The International Rescue Committee (IRC) (www.rescue.org) is excited to partner with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) activities in several cities across the U.S. including San Diego, CA, Wichita, KS, and Salt Lake City, UT. The IRC supports entrepreneurship in dozens of countries across the world and in the U.S., provides key services such as free business technical assistance to small business owners, workshops, and access to business loans.
"During this year's GEW, IRC's small business programs in Atlanta, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Wichita, and Seattle are planning a series of events to celebrate refugee and immigrants' entrepreneurs," said Herman Nyamunga, IRC's Technical Advisor for Economic Empowerment responsible for Small Business /SMEs Development.
"The events will highlight how to build refugee and immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, showcase how culture enriches immigrant and refugee entrepreneurship, and advance cross-border collaboration in our global economic context. A capstone event - the Global Entrepreneur Symposium - will bring together small business owners from different countries in one webinar to connect, network, and share information about products, market opportunities, and future plans. Through these events, IRC hopes to shine a light on the rich contributions of immigrant and refugee small business owners and create space for dialogue, learning, and new partnerships that enable participating businesses to grow and thrive."
In 2021, IRC was awarded a $5.2 million award from the U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program (learn more at www.smallbiznavigator.org). This funding will allow IRC to work with up to 3,000 small business owners across the country as they recover from the economic impact of COVID-19 and grow the businesses that are so critical to their local communities. IRC is committed to serving diverse entrepreneurs and small business owners and has a special focus on supporting refugees, immigrants, and those from underserved communities launch and operate successful businesses.
Want to get involved with GEW in your community? Check out gewusa.co or email Ellen Erickson at ellen@genglobal.org.