How refugee entrepreneurs thrive in European host countries: the interplay of individual, motivational and environmental factors

Refugees bring their skills, abilities, and ambitions to host countries, as well as their available financial and, above all, social capital. For those willing to transfer these means into their own enterprise, various opportunities and challenges await regarding the entrepreneurial ecosystem, business culture, and market conditions in host countries. They move into a context –in terms of law, economics, and public policy–which is different from what they have experienced in their home countries. Therefore, refugee entrepreneurs often require support to navigate themselves and their businesses in the new environment. This research seeks to examine how the interplay of characteristics of the entrepreneur, business environment, local networks, and public policies in host countries affect refugee entrepreneurs’ journey to establish their businesses in urban settings. Three European countries with similar entrepreneurial ecosystems and different migration patterns and policies for entrepreneurial activities of refugees are selected for the study: The United Kingdom, Germany, and The Netherlands. The role of Refugee Entrepreneurship Programmes (REPs), which mainly provide incubation and entrepreneurial training, is particularly investigated in this context. Motivations, challenges, and performances of entrepreneurs that are participants and non-participants of REPs are examined through narrating their stories. REPs are also analysed in terms of their services, entrepreneur portfolio, financial and human resources, and impact on refugees and wider society. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with refugee entrepreneurs and REP managers. Additionally, reports and informative documents by REPs, think tanks, and governments are incorporated in the analysis. Building on the mixed embeddedness theory and motivational theories, this study demonstrates the internal and external dynamics of refugee entrepreneurs’ endeavours to become self-reliant and to contribute to the economy, innovation, and society of host countries. It provides policymakers, practitioners, and organisations with practical implications to improve support schemes, legal frameworks, and policies for enabling refugee entrepreneurship