Immigrant small business (ISB) in Sweden has brought much attention to some researchers in the past decade. However, most of ISB researchers in Sweden are dealing with immigrants as a whole group rather than study them separately by regions or countries. It is hard to know the specific characteristics of ISB with different ethnic background. In this paper, I study one ethnic group, Chinese immigrant’s, small business by case study approach, to answer the research questions: reasons of self-employment, factors of influencing start-ups and business growth. According to empirical findings, prosperity achieving, career changing, and migration are the three main reasons of self-employment; network and local language skill are the two key factors influencing Chinese ISB start-ups; good market opportunities, higher industry rivalry, shortage of successor, and lack of development ambition are the four factors influencing business growth. With the empirical findings, I examine the previous influential ISB theories, which include minorities theory, ethnic enclave economy, and mixed embeddedness. I find ethnic enclave and mixed embeddedness theories can explain some of empirical findings, but not all of them, which means Chinese ISB in Sweden has specific characteristics which need further investigation.

African immigrant business owners create jobs and often stimulate economic growth in distressed inner-city areas, yet they continue to experience barriers obtaining financial support in the United States when trying to gain entrance into the broader economy. The objective of this multiple case study was to explore strategies African immigrant business owners used to succeed in business beyond 5 years. The conceptual framework of this study included resource-based theory, human capital theory, and disadvantage theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 3 African immigrant business owners in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who had succeeded in business beyond 5 years. Thematic analysis from interviews, organizational documents, and Bureau of Labor Statistics data identified 8 emergent themes. Findings indicated that, for these 3 African immigrant business owners, education, managerial-related experience, motivation, and networking were key attributes related to small business success. Additionally, for this group, innovation, steady flow of resources, and adequate access to capital were predictive of successful businesses. This study may contribute to positive social change by providing guidance to African immigrant business owners about effective business strategies; this knowledge may help to improve the quality of life for African immigrants in the United States. Increasing the prosperity of the business community is incumbent upon the development and use of new knowledge.