The 海角视频 needs business-friendly immigration policies for it to continue to be a leading destination for international investment after Brexit.
That鈥檚 according to Rajesh Agrawal, the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, who is visiting Manchester today.
Speaking to the M.E.N ahead of his visit, Mr Agrawal said there was a need for an immigration policy that supports and maintains the 海角视频鈥檚 role as a business-friendly climate.
He said: 鈥淟ondon and cities including Manchester attract top talent from around the world because we have a great reputation and we are respected for being open to business.
鈥淚t is important that we remain open for business post Brexit and that means ensuring the immigration policies are business friendly.
鈥淭he north west region has some amazing immigrant success stories. Big businesses such as Boohoo and B&M Bargains were started by immigrants and today are major employers contributing millions to聽 the local economy.
鈥淲e want to continue those success stories by attracting people who want to work and build their businesses here.鈥
Mr Agrawal, who is visiting Manchester to meet civic and business leaders, including with Sir Richard Leese, said he too was a 鈥楤ritish success story.鈥
The Deputy Mayor of London for Business moved to London from India in 2001 with only 拢200 in his pockets.
The fintech entrepreneur and innovator is the founder and CEO of Xendpay, an international money transfer service, and RationalFX, an online foreign exchange service - both of which have grown into globally successful businesses with offices in Birmingham, France and Spain.
鈥淚 have successfully started and grown my business in London," said Mr Agrawal.
鈥淚 came to the 海角视频 with a dream to become successful and found myself in a city which was welcoming, a city where entrepreneurs thrive, and a city that has plenty of opportunities.
鈥淲ith that sense of openness and a strong environment for enterprise I decided to launch my business 15 years ago.
鈥淚 can truly say that I am the 鈥楤ritish dream.鈥 The openness and welcome I had received should be the reason why people want to come to the 海角视频 to build and grow their businesses here and Brexit should not change that.
鈥淟ike myself there are many successful immigrant stories and that鈥檚 what makes London so great and cities like Manchester a great place to start a business.鈥
Mr Agrawal said he understood the challenges of start-ups and SMEs especially around lending and that firms needed more support to access finance.
He said: 鈥淲hen I decided to launch my first business, I went to the bank to borrow money, but I didn鈥檛 qualify and was turned down for finance.
鈥淚 then went back a few days later and asked if I can borrow money to buy a car and was lent 拢20,000 immediately. Of course I didn鈥檛 buy a car and invested the cash to start my business.
鈥淢y experience showed that there is something fundamentally wrong with the lending system and we need to make it easier for entrepreneurs to access funding.鈥
Mr Agrawal was appointed Deputy Mayor of Business for London by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in 2016 to champion entrepreneurs, promote London as a city to do business and create opportunities for young people.
This includes campaigning for greater powers over skills, infrastructure, housing and planning.
He said: 鈥淭he skills and education agenda is a top priority. My ambition in London is to create a city for all and this means opportunities for everyone to聽 access the skills they need to succeed in a thriving economy.
鈥淭his involves improving our skills systems to meet the needs of employers.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a London centric issue, it is one that needs addressing across the 海角视频 including Manchester.鈥
Speaking about his visit today, he added: 鈥淢anchester is great city with a great reputation. The growth of the city鈥檚 tech sector has been phenomenal.
鈥淢y visit today is to learn more about the city鈥檚 success and its challenges, how London and Manchester can learn from each other and how we can share best practice.鈥
