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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 000402 
 
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E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON SOCI PHUM PREL PGOV KISL PINR NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH MUSLIM BUSINESS COMMUNITY - A GUIDE 
 
 
THE HAGUE 00000402  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY.  The number of ethnic Muslim 
entrepreneurs and related business organizations in the 
Netherlands has increased significantly in recent years. 
Over the last few months, Emboffs have met with some of 
these organizations, as well as with traditional Dutch 
employer associations that deal with minority business 
issues, to get a better sense of developments in this area 
and the main problems faced by these groups.  The following 
is a guide to the country's major ethnic Muslim business 
groups.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
ETHNIC MUSLIM BUSINESS GROUPS 
----------------------------- 
 
TURKS - FINDING THE RIGHT NETWORK 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Established in 1995, the Turkish entrepreneurs' 
association Annifer (www.annifer.nl) includes some 300 
companies, most with 70 employees or less.  Members are 
active in the food services, real estate, mortgage, 
insurance, and temporary employment services sectors.  While 
about 95 percent are ethnic Turks, Annifer's members also 
include ethnic Moroccan and Dutch entrepreneurs.  The 
association is rooted in Amsterdam but has branch offices in 
Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht, The Hague, and Tilburg. 
According to Managing Director Ahmet Taskan, Annifer is 
currently exploring the option of becoming registered as a 
Federation/Chamber of Commerce in order to attract larger 
companies and offer a greater variety of member services. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Annifer's primary goals are to assist start-up 
companies by providing basic business support (including 
language services), information on Dutch business 
regulations, advice on gaining access to loans, and the 
establishment of sales networks.  The key to success for 
most ethnic businesses, Taskan noted, is often finding the 
right network.  Most Annifer members are focused on markets 
in the Netherlands and in Turkey, although some larger 
members are beginning to look at other export/import 
markets, including the U.S. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The main problems faced by Annifer's members are 
poor Dutch language skills and a lack of knowledge of 
regulations affecting their businesses, Taskan explained. 
Regulations are often overly complex and burdensome for 
small ethnic or minority start-ups.  Moreover, he argued, 
the enforcement of these regulations had become more rigid 
for ethnic Muslim businesses since 9/11.  Few have the time 
or resources to ensure that their businesses are in 
compliance.  As a result, many ethnic and minority 
businesses are being marginalized and some see the current 
business environment as openly "hostile" to small, non- 
Western entrepreneurs.  With a more robust membership and 
under the umbrella of a Federation, Taskan was hopeful that 
Annifer could provide legal advice and greater 
administrative support to its members while also playing a 
larger role in lobbying the government for changes.  Taskan, 
a Christian Democrats (CDA) faction leader in Utrecht, is 
also working to get his party leadership to focus on these 
issues. 
 
MOROCCANS - MOVING INTO COMPETITIVE SECTORS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In addition to his position as Managing Director 
at Van de Bunt Consultants, Ila Kasem sits on the boards of 
the Moroccan-Dutch Chamber of Commerce, the Moroccan Trade 
and Investment Center (www.hic-morocco.nl), and the Dutch- 
Moroccan Center for Trade Promotion, under the Netherlands 
Council for Trade Promotion (www.handelsbevordering.nl). 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  While ethnic Turks represent the largest number 
of minority businesses in the Netherlands, Kasem said ethnic 
Moroccans were not far behind and their numbers continued to 
grow.  Most Moroccan businesses were small, with a focus on 
exports and trade with Morocco.  Last year, Kasem worked 
with Dutch Trade Minister Karien van Gennip to organize a 
trade mission to Morocco.  However, the business community 
was beginning to shift from first-generation "mom and pop" 
 
THE HAGUE 00000402  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
style businesses (mostly in the food sector) to second- 
generation, well-educated entrepreneurs in more competitive 
production (e.g., flower exports) and information technology 
sectors.  Many were now seeking trade opportunities outside 
the Netherlands and Morocco.  Kasem expressed interest in 
pursuing a "minority" trade mission to the U.S. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Kasem noted that the Netherlands' two largest 
cities -- Amsterdam and Rotterdam -- were becoming more 
dependent on minority workers to ensure economic growth. 
Nevertheless, ethnic Moroccans often found it difficult to 
gain access to entry-level positions and internships at 
Dutch businesses.  An International Visitor Program alumnus, 
Kasem was impressed by small and minority business 
development programs in the U.S. and suggested that the 
Netherlands could learn from the U.S. in this area. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Redouan Boussaid, Project Manager at the 
Amsterdam Network of Moroccan Entrepreneurs (MON) (www.mon- 
amsterdam.nl), argued that entrepreneurs of Dutch and ethnic 
origin largely faced the same problem in the Netherlands -- 
too much regulation.  Nonetheless, ethnic businesses were 
more likely to use community and family networks to secure 
financing rather than approaching established financial 
institutions.  Ethnic businesses also tended to turn to MON 
and ethnic-based consultancy firms for advice rather than 
established Dutch organizations. 
 
