TERN - The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network

TERN - The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network

At a glance

Causes

  • Black, asian and minority ethnic groups
  • Financial inclusion
  • International development
  • Poverty relief
  • Refugees / migrants
  • Training / employment support
  • Women
  • Young people

Other details

Organisation type: 
Social enterprise
Geographical remit: 
Regional

Objectives

TERN is a pioneering social enterprise that supports and empowers refugees in the UK to launch their own businesses.

Activities

We are aiming to support the launch of 1,000 refugee businesses by 2025 and to continue to work for a more inclusive and sustainable solution to refugee integration. As we progress as an organisation, we measure success in the following ways:

For our team, success means creating transformative social pathways through entrepreneurship training, as well as implementing changes in society that will enable us to sustain these pathways. We plan to share our methodology globally, expanding our network, and to this end we currently partner with companies and organizations across the UK as well as in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Canada.

We track the development of our entrepreneurial community across a variety of areas that consider ‘softer’ skills alongside business assets. These include integration into local communities, social well-being and mindset development. We aim to ensure that the entrepreneurs we work with have the skills and confidence to develop sustainable businesses, while also contributing proactively to the wider community. For our younger participants, success may take the form of more career or education-focused outcomes.

Recruitment and assessment: When refugees first engage with TERN, we assess their progress to date: do they have a viable business ideal; has it been tested; do they have a business plan and have they got their first customers? Thereafter, we listen to understand what support needs each individual prioritises. We then suggest the TERN support stage that best suits their needs and business progression. Once in our support stream refugees can progress from stage to stage.

1st STAGE: DEVELOP A GREAT BUSINESS IDEA

Our early stage business training is for refugees making the first steps in entrepreneurship. Business training with integrated 1-1 mentoring helps participants develop and test their business ideas whilst developing a first draft of their business plan.

2ND STAGE: STARTUP PROGRAMME
TERN’s flagship ‘Startup programme’ assist refugees in launching their business. This stage supports idea refinement, market research, financial forecasting, access to loan finance, launch planning and customer acquisition.

3rd STAGE: TERN ON DEMAND

Our ‘by request’ service is for refugees who want to grow their existing business.
 On Demand provides expert advice and access to networks at the point of need.

Current opportunities

Mentor a refugee entrepreneur in our early-stage business incubation programme from mid-April to July 2025.