Philanthropist and IRC Advisory Board Member, Badr Jafar’s latest book, The Business of Philanthropy, discusses the changing nature of philanthropy within and from emerging markets

Omari and Zaina, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently launched their at-home childcare business, Zaina Ngandu, bringing added support for working families in West Valley City.

Naimat grew up in a small province in Afghanistan called Ghazni with his parents, three sisters, one brother, and his uncles. With the hope of pursuing higher education and starting his own business, Naimat came to the United States where he earned a Master’s degree in Accounting.

In May 2023, Victoria Barrier Solutions LLC—a residential and commercial fencing and railing business—was born. “We create fencing and railing from all kinds of materials including wood, vinyl, and aluminum. We also build decks for homes.”

The IRC in Silver Spring spoke with Parwana, an Afghan refugee and changemaker who shares her culture with others through her catering business.

The working paper "Cash and Small Business Groups for Ugandans and Refugees" details learnings from the IRC and IKEA Foundation's Re:BUiLD programme, and finds that cash grants substantially improve business outcomes for men, women, refugees, and hosts. Combining mentorship with cash has an additional positive effect for refugee men, but a negative effect relative to cash alone for women who run higher-profit businesses. Mentors with higher baseline profits significantly improve mentees' business outcomes, while differences across group gender and nationality compositions are small. The shared fate addition worsens early outcomes in aligned groups but does not affect mixed groups.

Refugee clients build successful businesses that allow them to earn much-needed income for their families while gaining confidence, deeper community ties, and much more.

Lorayne and her wife started their own business in Mexico City with support from the Resilient Futures program, a partnership between the International Rescue Committee and Citi Foundation. Read Lorayne's story.