IRAQIS - FOCUS ON EXPORTS AND PROJECTS TO IRAQ 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Ahmed Faraj, a former math teacher, left Iraq in 
1979 and eventually made his way to the Netherlands, where 
he founded the Iraq Dutch Group (www.iraqdutch.com).  The 
Group, with offices in Sassenheim in the Netherlands and 
Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq, brings together some 15 Dutch and 
international companies focused on exporting to Iraq and 
developing infrastructure projects in Iraq in agriculture, 
electricity, construction, health care, and oil and gas 
sectors. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  Faraj said his group's efforts to export 
products and projects to Iraq represented a more traditional 
focus of ethnic businesses in the Netherlands.  Like others 
we spoke with, he offered that ethnic businesses were often 
at a disadvantage in the Netherlands when trying to cope 
with complex regulations and language barriers.  Many ethnic 
Iraqi businesses found it difficult to break into 
established Dutch markets and thus sought opportunities 
outside the Netherlands or sold goods and services on the 
black market. 
 
AFGANIS - REBUILDING THE HOME COUNTRY 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  Ehsan Turabaz, a Senior Sales Manager for IKEA 
in Delft and Honorary Consul of Afghanistan in The Hague, 
formed the Netherlands-Afghanistan Business Council (NABC) 
three years ago (www.handelsbevordering.nl).  NABC, with 
Turabaz as chairman, works under the umbrella of the 
Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion to facilitate Dutch 
trade and private-sector investment in Afghanistan.  With 
the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency and the Dutch 
Ministries of Development and Economic Affairs, NABC is 
planning a trade mission to Afghanistan this spring.  Like 
the Iraq Dutch Group, NABC activities currently focus on 
export and project development in Afghanistan. 
 
¶12.  (SBU)  Turabaz, who left Afghanistan some 25 years ago, 
views himself as ethnic businessman who has successfully 
integrated into the Dutch business community while 
maintaining ties with his country of origin.  He 
acknowledged that this path has not been so easy for other 
ethnic Afghans.  One of NABC's projects is to send two or 
three young, well-educated ethnic Afghans back to 
Afghanistan each year to help rebuild the country. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
DUTCH BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS ALSO REACHING OUT 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
VNO-NCW - USING EXISTING DUTCH SALES NETWORKS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
 
THE HAGUE 00000402  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU)  The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and 
Employers (VNO-NCW) is the Netherlands' largest employers 
association, representing over 115,000 companies (www.vno- 
ncw.nl).  Merdan Yagmur, an ethnic Turkish Kurd who came to 
the Netherlands 15 years ago, has overseen VNO-NCW's "New 
Entrepreneurship" outreach program for the last three years. 
He estimated that 30 percent of all new entrepreneurs in the 
Netherlands are of non-Western origin.  This figure is 
higher in cities such as The Hague (52 percent), Rotterdam 
(45 percent), and Amsterdam (38 percent). 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  While many Dutch secondary school graduates tend 
to seek jobs with large, established companies, Yagmur noted 
that ethnic Muslim graduates are more likely to create or 
join start-ups.  Controlling one's own company, even if 
small, was a status symbol within many ethnic communities. 
Ethnic entrepreneurs often saw business opportunities that 
escaped others.  To take risks, fail and start over again 
was also acceptable and not necessarily a sign of failure. 
 
¶15.  (SBU)  Through its outreach program, VNO-NCW hoped to 
tap into the growing number of ethnic entrepreneurs in the 
Netherlands and show them the benefits of belonging to an 
established business association like VNO-NCW, with links to 
existing Dutch sales networks.  Yagmur argued that business 
associations organized along ethnic lines tended to fail and 
often only succeeded in further isolating these businesses. 
All entrepreneurs, whether of Dutch or other origin, shared 
the same goal of wanting to make a profit. 
 
MKB - ENSURING GOOD ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶16.  (SBU)  MKB-Nederland represents some 186,000 small- and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands 
(www.mkb.nl).  About three years ago, Project Leader Lia 
Smit explained, MKB began to seek out ethnic businesses as 
members.  MKB's initial efforts to form branch associations 
along ethnic lines (Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese) largely 
failed.  Its efforts now focus on drawing ethnic SMEs into 
existing professional groupings. 
 
¶17.  (SBU)  Smit argued that Dutch and ethnic SMEs largely 
shared the same goal -- to reduce the costs of complying 
with business regulations and laws.  That said, she 
acknowledged that a lack of understanding of these 
regulations and inadequate administrative frameworks 
(accounting, budgetary, and marketing practices) were often 
more critical issues for ethnic SMEs.  Under a "New 
Entrepreneurship Action Plan" announced by the GONL last 
summer, the MKB will offer projects/courses specifically 
targeting ethnic entrepreneurs in such areas as accounting 
and budget procedures, fiscal and tax policies, and hygienic 
regulations (food services). 
 
¶18.  (SBU)  Another possible "Aging" project would establish 
a mentoring program for new ethnic entrepreneurs by coupling 
them with Dutch business owners who are looking to retire 
and sell their operations.  Under this program, the former 
owner would work with and advise the new ethnic owner for a 
year.  MKB hopes that such a program will help to introduce 
new ethnic entrepreneurs into existing Dutch business 
circles/networks while also educating Dutch businessmen in 
the value of working with ethnic businessmen. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COMMENT - A MULTICULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶19.  The increase in ethnic Muslim entrepreneurs and related 
business organizations signals the start of a more 
multicultural business community in the Netherlands. 
Nonetheless, a lack of language skills, limited access to 
information and understanding of Dutch business regulations 
and requirements, and discrimination remain barriers to the 
full integration of ethnic Muslim businesses.  New ethnic- 
based business associations and established employers 
associations alike are beginning to address these issues. 
 
BLAKEMAN