Do we benefit from the Marie and Pierre Curie of our time?
Can we count on the “Marie and Pierre Curie” of our time to bring their collective genius to Science? Are we benefiting from the entrepreneurial spirit and thousands of jobs created by all the “Hamdi Ulukaya” out there? The answer is no. The way we designed our social architecture around migration is preventing many creators from contributing.
How can we get rid of obstacles they face on their way to innovation and entrepreneurship? It’s only fair that anyone would be allowed to start a positive project. It’s also a pity that our societies and economies are missing out when newcomers aren’t able to reveal their talents. We need new spaces and tools encouraging both newcomers and locals to find their complementarities, learn from each other, and build a brighter future, together.
At SINGA, we believe in migration-led innovation and we think that fusion economy is completely under-exploited. We have created incubators, spaces and accelerators to support ideas, projects and super projects fitting this description. After 3 years, our programs have supported over 211 companies, which have in turn created over 300 jobs. In 2019, we plan to support 100 more in 7 European cities.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” Albert Einstein
Essentially, migration-led innovation comes from the ability to use one’s diverse background to identify a gap or an opportunity in the market, or use one’s experience to create a never-seen-before product. For instance, what Shaza has missed the most in her journey from Syria to France was daily contact with her parents. She’s working on a connected object to keep bonds alive despite the distance, beyond existing digital tools like audio and video. Shaza is now prototyping her product with the support of SINGA and a renowned university in Lyon. Abbas used to be an accountant in Afghanistan, before he left for Italy then France. His passion in life? Pizza. Abbas reinvented himself as the first at-home Pizzaïolo, bringing his oven with him to people’s homes where he cooks and teaches small groups of friends how to make pizza with local, organic ingredients. Today, Abbas has become so popular he is turning down events, and is looking to expand his business by creating training and job opportunities for other newcomers.
SINGA’s inclusive approach also means that we are promoting solutions built with diversity instead of for diversity — a good way to avoid local resentment and contestations. When you aim to create social innovation and business for all with people who are refugees, you include local citizens. The bridge is the best to avoid the “us” vs. “them” distinction. We are promoting a plural and evolving sense of belonging.
In many ways, what we have created through entrepreneurship is contributing to a new social architecture. When you build society and economy like a house, there are people inside and outside. You design windows to look out at others. You design doors and stairs, entryways and means to ascend only accessible to those privileged enough to have made it inside. You discuss how your precious food and drinks, the only available resources, can be split with new roommates without affecting established tenants. You get into frenzied discussions over whether you should open the door or not.
It’s time to look at it differently. Big data, AI and climate change challenge our definition of identity. We have plural, cross-borders and evolutive identities. No matter our nationality or language, we can love the same sport or team, and we can commit to solving the same global issues together. We understand that migrants are not outside societies, they are also inside them. They don’t come empty-handed; they bring human and intellectual wealth. Societies are not houses with unwavering foundations and impenetrable walls, they are shaped on common stories and experiences. They are the results of everyday human interactions, which may lead us to inventing the new penicillin or the next sustainable energy source.
Alice Barbe, Guillaume Capelle, and Camille Soulier for the Global Goals Yearbook by the Macondo Foundation
