Catalysing refugee entrepreneurship and strengthening refugee-led organisations through direct cash support, business mentorship, and accelerator programming — building economic agency and self-reliance from within the community.
Refugee entrepreneurs face a distinctive set of barriers. They operate in informal economies with limited legal recognition, minimal access to credit, and almost no pathway to the business development support that their counterparts in formal markets take for granted. They often have strong ideas, relevant skills, and genuine market knowledge — but no capital to start, no mentor to guide them, and no platform to compete on equal terms. Refugee-Led Organisations face similar constraints: underfunded, under-recognised, and excluded from the donor ecosystems that channel resources to larger international NGOs.
The Refugee Entrepreneurship Accelerator Challenge — REACH — addresses these gaps directly. The programme identified and supported 25 refugee entrepreneurs with direct cash and business development support, giving them the seed capital and mentorship needed to start or grow viable income-generating enterprises. Alongside individual entrepreneurs, 4 Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs) were supported — recognising that strengthening the organisational capacity of refugee-led entities creates multiplier effects that go far beyond any individual business.
REACH reflects YSAT's broader conviction that the most durable path to refugee self-reliance runs through economic agency — not through dependency on humanitarian assistance, but through the capacity of refugee individuals and organisations to generate income, build assets, and participate in local economies as active contributors rather than passive recipients. Every entrepreneur supported through REACH is a demonstration of what is possible when refugees are trusted with resources and given the space to lead their own economic futures.
25 refugee entrepreneurs were identified and selected through a community-based process that assessed business viability, entrepreneur commitment, and potential for income generation and job creation within the settlement economy. The selection process prioritised individuals with existing business ideas or early-stage enterprises who lacked only the capital and support to move forward — ensuring that cash investment would be matched by entrepreneurial drive and local market knowledge.
Selected entrepreneurs received direct cash support to start or scale their businesses. The cash-first approach reflects a trust-based model of support — one that respects entrepreneurs' own knowledge of their markets and cost structures rather than prescribing how resources should be used. This approach reduces overhead, accelerates deployment, and gives entrepreneurs the flexibility to respond to real opportunities and real market conditions rather than donor-defined categories.
Alongside cash, entrepreneurs received structured business development support covering business planning, financial management, marketing, and customer relations. Mentorship was provided by practitioners with direct experience of operating businesses in similar contexts — ensuring that the guidance offered was practically relevant rather than theoretically generic. Follow-up support tracked progress, addressed obstacles, and helped entrepreneurs adapt their approaches as their businesses developed.
4 Refugee-Led Organisations were supported through REACH, receiving cash support and organisational development assistance. RLOs are uniquely positioned to deliver services and represent interests within refugee communities — but are systematically underfunded relative to their international counterparts. REACH's support to RLOs recognises their strategic importance and helps to build the institutional capacity, financial management systems, and programme credibility that unlocks access to further funding and partnerships.
The accelerator challenge format created a structured platform for refugee entrepreneurs to develop, refine, and present their business propositions — building confidence, pitching skills, and peer networks alongside the technical business knowledge covered in training. Showcasing refugee entrepreneurship within and beyond the settlement community contributes to shifting narratives about what refugees are and what they are capable of, reinforcing YSAT's broader advocacy on self-reliance and economic inclusion.
Refugee entrepreneurs supported with cash and business development
Refugee-Led Organisations strengthened through direct support
Total participants — entrepreneurs and RLOs — supported through REACH
Percent refugee-led — all REACH participants are from within the community