03/24/2025 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – When conflict and persecution happen, whole populations flee their homes, cross national borders, and end up in refugee camps. By 2030, more than 300 million people are expected to be refugees; that is, they will be forcibly displaced. Refugee camps are assumed to be temporary, but most refugees live there for years, sometimes even decades. Their basic needs are met by gifts in kind from the U.N. Refugee Program (UNHCR) and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).
Currently, the WFP is helping 6 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone. Nearly 11 million Ukrainians have been made refugees since the beginning of the war with Russia in 2022. The UNHCR and WFP are working to meet their needs with programs, cash, food, and gifts in kind. While short-term humanitarian help is necessary, long-term charity is not sustainable. The way to self-reliance is through training and capital.
Short-term assistance often falls short. Rations from the WFP often are not in line with cultural foods. For instance, Sudanese refugees often sell or trade their wheat flour rations to obtain items of their traditional diet, such as millet, sorghum, maize, and cassava flour. Other food and toiletry items are often not provided. Out of necessity and to improve their lives, refugees create economic opportunities in the camps. Suddenly, rations are turned into currency, and a small market economy emerges.
Small businesses begin to pop up. Haircuts, woodwork, clothes making, childcare, and basket weaving are common. However, today, these entrepreneurs are selling mobile phones, electricity, internet access, and taxi services. When allowed, refugees reach outside markets and bring products back for resale.
Historically, well-intentioned humanitarian organizations often look at refugee camps from a charity perspective. Recently, that perspective has been changing. Organizations are realizing that refugees do not need charity but capital. In 2018, the UNHCR and World Bank produced a study of the economy of the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. The camp was established for Sudanese refugees in 1992 and has since welcomed refugees from neighboring countries, including Ethiopia and Somalia. By 2020, the camp housed nearly 200,000 people. The study showed that the refugee camp was contributing nearly $56 million per year to the local economy in Kenya.
This study, and others like it, has sparked a new perspective for organizations and encouraged private-sector investment. Organizations like International Christian Concern (ICC) and Refugee Investment Network aid entrepreneurs with information, mentorship, and funding.
Organizations connect international investors with refugee projects across the globe. They require strict criteria to be accepted. The business must be refugee-owned, refugee-led, or employ refugees. These businesses must directly improve refugee lives through job creation, economic development, social integration, education, health, or self-reliance. Hundreds of articles have been written regarding the success of funding for refugee projects. One such story is the life of Fatima, a Syrian refugee living in Jordan. She started her own food business and received three months of training and less than $1 USD to grow her business. Now, she supports her family and two other cooks and sells her food to some of the most prestigious restaurants in Amman.
Displaced persons are now often considered budding entrepreneurs with talents and the persistence to grow their small businesses and support their families. The world is taking notice that there are significant investment opportunities that can come from financing refugee businesses. However, the human impact cannot be measured with profit. Unlocking human potential, increasing human dignity, and providing second chances are priceless. It creates a ripple effect that will be felt by refugee families and others persecuted for their faith for generations.
To read more stories like this, sign up for ICC’s free magazine.
