Getting to know MENTA's Refugee Entrepreneur Programme: An interview with Monica Bell
Meet Monica, our business trainer supporting refugee entrepreneurs seeking to create a new life in the UK.
Monica Bell runs MENTA’s Refugee Entrepreneur Programme – supporting clients looking to set up their own businesses.
The programme is run by the Centre for Entrepreneurs and is sponsored by the Home Office. MENTA is working in partnership with the East of England Local Government Authority’s Strategic Migration Partnership on the pilot programme, which has been set up in four different locations – East of England, Staffordshire, Northern Ireland and Bristol, and is being evaluated by Loughborough and Sheffield Universities.
Here Monica explains more about how the programme works and how it is helping to make a real difference to people’s lives.
Q. Tell us about the programme and how it works?
MB: It’s a programme that’s been set up to provide support for refugee entrepreneurs – people who have essentially been running their own businesses in their home countries, or who have a great business idea; and, would like the opportunity to set up their own business here in the UK.
Q. What sort of people have you been looking to work with on the programme?
MB: We’re looking for entrepreneurs – people who have got that drive and determination, who have got a business idea that we can then mould and help them create something.
We’ve got participants from 16 different countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Uzbekistan, Egypt. They are from a wide spectrum. These individuals are fleeing all sorts of situations, whether it is persecution, or political asylum.
Some of them are doctors, lawyers – they are professional people. They are going out there, saying ‘Hey, I’m here! I want to help be a contributor to the economy.’
Our job is to make them feel welcome. If we have said ‘You may come here. We’ve given you authority to be here.’, then it’s our duty to ensure that we make them feel welcome; and, that we look after them as we would want them to do for us if the situation was reversed. After all these people really want to contribute to our economy.
Q. How did you find & start working with them?
MB: We initially recruited via our launch events back in October. People came along and showcased their business ideas and we signed up those who were interested in coming on the programme. Others were referred to us.
From there we moved them forward on to workshops looking at sales and marketing, and bookkeeping, to give them an overview of business skills they would need to run their own businesses.
Q. They then progressed to 1-1 appointments with you… what has this involved?
MB: That’s been very much about sitting down with them and going through a business plan template with them, specifically covering each area that they need to complete, looking, for example, at legal status. We look at the different options that they might have – limited company, sole trader, things like that and we talk about it so that they get to understand the concept.
We then continue through the plan and we look at things like market research. What market research is & why you need to do it.
It’s understanding business concepts, it’s not just about delivering the actual service, it’s about developing them into entrepreneurs so that they can become successful businesspeople in the future.
The one to one sessions are very important for embedding the business skills and broad knowledge that they have acquired through the workshops.
Q. How has it gone so far?
MB: I can honestly say that it’s been absolutely brilliant. We have 30 individuals enrolled on the programme and I am working with clients all the way through to hopefully setting up their own businesses at the end of the programme.
Even with Covid-19 and lockdown we have continued to work with clients on the programme. It’s certainly was a difficult situation initially, but you just simply have to adapt. And that’s business. Business is an adaptation process and we’ve successfully been able to move them across from 1-1 meetings at our venues to virtual 1-1 appointments online.
Q. What kind of ideas are they coming to you with? Are they a very entrepreneurial group?
MB: They are very very keen. We’ve got a wide range of business ideas from painter and decorator, caterers, blacksmiths and even silk importers!
One particular company is setting up a Barbers and we’ve looked at setting up a barber pod with him. He’s going into business with another company who already runs these types of mobile pods that they put in shopping areas.
We’re looking at how we can help him raise his half of the money to get into that business partnership. As part of that we’re having to work on his business plan to make sure that he acquires the skills to run his business successfully with his business partner to be.
Q. Have they already run businesses in their own countries or is it a completely fresh start?
MB: There’s a mix. For example, another lady from Lebanon has embroidery skills and she has been doing that in her own country. She wants to use that skill set here.
We try and identify those with something, whether they have got a good level of education or experience, because you do need some level of skills to get your business going, even if it is not in the area that you specifically want to run your business in.
We were hoping to have some up and running and have one or two moving forward, but of course they’ve had events that have been cancelled.
The focus now is about planning and embedding business skills and taking the time to do it.
Q. Is there a cultural difference in the way people do business?
MB: Absolutely – one I can think of from Uzbekistan, he’s a trader. The way that they do business is that they will trade in everything and anything – phones, groceries, anything.
Here we are much more linear. We say, you are going to run a business and you’re going to do one particular thing; and, if you want to do something else, you’ll diversify and plan to do that in year two or three or four.
We have a different approach to business – in other countries it’s ‘I’m a businessperson. I’ll sell and buy anything.’ There’s no real planning in that regard.
The difference is to teach people how to view it in terms of planning – that’s the key thing. Also, the legalities are different. In other countries you don’t have to register with Companies House, you don’t necessarily have HMRC to deal with.
Q. Tell us about your approach to working with clients.
MB: It’s about building relationships. If you are going to go into business, you’ve got to be prepared to build relationships.
With my clients - we don’t call them refugees - it’s about building relationships, getting to know them & getting to understand what their needs are first. Then we can work on ‘Okay, so this is your business idea. Let’s look at what we can do for you.'
It’s about nurturing a positive attitude; promoting self-belief & confidence; mentoring where one can; and, just really inspiring them. That’s it.
Q. What does success look like?
MB: Success would be getting my clients to the point where their business is operational or close to being so; supporting others on an emotional level, where they have found things rather difficult especially with Covid-19; and, when they come out of it, that they say they feel a lot happier for having taken this journey!
Work on the Refugee Entrepreneur Programme will conclude this autumn so what does the future hold?
Well, looking ahead, the great news is that when the Refugee Entrepreneur Programme reaches its conclusion in the Autumn MENTA’s work with refugees will continue. MENTA has now been awarded a new programme, ‘Wellbeing & Work for Refugee Integration’, so we will continue to offer support, but, now across a wider geographical area. For more information click here.
