Kajal Sanghrajka: Supporting immigrant entrepreneurs to start businesses in a new country
Kajal Sanghrajka: Supporting immigrant entrepreneurs to start businesses in a new country
Author
It was serendipity that led Kajal Sanghrajka to successfully apply for her Churchill Fellowship in 2017.
As a British entrepreneur, Kajal had launched an eyewear business in the USA when studying for an MBA at Columbia University, discovering first-hand the difficulties of starting an enterprise while simultaneously navigating the immigration system.
She was following the example of her father who, having fled Uganda for the UK in the 1970s, had founded a successful business; like many immigrants, he turned to entrepreneurship in part because of the challenge of getting employment.
Returning to the UK, Kajal launched a new venture – Growth Hub Global – drawing on both her business and personal experience, to advise European entrepreneurs wanting to go to the USA on how to penetrate the market and navigate visas.
Then came Brexit when, as Kajal observed, “The rhetoric was all around scapegoating immigrants, when in fact there is a massive economic contribution from people who are not born in the country, who come and set up businesses – like my father – and have an outsize impact.
“I wanted to research how countries across the world nurture, rather than vilify. How do they support you to come to a country, and start a business?”
It was then – the day before the applications’ closing date – Kajal discovered the Churchill Fellowship, and with it an opportunity to research the economic contribution of immigrants, especially those starting their own businesses.
Exploring support for immigrant entrepreneurs
Kajal identified countries that looked to be providing a soft landing for immigrant entrepreneurs, visiting 25 cities across six European countries and Canada.
She found excellent examples of support being provided. “The best hubs were the most cohesive, such as in Berlin, where you have strong connective tissue between the private sector, the public sector and academia. This holistic approach is a winning formula.”
Kajal interviewed numerous immigrant business owners – in some cases running organisations with multimillion turnovers – who all stressed how important that early support had been.
"I would credit the mindset I have, and being able to do what I do, to the Churchill Fellowship."
Helping immigrant entrepreneurs unlock new markets
Since her Fellowship, Kajal has been ceaseless in her efforts to support immigrant entrepreneurs, particularly students.
She launched the LSE’s first business accelerator programme for students, drawing on her Fellowship learnings. Kajal was also involved in founding The Aspect Accelerator, for students across UK universities, exploring not just how to run a business but how to navigate immigration as a founder.
And recently she has cofounded a new organisation, Upsite, helping European businesses to expand, using AI and technical mapping to tap into support programmes in the USA.
Upsite acts as a bridge between businesses and local economic support, to unlock economic potential.
“I would credit the mindset I have, and being able to do what I do, to the Churchill Fellowship. My mission is to unlock economic growth and to make sure people can expand their businesses and overcome barriers. For me, there is so much unfulfilled potential, because businesses are global, but if you don’t know how to navigate new markets then we lose out, as a society, in terms of economic growth.”
As a British entrepreneur, Kajal had launched an eyewear business in the USA when studying for an MBA at Columbia University, discovering first-hand the difficulties of starting an enterprise while simultaneously navigating the immigration system.
She was following the example of her father who, having fled Uganda for the UK in the 1970s, had founded a successful business; like many immigrants, he turned to entrepreneurship in part because of the challenge of getting employment.
Returning to the UK, Kajal launched a new venture – Growth Hub Global – drawing on both her business and personal experience, to advise European entrepreneurs wanting to go to the USA on how to penetrate the market and navigate visas.
Then came Brexit when, as Kajal observed, “The rhetoric was all around scapegoating immigrants, when in fact there is a massive economic contribution from people who are not born in the country, who come and set up businesses – like my father – and have an outsize impact.
“I wanted to research how countries across the world nurture, rather than vilify. How do they support you to come to a country, and start a business?”
It was then – the day before the applications’ closing date – Kajal discovered the Churchill Fellowship, and with it an opportunity to research the economic contribution of immigrants, especially those starting their own businesses.
Exploring support for immigrant entrepreneurs
Kajal identified countries that looked to be providing a soft landing for immigrant entrepreneurs, visiting 25 cities across six European countries and Canada.
She found excellent examples of support being provided. “The best hubs were the most cohesive, such as in Berlin, where you have strong connective tissue between the private sector, the public sector and academia. This holistic approach is a winning formula.”
Kajal interviewed numerous immigrant business owners – in some cases running organisations with multimillion turnovers – who all stressed how important that early support had been.
"I would credit the mindset I have, and being able to do what I do, to the Churchill Fellowship."
Helping immigrant entrepreneurs unlock new markets
Since her Fellowship, Kajal has been ceaseless in her efforts to support immigrant entrepreneurs, particularly students.
She launched the LSE’s first business accelerator programme for students, drawing on her Fellowship learnings. Kajal was also involved in founding The Aspect Accelerator, for students across UK universities, exploring not just how to run a business but how to navigate immigration as a founder.
And recently she has cofounded a new organisation, Upsite, helping European businesses to expand, using AI and technical mapping to tap into support programmes in the USA.
Upsite acts as a bridge between businesses and local economic support, to unlock economic potential.
“I would credit the mindset I have, and being able to do what I do, to the Churchill Fellowship. My mission is to unlock economic growth and to make sure people can expand their businesses and overcome barriers. For me, there is so much unfulfilled potential, because businesses are global, but if you don’t know how to navigate new markets then we lose out, as a society, in terms of economic growth.”