A pilot to encourage refugee entrepreneur programs across the UK has been launched with the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) with funding from the Home Office and The National Lottery Community Fund, the Immigration Minister announced on July 21st. The 1-year pilot jointly will identify established local business support organizations to deliver tailored start-up programs that will take refugees from idea stage to business launch. The pilot was launched at an event in London on Monday 22 July. The 1-day summit convened business support organizations to explore the entrepreneurial potential of refugees. Organizations shared their insight from refugee-focused development programs, carried out in the UK and overseas, which provide training and mentoring space to help growing the business.

The new start-up training model follows last year’s CFE publication of “Starting afresh: How entrepreneurship is transforming the lives of resettled refugees”. The CFE report detailed the level of experience and interest in entrepreneurship among refugees and highlighted the profound role that self-employment can play in helping refugees retake control of their lives.

The report called on the business community, philanthropists and the government to work together in rolling out refugee entrepreneurship programs nationwide – a model that has been adopted in over 130 cities around the world in recent years. The report also puts forward a compelling case about why refugees make great entrepreneurs, how they can contribute to the UK as business-creators, and how guiding them towards entrepreneurship can reduce the public spending and strengthen the social integration.

The program will be overseen by CFE and a national expert steering group including representatives from the Home Office and The National Lottery Community Fund, refugee entrepreneurs, and experts from the academic and voluntary sectors.