Start-up incubators for refugees. How to develop and deploy entrepreneurial skills to generate impact

Abstract

Refugee entrepreneurs play an increasingly important role in the ecosystem. However, they may find themselves unable to use their potential because they lack relevant skills, encounter language barriers, have weak local networks and deal with personal problems. Start-up incubators for refugees address these challenges by offering programmes that empower them to develop and deploy entrepreneurial skills for business creation. This work-in-progress paper presents initial insights on skill-related programme elements which will be extended into a detailed analysis of resulting types of economic impact.