NEBRASKA PROGRAMS REACHING IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE POPULATIONS

Nebraska is experiencing a growing population of immigrants and refugees. This growth is evidenced in the doubling of the Hispanic population in Douglas and Sarpy Counties between 1990 and 2000. It is conservatively estimated that immigrants will account for 27.4% of the U.S. population growth this decade (Census Bureau).

Cory Smathers of Lincoln Action Program reports that in his experience he sees that many immigrants are well educated and ready to develop businesses, depending on country of origin. These individuals face additional challenges in starting businesses including 1. distrust of financial institutions - the history they have has not been positive; 2. cultural barriers - not understanding the “American Way”; 3. language barriers; 4. they can’t demonstrate conventional credit histories or document their earnings - very cash based culture; 5. conventional banking products don’t fit; and 6. they don’t understand our credit approval process and requirements.

Several micro programs in Nebraska (NEON members) are working to help immigrants bridge the gaps. Among them are Catholic Charities Juan Diego Center in Omaha serving the Hispanic business population in South Omaha along with recent trainings to Sudanese businesses. Lincoln; Lincoln Action Program and Community Development Resources (SELF) serving multiple immigrant populations in Lancaster County; and the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project serving Hispanic populations across the state with a major focus in South Sioux City the last year.

There are plans for this work to grow across the state. In June 2003, the Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund (NMPF) held a grantee training in Omaha. Juan Diego Center took a lead role in conducting the training with all programs sharing experiences they had had to date and their plans for future outreach to this market.

Nebraska microenterprise programs are building Nebraska one job at a time, while reaching out to new markets.