Meet four Black business owners who have navigated the American economic landscape to build their businesses.

From coffee and catering to clothing and jewelry, here are nine small businesses owned by refugees.

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.

Frishta Nasari reflects on her experiences as a newly-arrived refugee and a Dallas Mayor's Intern at the IRC

“The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is look at the mirror in my bedroom and say, 'let's go hero, your day has started.'”

Meet Sylvia, our Housing Support volunteer! She works with our housing team to help secure financial support for clients. As a daughter of immigrants, Sylvia recalls some challenges her parents faced as they built their lives in Clinton, a small town in New Jersey. "My parents came from Germany in the 1950s, and although they weren't refugees, I saw as a child what it was like for them to try to adapt to a new country," she shared. Learn more about Sylvia and her volunteer work.

Meet Sylvia, our Housing Support volunteer! She works with our housing team to help secure financial support for clients. As a daughter of immigrants, Sylvia recalls some challenges her parents faced as they built their lives in Clinton, a small town in New Jersey. "My parents came from Germany in the 1950s, and although they weren't refugees, I saw as a child what it was like for them to try to adapt to a new country," she shared. Learn more about Sylvia and her volunteer work.

Based in Lithonia, Transit CPR provides mobile first aid and CPR training to individuals and groups in the metro-Atlanta area.

Brittney Cooper decided to start Shyne Auto Detail LLC in December 2018. Her passion for auto detailing grew after managing detailing for more than 20 dealerships around the metro Atlanta area. Opportunities for new accounts developed fairly quickly and today, Brittney is proud to be one of the best female auto detailers in Atlanta. 

Stuff We Wanna Say (SWWS) is a clothing store for the outspoken: based in Atlanta’s historic Little Five Points shopping district, the store offers screen-printing and t-shirt design services for occasions big and small across the Southeast.