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Social entrepreneurship is an innovative, bottom-up approach that pursues a “triple bottom line” of generating revenue, creating social value, and ensuring environmental sustainability. Although increasingly popular, social entrepreneurship has not been applied to refugees in the US. Resettled refugees are tasked with achieving integration through economic self-sufficiency, yet most refugees struggle to overcome poverty as they work at or near minimum wage (Dickerson, et al., 2011; Steimel, 2010)and have twice the national unemployment rate (ORR, 2013). Social entrepreneurship could improve the economic wellbeing of refugee communities through job creation and self-employment, activating human capital that refugees bring with them but are unable to transfer to the US labor market (Fong, et al., 2008; Harris, et al., 2014). Since little is known about applying this intervention to this population, an important first step is to assess existing knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of social entrepreneurship among diverse refugee communities resettled to the US. This study investigated the perceptions of refugees about social entrepreneurship.
Methods
Qualitative data were gathered from Bhutanese, Burmese, Congolese, Iraqi, and Somali refugee communities (n=77). Participants were recruited through ethnic community-based organizations, the sample included community leaders and community members. Data was collected through 9 focus groups, with an average of 8.5 participants per focus group, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 18. Data were coded and analyzed in Dedoose using thematic analysis.
Results
Data analysis revealed 7 primary themes: prior business experience, problem solving skills, varying conception of social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial role models, opportunities for social entrepreneurship, existing community support for social entrepreneurship, and needs identified for pursuing social entrepreneurship. Participants indicated a significant previous business experience and problem-solving skills, “we know… the steps of how to do business,” but expressed difficulty in translating this to the US context, “the whole procedure is completely different here in America and we need to learn this in the first place.” Participants noted that they were “not familiar… [with social entrepreneurship]… but we know about business,” but lack business role models within their communities. Participants identified multiple business opportunities within their communities, such as daycare, sewing, and language schools, and reflected on how their existing skills could support those enterprises. For example, one participant noted that he was “an agricultural economist… I can produce food items… farming… food business… to sell to every community.” Participants indicated that refugee communities lack support and identified multiple obstacles to social entrepreneurship, including past trauma, different business environments, and legal and business regulations and laws.
Conclusions
Findings suggest the applicability of social entrepreneurship as a viable alternative to traditional approaches to refugee resettlement. With a growing concern about refugee self-sufficiency, social entrepreneurship can advance refugee community economic development and empowerment. Refugee social entrepreneurship is a promising strategy if supported adequately by resettlement policy, community participation, and leadership. Social workers can support this model in community practice interventions as a means of building refugee community capacity and sustainability, utilizing refugee strengths and entrepreneurial skills, and furthering refugee community integration through economic self-sufficiency.