Cinco colombianos en el exterior, cinco experiencias de emprendimiento: re-construcción de la condición social de inmigrante a partir de la creación de pequeñas y medianas empresas

The phenomenon of international migration in Colombia has been gaining force over the past two decades. As a result, there has been an increase of the flow of Colombians abroad; and, at the same time, the destinations, motivations, and socio-economic conditions of those who are making part of this process are changing. The researchers in Colombia have been concentrating their attention on two tasks: on one hand, to describe and characterize the Colombian population outside the country, and, on the other hand, to analyze the motivations and impacts of international migration in two scenarios: one scenario composed of the political, economic, and social structures of both states (the host State and the colombian State); and, the other, a more personal one, represented by the social circle in which the migrants actually live their lives. In this context, there are many ways in which the Colombian migrants are able to integrate effectively into the host society while maintaining relations with their home communities; the creation of small and medium enterprises are emerging as one of these ways through the immigrant can re-build their social conditions and increase the level of acceptance by the host society.