Immigrants who 'learned the hard way' share business experience

Layla Rahmeh is taking her volunteer experience with Syrian newcomers, and her own experience as one, to the professional level.

Rahmeh fled Syria six years ago and previously made news because of her support for more recent Syrian newcomers.

Now she is one of seven founders of a new association catering to the needs of immigrant investors.

The New Brunswick Business Immigrants Association, launching Thursday night at the Fredericton Convention Centre, will be a support organization for newcomers who want to start a business here but don't know where to begin, she said.

For the time being, Rahmeh said, the association will be helping establish business plans, connecting new immigrants with the right people and supporting them if they need guidance or translation and interpretation.

"They are investing all of their money sometimes in building their business," she said. "That would be a lot of strains and a lot of pressure on them because they might lose everything if they do not choose the right or wise decision of what type of business they are starting."

It's about being aware of what it takes to move to a new country without knowing much about the business landscape, Rahmeh said, and that's something she knows from personal experience.

She moved to New Brunswick out of necessity, trying to escape the unrest in Syria. She was a trained pharmacist and working in pharmaceutical marketing, but when she moved here she found her degree wasn't accredited and she struggled to find a job, she said.

She now has a day job and also runs a personal styling business from home.

"[We] have come here and gone through all the ups and downs and all the struggles," she said. "We have learned the lessons the hard way."

The association's spokesperson, Shahram Ghanbari, who is from Iran, said the group is a non-profit funded by the founders. Once it launches, organizers will reach out to the community at large for memberships and donations.

He said this is what will set the group apart and what will foster trust between its members and people who are considering New Brunswick as a new home or who have recently moved to the province.

He said there are some programs that are geared to this population, such as the provincially-funded Business Immigrant Mentorship Program, but they may not deal with the mixture of cultural and business challenges that face newcomers when starting from scratch.

"There are lots of organizations here in Fredericton and all around the proven that promote immigration. … They say to immigrants that this is a great place to stay but actually they get paid to do so."

He said this doesn't necessarily mean the other organizations are not being truthful, but when a person is looking to move his or her business to a new country, they'd rather hear the facts from another immigrant.

"I've immigrated and I've seen the opportunities here to stay here, and if I tell them these are the opportunities that you can take advantage of, or this is a good place to live, the chances are they will stay here," he said.

He said the association will be focusing on supporting the smaller-scale investors who "want to live here" as well as big money investors who invest in the province but live elsewhere.

"More people, that is what we want," he said.

Rahmeh said she will be a business adviser and will help people navigate the sometimes "confusing" and "frustrating" system of acquiring loans and getting licences, but she wants to also be a companion.

"I think I have always been their friend," she said. "I am one of them and I will always be one of them."