This thesis is an exploratory study of the factors affecting success and marginality of Afro-Caribbean small business through the experiences of Afro-Caribbean business owners in the food industry in Manchester. The thesis argues that an understanding of Afro-Caribbean business development and the factors that underly business success and marginality can only be understood in the light of the broader structures and processes that have given rise to the patterns of AfroCaribbean migration and settlement within Britain. It is within these broader processes that the factors underlying success and marginality are examined through interviews, case stUdies and non-participant observation. The factors underlying success and marginality are examined for two types of businesses. Firstly, those businesses which are dependent on the customer patronage of their own ethnic group (ethnicmarket- dependent businesses). Secondly, those businesses which are dependent on the customer patronage of a wider, non-ethnic customer base (wider-market-dependent businesses). The study concludes that the encouragement of Afro-Caribbean small business ownership as a palliative for the socio-economic ills faced by this community can only be achieved in tandem with policies that provide equality of opportunity in the broader economic and social allocatory systems of British society.