Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 12, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 7 Worcester vs. New England cities hold income goes against the state trend, where the foreign-born median income of around $60,000 is below the median income of $73,500 for native-born residents, according to WRRB. When it comes to earnings in Worcester, though, immigrants who become citizens are the most successful: ese naturalized citizens earn $52,000 annually in median household income versus $45,000 for native citizens and $36,000 for non-citizens. All foreign-born residents in Worcester are more likely to have a bachelor's degree: 19 percent versus 18 percent for native-born residents. is is a depar- ture from the Massachusetts numbers: 17 percent for immigrants and 25 percent for native-born residents. e success of foreign-born workers in America is sometimes called the immigrant advantage, said Ina Ganguli, a UMass Amherst marketing professor who studies immigration and highly skilled workers. She said research shows immigrants have higher rates of obtaining patents or more upstart capital, she said. But exactly why – whether a resiliency or determi- nation to find the best opportunities for success – isn't well known, Ganguli said. "e kind of work we do, it's hard to get at that, a measure of resilience," she said, "but if you look at stories, that seems to make sense." Larbi, with his grand plans for the family Gha- naian restaurants, didn't fully grasp the advantages offered to immigrants in America until he returned to his native land in 2013, to mark a decade from when his father died. "You realize what you were taken out of," Larbi said. His family doesn't want to serve only Worcester's African population, he said, but anyone who wants to expand their palate. Accra Girls' dishes of kelewele (fried plantains) or suya (meat skewers) are special- ized enough the restaurant gets some spices delivered directly from Ghana because nothing sold in the United States would do. "Bringing our food to the world," Larbi said. "at's my job." While the percentage of Worcester residents who are foreign born (22%) is significantly higher than the statewide (16%) and national (14%) averages, it has the advantage of being an urban area, where a concentration of immigrants is higher. Worcester has the 16th highest percentage of immigrants among Massachusetts cities. Here is how Worcester stacks up to other major cities in the state and New England. Quincy..........................................................31% Providence, R.I. ...........................................30% Bridgeport, Conn. .......................................29% Boston .........................................................28% Cambridge ...................................................27% Lowell ..........................................................26% Worcester....................................................22% Hartford, Conn. ............................................21% New Haven, Conn. .......................................16% Springfield ...................................................10% Source: U.S. Census Bureau W Get to know Worcester's immigrants roughout history, our cities have absorbed a larger portion of immigrants into their new home, and today is no different. At the turn of the 20th century, Worces- ter was riding a wave of immigrants from Europe, with the largest group coming from Ireland. Yet by the 1990s, immigrants had dropped from more than 30 percent of the city's population to under 10 percent. is downward trend has reversed itself as thousands of new immigrants have moved to Worcester from a new set of countries from around the globe. Immigration has been the source of divisive rhetoric in the United States since Irish immigrants stated land- ing in waves in the 1800s, but the decibel level has been greatly amplified over the last couple years. Much of this political pandering is centered around fear-mon- gering and issues like language barriers and cultural assimilation. Here in Worcester, where the immigrant population is larger than the national average, we took a different approach by partnering with the Worcester Regional Research Bureau for a by-the-numbers look at the immigrant community's impact on the economy. e results of that study show that Worcester's im- migrants are more entrepreneurial, create an above-av- erage amount of wealth, and attract customers to their enterprises well outside of their own cultural back- ground. For the larger Worcester business community, this entrepreneurial vigor represents a real opportunity. How? ink about partnering with Rosy and Marcos Reynoso, owners of Rosy's Beauty Salon and Rosy's Grocery, to learn how to better attract their Dominican clientele for your company. e same goes for Libis Bueno, another native of the Dominican Republic, who founded Worcester IT service provider Domitek and has developed a strong reputation in the city's Latin American community. Spend some time with Em- manuel Larbi, who imports spices directly from Ghana for his restaurant, Accra Girls; maybe he can help you import Ghanaian products for your business. Or look at the accomplishments of Brazil native Lilian Radke who took a cleaning company with $350,000 in an annual revenue and over an eight year period has built a $5-million behemoth. Chances are, this 2017 U.S. Small Business Administration Massachusetts Woman Small Business Owner of the Year might have some insight on how to better run your company. Much like Robert Kennedy at Mechanics Hall discovered at naturalization ceremonies and in his work with community members, engaging with the city's immigrants is a rewarding experience. With the state's unemployment at record lows, we can't afford not to have a fresh pipeline of new workers coming into the region. e region's immigrant community remains a vital feeder for new employees as well as entrepreneurs. e more we understand the needs and aspirations of our immigrant commu- nity and the better we can support their efforts and engage them in the broader business community, the stronger we'll all be. W hen Robert Kennedy, the former executive director of Worcester's Mechanics Hall, was feted at a retirement celebration this fall, he reflected among his favorite events to attend was the hall's annual naturalization ceremony for new citizens. Seeing immigrants from all walks of life receive this remarkable achievement is an upliing and inspirational expe- rience. Naturalization ceremonies were also held this year at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner and the Worcester Art Museum where hun- dreds of people living in our region became U.S. citizens. e path to citizenship in a country of immigrants is a well-worn road. W Libis Bueno, a native of the Dominican Republic, founded Worcester IT service provider Domitek in 2005. E D I T O R I A L

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