A Newcastle University Professor says there is much to learn from Europe’s indigenous entrepreneurs when it comes to small business and the economy.

Professor Dennis Foley will spend several months in Ireland later this year, studying that country’s native community, known as the Travellers.

His research will investigate the similarities between the Irish and Australian indigenous cultures and possible synergies between the two.

Professor Foley says he will study the challenges the Travellers have faced and the ways they have remedied the problems to bring about business opportunities.

From ABC News