific barriers faced by ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

Minister Murphy said: “I am keen to refocus economic policy to better support domestic start-ups and SMEs that want to grow.

"That means improving support for all entrepreneurs, but particularly for people who face additional barriers.

"Such barriers for ethnic minority people and migrants include discrimination, lack of access to capital and networks, a lack of confidence, and language barriers,” he continued.

“It is important to remove these obstacles given the opportunities for business growth created by the Windsor Framework. Dual market access gives us a unique basis for building our exports and it is important that all entrepreneurs are able to take advantage of this status.”