en
UK & Ireland
Would you like to be featured as a successful entrepreneur in the media?
Could your life story inspire and motivate others to start their own business?
Would you like to be part of an inspirational book that can change the lives of thousands of people?
‘This Foreigner Can’ is an amazing new campaign in London and they are looking for successful and inspiring entrepreneurs to be part of it!
The campaign aims to revitalise business growth in London and promote the many success stories of immigrant and British entrepreneurs in London. ‘This Foreigner Can’ will promote the life stories of 100 immigrant entrepreneurs who have moved to London and decided to start their own businesses. They will also promote 20 British entrepreneurs.
By promoting these stories, ‘This Foreigner Can’ hopes to inspire and motivate people to start their own business. They will help immigrants who have skills but don’t have the courage to make that move to entrepreneurship due to lack of knowledge or self-confidence.
‘This Foreigner Can’ will be launched on the 18th June 2015 year and the six outcomes they want from the campaign are:
A difficult part of the campaign is to get over the negative connotations of ‘foreigner’. It seems that the word foreigner is only connected to people who are working illegally or who are not adapted to the society they live in. The reality is that everyone who is not born in the country where they live, is a foreigner and as long as this word is not used in a condescending way, it’s okay.
That’s why they decided to call the campaign ‘This Foreigner Can’ – they want to mix the negative with the positive and turn the whole thing into a positive experience. They want the public to understand that foreigners become residents and integrated into the society they are in. They build businesses, they employ people and they help the economy. Many foreigners go beyond that: they adopt children, they create community services, they run charities and so much more.
The campaign is a celebration of success stories to inspire more people to become successful. There is nothing wrong with people building businesses and making a profit. If they work hard they deserve the good life that comes with a profitable business. Their profitable businesses pay taxes and employ people that would otherwise not be employed.
The legacy of the campaign will be the book ‘This Foreigner Can’ with the stories of all the successful entrepreneurs who will be the face of the campaign, showcasing how they started their business, where they are now and what their advice is for those who want to start their own business.
Sometimes people don’t see themselves as an inspiration but if they talk about their lives, their passion quickly shines through along with their knowledge and drive – the ingredients that have made their lives a success.
They are selecting 100 immigrant entrepreneurs and 20 British entrepreneurs to be part of the campaign. They will have 72 billboards across London underground and rail stations as well as adverts on TV for six weeks showing the faces and stories of the entrepreneurs who decide to take part in the campaign. There will also be a PR and social media campaign for the whole duration of the campaign, which is six months from 18th June to 18th December 2015.
With the Support of UKTI, Business Innovation and Skills and London and Partners (Mayor’s Office), they will be able to reach over five million people during this campaign.
On 18th December 2015 – International Migrants Day– they will have a gala dinner with politicians, entrepreneurs and sponsoring companies to award 20 businesses that started in 2015 (during the campaign) and made a profit or employed people and 10 established businesses that will win an award voted by the public.
‘This Foreigner Can’ is a campaign to celebrate success, build bridges between British and immigrant entrepreneurs and inspire people to change their lives through entrepreneurship.
The campaign director is Rafael dos Santos (link is external), a multi award-winning entrepreneur from Brazil living in London for 13 years. Rafael is the author of ‘Moving Abroad, One Step at a Time’ and has lived in four countries.
If you would like to be portrayed as a successful entrepreneur in London or if you know an entrepreneur that should be portrayed in this incredible campaign or if you would just like to find out more, please contact Rafael dos Santos on me@rafaeldossantos.com.
