March 9, 2021
By Canadian Immigrant
Syrian-Canadian Bayan Khatib, executive director of the Syrian Canadian Foundation looks back at the progress made by HER Startup, a refugee women entrepreneurship program, since its launch in 2020.
Over a year ago, the Syrian Canadian Foundation (SCF) partnered with Jumpstart Refugee Talent to launch HER Startup, a first-of-its-kind refugee women entrepreneurship program to carve pathways for refugee women with an entrepreneurial drive. Starting from signing on the primary funder, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the program has come a long way. As opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach, the program has advocated for a customized service for refugee women to address their unique socio-economic challenges and barriers.
Why do refugees require customized services? Imagine a refugee claimant trying to start a business with no credit history, no permanent address, and no network. How will they get a bank loan? How will they bootstrap?