GETTING started in business is an uphill battle and ethnic entrepreneurs often face the steepest gradient of all.

Hafeez Rehman came to Ireland from Pakistan eight years ago to study computer science. Four years later, he gave up his software job to set up an ethnic food store.

Although he wanted to trade in Dublin, where he lived, his research indicated that the city was already well served. The obvious solution was to look outside the capital. But where?

In the end, Cork proved the most commercially attractive and Rehman moved there three years ago to set up the Aiysha Spice House. Having opened his second store, he is now looking to expand into wholesale halal foods for the Muslim market and has long-term plans to produce ethnic food.

Rehman, who pays his suppliers cash on delivery and is particularly cautious about taking on debt, requested a €5,000 overdraft extension from his bank recently. The money was to be used to stock up before the annual Eid festivities, which celebrate the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims. It is his busiest time of the year as the feasting is akin to Christmas.

“My bank wanted to see certified accounts for the previous two years, even though they could see at a glance exactly what was going into and coming out of my account,” said Rehman. “What’s more, I wanted the extension for only one month.”

Irritated by what he saw as an onerous request, he broke his own rule and asked a supplier for credit instead. His request was granted instantly and he repaid the money within three weeks. While he admits that the bank might have treated a local in precisely the same way, he said that it annoys him to think that he might have been singled out “because I have no roots here”.

That episode and others in Rehman’s experience as an “ethnic entrepreneur” have been put to good use by the government, who consulted him when creating Emerge, a new programme to help immigrants set up and run businesses. “The development of new ethnic minority communities as part of Irish society is a relatively new phenomenon.

Kenneth Germaine, chairman of Emerge, said: “Ireland must adapt to this. These ethnic communities have come here to make a better life and many wish to be self-employed and self-sufficient.”

The initiative is being run by a development partnership made up of bodies such as Fas, the training body, the Small Firms Association and local enterprise boards. During the two-year programme, 340 would-be entrepreneurs will take part in programmes delivered in Cork, Galway and Dublin. Understanding and overcoming cultural and regulatory obstacles are just some of the subjects to be tackled.

Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, a lecturer in entrepreneurship who works with the South Cork Enterprise Board, will present a module for Emerge, What They Don’t Tell You About Doing Business in Ireland.

Owusu-Ansah, a Ghanaian who has worked throughout the world, said one of the most subtle difficulties faced is that of discerning meaning — even where language is not the problem. “There are certain things that the indigenous population takes for granted, such as the fact that Irish people have difficulty saying ‘no’,” he said. “They have a polite way of saying it that can leave the immigrant entrepreneur thinking the answer is yes, and then wondering why they have to keep asking for it.”

Many such entrepreneurs also need help in developing the kind of business plans that are attractive to sources of finance. “Part of the initiative will concentrate on helping them develop what I call ‘winnable’ business plans,” he said.