![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/00d99774b283dca8f9855bd32ddfd2a7fd166fbb.png\")
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March 18, 2026 \u2014 11:30am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Sydney\u2019s Indian-born population has driven a spike in business creation in the city\u2019s west and north-west, with members of that community founding more than half of all new firms across much of the region last year.<\/p>\n The Indian diaspora accounted for a disproportionate share of new business founders in NSW during 2025, according to the Lawpath New Business Index<\/a>, which tracks company registrations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It shows one in five of the state\u2019s business registrations (19 per cent) for that period were made by those born in India, which is six times that group\u2019s share of the NSW population (about 3 per cent). That ranked India as the second most common country of birth for NSW business founders, after those born in Australia.<\/p>\n But across Parramatta, Blacktown, The Hills and Penrith council areas, which together cover much of western and north-western Sydney, the Indian-born share of business founders was 56 per cent (Australian-born founders were next highest, on 16 per cent).<\/p>\n The four most common family names for new business registrations in Parramatta, Blacktown, The Hills and Penrith council areas were Singh, Patel, Kaur and Sharma \u2013 all of Asian subcontinent origin. The surname Smith \u2013 traditionally Australia\u2019s most common \u2013 was ranked 16th.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Pragna Bhavsar is one of western Sydney\u2019s Indian-born entrepreneurs; she and her husband, Sahil, own Chit Chaat Co, a catering firm offering \u201cmodern Indian fusion\u201d cuisine. The 28-year-old quit her job in HR about a year ago and works full-time at the business based in Westmead, near Parramatta.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do at least five to 10 events every week that could be for about 20 to over 100 people,\u201d Bhavsar said.<\/p>\n The company has a range of clients, including corporates, but Bhavsar said they chose to locate in western Sydney to be near the region\u2019s growing South Asian origin community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw an opportunity to expand our business by having a presence there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bhavsar, who moved to Australia with her parents in 2011, says that strong networks within western Sydney\u2019s South Asian community are beneficial to small businesses like hers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re all growing together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lawpath co-founder Tom Willis said the high share of Indian-born business founders across western and north-western Sydney<\/a> was a \u201cclear signal of disproportionate entrepreneurial activity\u201d in that diaspora community.<\/p>\n Willis said that Indian-born entrepreneurs were starting businesses in a mix of sectors, including food, hospitality, professional services, web-based services and digital marketing.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re responding to where they see opportunities, and sometimes that\u2019s actually servicing the diaspora communities they are part of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Indian-origin community has grown rapidly over the past 20 years and now numbers about 1 million people. More than a third of residents in the suburb of Parramatta and some surrounding neighbourhoods were born in India. There is also a large Indian diaspora population in Sydney\u2019s north-western suburbs, including Schofields, The Ponds and Marsden Park.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jai Patel, who leads KPMG\u2019s India Business Practice, said a strong sense of community among the Indian diaspora in western Sydney has provided support for entrepreneurs and opportunities for business partnerships.<\/p>\n \u201cA high-energy business ecosystem has emerged among the Indian diaspora driven by deep social connections and entrepreneurial spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Patel said that starting a business can be an important pathway for new migrants to become established in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cCracking that first job without Australian experience can be difficult so, for many, creating a new business can be a better way to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Indian-born entrepreneurs have helped to facilitate growing trade and investment links between western Sydney and India, Asia\u2019s third-biggest economy.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe diaspora also naturally provides a human bridge into the vast Indian market across sectors,\u201d Patel said.<\/p>\n The wave of new business registrations by Indian-born founders is part of a broader upswing in entrepreneurial activity in western and north-western Sydney.<\/p>\n In the Parramatta council area, just under 30,000 new businesses were registered in 2025, a 35 per cent increase on the previous year. Growth was even stronger in Blacktown Council; 21,674 new firms were registered last year, up 48 per cent compared with 2024.<\/p>\n Lawpath\u2019s research reveals strong growth in new business registrations across Australia during the past two years. Willis said that a desire to bolster household finances was one likely driver of this trend.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a period marked by cost-of-living pressures, elevated interest rates and modest wage growth, many Australians are turning to business activity to create income flexibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Lawpath New Business Index uses government data on new business registrations along with its own anonymised data about tens of thousands of business founders.<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Pragna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f744e831fd92d281512946b6b8f8a305e466a3d0.jpeg\")
Pragna Bhavsar is a co-owner of the Chit Chaat Co, a catering business based in Westmead.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Pragna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/821b66ab8baad5f302059c5211a162261e7756a6.jpeg\")
Pragna Bhavsar at her Westmead business.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770168010_656_00d99774b283dca8f9855bd32ddfd2a7fd166fbb.png\")
Matt Wade<\/a> is a senior economics writer at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 18, 2026 \u2014 11:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[64,63,99,198],"class_list":["post-559703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-entrepreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}