Village Enterprise, in collaboration with Mercy Corps, has launched a programme in Ethiopia that seeks to help refugees become entrepreneurs and earn a sustainable income.

Development Diaries reports that the programme, which is an initiative to tackle extreme poverty in refugee settlements, is expected to reach 1,200 people with seed funding to start businesses.

In a statement, Village Enterprise noted that the initiative, Delivering Resilient Enterprises and Market Systems (DREAMS), has been running in Uganda since 2022, and the expansion to Ethiopia is supported by donations from the IKEA Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ethiopia hosts more than 966,200 refugees and asylum seekers, making it home to the second-largest refugee population in Africa.

Also, Eritrea, Somalia, and South Sudan account for the bulk of Ethiopia’s refugee population.

DREAMS is offering U.S.$500 in startup money to the first 1,200 refugee entrepreneurs who are living in extreme poverty so they can create their enterprises.

‘With refugee numbers at record levels, as well as increases in food prices and decreases in aid budgets, it is more important than ever that we are providing sustainable solutions and equipping refugees with the training, resources, and markets to become self-reliant”, CEO and President of Village Enterprise, Dianne Calvi, said.

The first-time entrepreneurs will also receive comprehensive training delivered by Village Enterprise’s expert business mentors, having fled the war in Somalia with little prospect of being able to return.

‘As conflicts around the world become more complex and protracted, displacement is now measured in decades rather than months or years’, said CEO of Mercy Corps, Tjada McKenna.

‘The system that was designed to provide urgent, lifesaving assistance in response to short-term displacement has struggled to serve millions of refugees who have put their aspirations on hold. Refugees deserve better’.