New data reveals that 39% of Britain’s top 100 fastest-growing companies had a founder born outside of the United Kingdom, despite immigrants comprising less than 15% of the population at large.
The research was conducted by The Entrepreneurs Network, one of Britain’s leading entrepreneurship think tanks, and supported by Fragomen, a leading provider of immigration services. Previous research from 2019 had found the proportion of Britain’s top 100-fastest growing companies with a foreign-born founder stood at 49%.
The Entrepreneurs Network argues that the findings prove that international talent makes an essential contribution to Britain’s start-up landscape and calls on the government to enact a series of policy reforms to ensure Britain is open and accessible to the world’s brightest and best. These include negotiating a Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU and US, lowering visa fees for high-skilled immigrants in line with international competitors and expanding the High Potential Individual visa list to more universities.