RefuAid
Model & Strategy
RefuAid accelerates refugees’ integration into society through accessible loans. RefuAid loans unlock the capital needed to cover the licensing and training required to re-enter the workforce, and pay for housing and family expenses to support successful integration. A solution born in the UK, RefuAid is demonstrating how financial institutions can confidently extend reaccreditation loans to forcibly displaced people around the world. To date, RefuAid has dispersed £3 million in loans, supporting more than 1,500 individuals with a default rate of less than 1%.
The Problem
More than 500,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in the UK, with nearly 40,000 new refugees arriving on Britishshores each year. Many of these newcomers bring a wealth of workplace experience that today’s toxic discourse around migration completely dismisses. RefuAid estimates that a quarter of all refugees arrive with skills and experience that match available jobs in the UK, but three main barriers prevent newcomers from quickly securing employment in their area of expertise: language skills, local credentials, and access to capital.
The Solution
RefuAid is a targeted economic empowerment program that enables skilled refugees to rapidly secure the professional accreditation required to enter high-demand sectors across the UK workforce. RefuAid’s program provides loans of up to £10,000 for professional reaccreditation, enabling a quick return to work in regulated sectors with critical shortages, such as doctors, nurses, engineers, dentists, and teachers. RefuAid’s interest-free, character-informed loans help refugees cover essential costs, such as licensing, training, and exams, as well as housing and family-reunification expenses, to rebuild their lives in meaningful and sustainable ways.
For every £1 invested in a RefuAid reaccreditation loan, £5.66 is returned to the economy, due to decreased dependence on public resources (unemployment, welfare benefits, and mental health care), and increased contributions via taxes and social security. In the next three years, RefuAid will nearly triple their capacity to 2,000 loans totaling £6 million, impacting an additional 3,000 beneficiaries.
Anna has a background in international relations and immigration law with a focus on forced migration. Early in her career, she worked in Asia with a refugee-serving NGO and moved into immigration law. In 2015, at the start of a major influx of migrants into Europe, Anna moved to Lesvos, Greece, to volunteer, arriving before UN staff, and spent 18 months working in frontline relief. Upon returning to the UK, she witnessed the challenges newcomers face when integrating into society, and founded RefuAid to address these barriers.
Impact
RefuAid has provided approximately 770 loans totaling £3 million, directly impacting 1,500 individuals while maintaining a default rate of less than 1%.
The average salary for a refugee borrower post-reaccreditation loan is £36,858, 5.3% above the UK average salary.
