Over 43.7 million.
That’s the staggering number of refugees worldwide, with many trapped in extreme poverty and struggling to rebuild their lives. Now more than ever, the global refugee crisis urgently demands sustainable solutions.
Unlike most refugee relief programs that only address immediate needs, refugee entrepreneurship offers a lasting pathway to economic empowerment. Programs like DREAMS (Delivering Resilient Enterprises and Market Systems) are leading the way with innovative poverty alleviation.
In Ethiopia, DREAMS—a collaboration between Village Enterprise and Mercy Corps, backed by the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the IKEA Foundation—is changing lives by empowering refugees to graduate out of poverty and achieve economic self-reliance.
Read on to learn how the DREAMS program works and how two remarkable women—Runbille and Arfon—have become successful entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, thanks to the program.
How DREAMS is promoting refugee entrepreneurship in Ethiopia
DREAMS is a first-of-its-kind, award-winning model that combines Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program with Mercy Corps’ expertise in market systems development. Through Village Enterprise, program participants get access to business training, savings groups, business mentorship, and startup cash, while Mercy Corps provides extensive support with gaining access to niche markets and building resilient supply chains.
The Village Enterprise poverty graduation program has a 534% lifetime benefit-cost ratio, meaning that for every $1 invested into the program, entrepreneurs generate $5.34 in income. Factor in the strengthened local value chains and increased access to market services that intentionally connect the entrepreneurs to market opportunities, and you have a sustainable pathway to continued business growth.
DREAMS equips refugees with the tools and resources to launch and sustain successful businesses. In doing so, the program is not only changing individual lives, but ultimately strengthening local economies. Across Ethiopia and Uganda alone, DREAMS will reach over 33,000 households and transform the lives of more than 200,000 refugees.
In honor of its transformative potential, DREAMS was named a winner of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa category. The program was also the 2021 winner of the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award for Refugees.
Refugee entrepreneurship success stories from Ethiopia: Meet Runbille and Arfon
DREAMS is changing the lives of many refugees. As it continues to expand its reach and adapt to the unique needs of diverse communities, the program promises to reach millions more refugees living in extreme poverty across Africa.
Runbille and Arfon, two remarkable refugee entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, illustrate the program’s far-reaching promise.
Runbille’s path toward economic stability and community leadership
For a decade, Runbille, a refugee and mother of seven, struggled to survive in Ethiopia’s Hilaweyn Refugee Settlement. After fleeing Somalia in 2013, she faced the harsh reality of living in extreme poverty, unable to secure employment or provide for her children.
With her husband also struggling to find work, the family relied entirely on food rations from the United Nations World Food Program. However, budget cuts and subsequent decreases in humanitarian aid left them in constant fear of hunger. Education and healthcare were also out of reach as Runbille and her husband couldn’t afford the children’s tuition, school supplies, or medical expenses.
But everything changed in August 2023 when Runbille enrolled in DREAMS. Through the program, she discovered the power of entrepreneurship to transform her life, as well as the lives of her husband and seven children.
Runbille learned how to operate a small business, track expenses, and keep financial records. Equipped with this training, she received startup cash to launch her very first business. Then, using this business grant, and under the guidance of her DREAMS business mentor, Runbille partnered with two other women in the settlement to start a sewing and tailoring business, creating clothes by hand.
As her business grew, she was able to use her profits to buy a sewing machine to produce even more clothes and make her work more efficient.
Village Enterprise also encouraged Runbille to regularly save some of her profits. She joined a business savings group of 30 entrepreneurs who met weekly to practice savings and support one another throughout the entirety of the program.
Using her weekly savings, Runbille launched a second business of livestock fattening—the process of fattening sheep and goats to later sell at a better price. This new venture allowed her to double her monthly income.
Mercy Corps’s market systems development work connected Runbille with key private sector actors in the region’s sheep and goat industry, helping her to establish reliable supply chains and access broader markets. These connections strengthened the economic infrastructure supporting Runbille’s business and also opened opportunities for greater success in the local market.
Today, Runbille runs two thriving businesses that have changed her family’s life. They now enjoy daily nutritious meals, medical care, and even household upgrades like a bedframe and mattress. Beyond financial stability, Runbille has become a respected leader in her community, inspiring other women to pursue entrepreneurship.
“My opinion is respected, and I’m seen as a role model by many young entrepreneurs and mothers who wish to be like me,” says Runbille. She and her husband are saving to send their eldest daughter to college to study political science and global studies; a dream once unimaginable.
As Runbille puts it, “Empowering a mother is like empowering a nation.” Through her determination and the support of DREAMS, Runbille has reshaped her family’s future and also set an example of what’s possible for countless other refugees.
Arfon’s journey from extreme poverty to entrepreneurship
After escaping conflict in Somalia in search of a safer future, 34-year-old Arfon arrived at Ethiopia’s Kobe Refugee Settlement with her husband and three children. However, opportunities to earn a living were scarce.
Arfon and her husband turned to growing their own food and taking on sporadic manual labor to meet their family’s basic needs. Without adequate resources to sustain their household garden and with unreliable job prospects, their income remained unstable and insufficient. This left Arfon’s family trapped in a cycle of extreme poverty, struggling with constant food insecurity.
In August 2023, Arfon enrolled in DREAMS and a better future began to feel possible. Through Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program, she gained essential entrepreneurial skills and financial literacy, enabling her to confidently launch and manage her own business. “The financial literacy and management skills have been crucial for me to make informed decisions and ensure the sustainability of my small business,” Arfon shares.
With guidance from her business mentor and in collaboration with two other women in the settlement, Arfon started a livestock fattening business. Drawing on her previous experience fattening livestock back in Somalia and recognizing demand in the local market, she and her partners began raising sheep and goats to sell at a profit.
Similar to Runbille, Mercy Corps played a vital role in connecting Arfon to regional private sector actors. This helped Arfon secure better prices, reliable supply chains, and a network of customers. As a result, Arfon and her business partners, Anfac and Nura, were better positioned to identify and capitalize on viable business opportunities.
As her livestock fattening business took off, Arfon was able to use her savings to diversify her income and add another layer of financial security for her family. She launched a tea café—her proudest accomplishment. “I take great pride in having my own tea establishment,” she says. Using her earnings, she purchased flasks, cups, and cooking vessels, building the café from the ground up.
Arfon’s two businesses have changed her family’s life. She can now afford nutritious meals, healthcare, and school fees for her children—milestones she once thought impossible. Her family is healthier, happier, and full of hope for the future.
Support refugee entrepreneurship in Africa
Runbille and Arfon are just two of the thousands of refugees who have launched businesses through DREAMS in Uganda and Ethiopia. Their successes highlight how DREAMS fosters resilience, restores hope in some of the world’s most challenging environments, and creates a path out of poverty for refugees and their families.
With the refugee crisis reaching unprecedented levels, the need for scalable solutions has never been greater. DREAMS is already making a difference in Uganda and Ethiopia, and plans are underway to launch the program in Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond, bringing its proven impact to even more communities.
Your support can help make this vision a reality. By donating, you’re not just giving a gift—you’re investing in the journeys of refugee entrepreneurs like Runbille and Arfon. When you support our work to empower refugees, you support self-reliance, as well as the ability to provide for families and inspire change within communities.
Join us in building a future where every refugee has the opportunity to thrive.