Of new businesses set up in Germany, 30 percent are founded by non-Germans, a study published by consulting firm Evers & Jung showed.

The study also indicated that the foreign entrepreneurs are coming mostly from Central and Eastern Europe: Romania, Russia and especially Poland - the most common country of origin for small business founders in Germany.

Aside from benefiting from the worldwide reputation of German quality, Eastern Europeans are motivated by high wages. The influx also has historical reasons - and helps build up the German economy as well.

Made in Germany

The strong smell of varnish stings the nose at a spacious factory near Bonn in western Germany. Two young men carefully held a blue-green striped piece of plastic in a dryer. After a few minutes, Artur Wasilewski - head of the company - appraised the colorful handiwork.

"This, for example, is the housing for an alarm. It started off as just white," Wasilewski said in describing the blue-green piece of plastic. "You name it, we finish it, custom-made," he added.

Wasilewski, an electrical engineer from Poland, founded his surface-finishing business in Germany three years ago. His choice to start his business in Germany was a very deliberate one, the 44-year-old told DW. "The 'Made in Germany' label is valuable for our customers, because German quality is known around the world," he said. International firms are less likely to award contracts to Polish companies, Wasilewski said.

Financial motivation

Not far from the factory, Roman - another Pole, who declined to give his last name - plastered a two-story house that his own company built. Just add heating units, flooring and a coat of paint, then it's finished, Roman said with satisfaction.

Seven years ago, he started off as a one-man show. In the meantime, his business has grown to employ eight people.

Roman claims purely financial reasons for starting up a business in Germany. "For the same work, I can earn three times as much here as in Poland," he told DW.

Expired labor treaties

Roman and Wasilewski are two examples of the hundreds of thousands of foreigners who dare to become self-employed in Germany. The Evers & Jung report said that in 2009, non-Germans founded around 130,000 small- and medium-sized businesses. Four years earlier, that figure was 100,000.

Karl Reiners, who works at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Bonn, told DW he was not surprised to hear that. Reiners estimates about a quarter of all the business founders they advise are foreigners.

"Especially Poles, but also from the former Yugoslavia and Russia," Reiners said.

Not long ago, most foreign business founders came from Turkey or Italy. But that's been overtaken by Central and Eastern Europe, in particular Poland, Reiners said. He explained that in some sense, Eastern Europeans were also forced to become self-employed in Germany, as a result of international agreements that have since expired.

Among the terms for Poland's accession to the European Union eight years ago, Polish citizens needed a work permit if they were to be employed in Germany. However, becoming self-employed was a way to get around this. This requirement applied to all Eastern European nations joining the EU, but expired after seven years.

Economic contribution

The study revealed that not only the entrepreneurs' origin, but also their sectors are shifting: where before immigrants would typically work in gastronomy or retail, they are now taking their chances as contractors.

About a third of self-employed Poles in Germany work in construction, said the study, which was financed by the German economics minister and published in 2011. Roman described how many started off as working cash-in-hand, but took their first chance to become self-employed.

"We pay taxes in Germany, just like our workers," Roman said of his business.

Wasilewski currently has four employees. And he has ambitious plans, to employ 10 workers in two daily shifts.

"I'm not only creating employment opportunities, I'm also filling German contracts," he said. For example, Wasilewski is using German printers to produce lettering for headphones.

Until Wasilewski's wife and daughter move to Germany, Wasilewski will continue to commute 800 kilometers to Poland.

And despite the challenges, he said, he has no plans to give up his lucrative business.

Author: Justyna Bronska / sad
Editor: Simon Bone