Ana Alvarez had already built a remarkable career in her home Country Costa Rica when coming to Germany. But here she quickly realized that she was a “nobody”. After humiliating appointments at the german Job-Centers she did what she knew best: She went to (net) work. An in depth conversation about migrant resilience, german bureaucracy, why it’s so hard to stop caring and what she would have loved to know before she founded Migrapreneur.
Focus on the Dream
Ana loves her passport. She adores the animals on it. „That’s so Costa Rica“, she says smiling. Born on the 4th of Dec in San José in 1984, the capital, she recalls the times when she dreamt of going to University. Early on she was focused to make her dream come true in a country where professional female success ist still hard to achieve. It was her mother who always encouraged her to not follow her (the mother’s) path and keep pursuing financial independence.
At the age of 17 she accidentally found her way to the ministry of finance, first as a volunteer in the press office, then later she became the Press and PR officer in charge.
„All I knew was how to make money and how to survive by my own.“
When she was 23/ 24 she married a german Man for a Visa. But it wasn’t for her to go to Germany, it was for him to stay in Costa Rica. Ana worked at the United World College as a Development Coordinator, an experience that has shaped her to this day: Being around people from all over the world every day showed her the beauty of true diversity and a sense of global community.
„Here I was a nobody“
But in 2015 when she moved to Germany she saw her life so far shattered in pieces. At the German Job Center she was told that with her CV she won’t find a job. She was shocked, humiliated and devastated.
„I was lost, because here I was nobody. Nothing I did – my career, my experiences – everything I did back home mattered to anybody.“
She soon realized that migrants not only have a difficult time to get employed but also face extremely high obstacles to found theirs own companies. In 2016, against all odds, she founded the Migration Hub Network, in 2020 United Actions e.V. and later in 2021 Migrapreneur. Her approach: Hosting meet ups, events and gatherings for migrants and also „bridging the gap for migrants and the entrepreneurial ecosystem“. Migrapreneur focusses to help migrants to navigate the often complicated and non-transparent bureaucratic hurdles to become an entrepreneur in this country.
„I care about humans“
Even if her work can be very fulfilling, being an entrepreneur ist also exhausting at times, Ana explains. But her goal is to give migrants back their dignity. Her message to those who already made it: „Don’t close the door but see opportunity!“ And her answer on why she keeps leading people through the tiring bureaucratic jungle comes from the heart.
„It’s a sense of responsibility, we all should have, I care about humans. People are missing out because happiness comes from people. It’s just the right thing to do.“
This episode is part of the “Work Edition” Series which focusses on work. It is supported by LinkedIn.
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