A pilot scheme to encourage refugees to set up businesses has been launched in Bristol following the success of a research project in the city last year.
The scheme, which is being delivered by ACH Bristol, the leading local social enterprise specialising in refugee integration and employment services, is part of a one-year programme jointly funded by the Home Office and The National Lottery Community Fund. It will be overseen by the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE). Other pilots will take place in Belfast, the East of England and Staffordshire. 
The pilot has been influenced - and builds on – a previous research project which had been co-funded by ACH, Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub, the University of Bristol and West of England Growth Hub.
ACH will support refugees new to entrepreneurship, existing business owners looking to strengthen their foundations, and ambitious entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses with tailored support that meets their needs.
ACH will engage with more than 100 refugees, mainly in the Bristol. Using its track record of delivering employment support for refugees, ACH will expertly guide those taking part from idea stage to launch.
ACH has worked over the past 11 years with aspiring refugee entrepreneurs and the wider business ecosystem to successfully start many small businesses. It is now focused on ensuring the system is changed to increase the effectiveness of services available and the support it can offer into the communities with which it is closely allied.
ACH CEO Fuad Mahamed said: “As an entrepreneur myself I have been keen to see changes within the business support ecosystem so more individuals from refugee communities are able to develop their own businesses.
“This grant allows us to take forward our innovative plans to build a service for Bristol’s underrepresented communities that is accessible, relevant and focused on their specific cultural and business needs.
“This project allows us to help these individuals realise their dreams, and at the same time provides the opportunity for existing business support organisations to learn from our lived experience and professional understanding of refugee entrepreneurial requirements.
“I am confident this pilot will be successful in establishing a new business ecosystem supporting successful thriving entrepreneurial refugees within Bristol, and by example across the UK.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel welcomed the scheme saying it built on the UK’s world-leading resettlement programmes, which provide sanctuary to thousands of the most vulnerable refugees every year.
“It is vital that these refugees are given the best chance to flourish. This project will help them to build businesses and make a real success of their new lives in Bristol,” she said.
