NESsT Refugee Employment Initiative
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February triggered Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Close to 4 million refugees from Ukraine have largely sought refuge in Poland and Romania, joining the tens of thousands of refugees from Asia and Africa hosted in the region.
NESsT together with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and the Cisco Foundation, have partnered to launch the NESsT Refugee Employment Initiative to support fifteen enterprises that work or plan to work with refugees and migrants in Poland and Romania. The initiative aims to create 3,000 jobs and improve the lives of 5,000 refugees.
The initiative will provide financing and business assistance to a cohort of impact-driven enterprises in Poland and Romania that provide refugees with long-term employment support, including career training, quality job opportunities, and additional wraparound services (e.g. mental health services, language classes, support with accessing work permits, and childcare, laptops, among others).
NESsT defines quality job opportunities as jobs that pay a living wage with an employment contract.
Meet the First Cohort of the NESsT Refugee Employment Initiative Portfolio
We are still accepting applications!
Review the application form and prepare all required information, including a video (see below).
Create a short video, of no more than 3 minutes, where you explain:
The business adaptation/expansion/innovation you want to implement
How this strategy will help you provide quality jobs for refugees
Why you are motivated to do this
Upload the video to YouTube and copy and paste the link into the application form when prompted.
Submit the application.
Who should apply?
Enterprises that show a strong commitment to adapting and/or expanding their businesses to be able to provide quality jobs to the refugee community. Entrepreneurs must demonstrate that they have the potential to grow their businesses in a sustainable manner while creating job opportunities.
Social & Environmental Impact
The initiative seeks enterprises that can improve the livelihoods of low-income and underserved communities.
Potential to generate over 100 jobs in the next five years by directly employing refugees, placing refugees in the labor force, or sourcing from refugee suppliers
Preference is given to companies already improving employment/supplier opportunities for at least 50 people from vulnerable groups (migrants and refugees, disadvantaged women, at-risk youth, people with disabilities, small producers, ethnic minorities)
Proven commitment to positive environmental practices and policies and willingness to continue to adopt them
Clear Growth Opportunity
The enterprise should have an attractive product or service with evidence of demand that may include:
Annual sales above 75,000 EUR preferred
Participation in a market that is expanding, or opportunity to enter a new market (customer segment, new geographic area, etc.)
Opportunity to grow revenues significantly and create a sustainable cost-revenue structure in the next 18-24 months
If the enterprise has not yet reached break-even, demonstrates the potential to reach it and become profitable in the next 18-24 months
Enterprises addressing talent gaps in the following sectors are especially encouraged to apply:
Information technology (IT)
Transportation
Warehousing logistics
Childcare and elderly care
Retail administration
Catering
Strong Team
The enterprise should have a competent management team (2-4 people) that demonstrate the following:
Track record of having worked together 2+ years preferably with complementary business skills
Proven performance track record and ethical business conduct (reflected in policies and practices)
Processes in place to include decisions of key stakeholders and good business practices (i.e., annually approved budget, financial controls, competitive procurement procedures)
Preference for management teams that include women and other vulnerable people
English speaking team member to participate in the program is preferred
All selected enterprises will receive:
Photo: Refugees from Ukraine supported by the Being Together Foundation | NESsT Poland Portfolio
Ranges and types of financial instruments available:
EUR 35,000 to 75,000 in recoverable grants (soft, long-term, low-interest loans) per social enterprise to finance business growth efforts including both investment and working capital.
EUR 10,000 to 20,000 in grants per social enterprise to finance scholarships that pay for wrap-around services for refugees, including support with accessing work permits, mental health services, childcare, language courses, and laptops, etc.
Selected social enterprises will receive either recoverable grants or grants or both depending on their impact potential and the investment need.
Examples of the use of financing:
Adaptation of current business lines to include refugees
Creation of new business line to employ refugees
Validation of business model
Improvement of product / service
Definition / improvement / installation of the operations model
Expansion of sales and marketing capacity
Establishment systems to track social impact
Additional benefits:
Mentoring, social impact measurement, trainings with experts from the IKEA, Cisco, and NESsT networks.
Access to masterclasses alongside a community of social entrepreneurs focused on sales, marketing, brand building, social impact, DEI.
Features across impact investing ecosystem media channels, such as newsletters, social media, publications, etc.
FAQ
Should I apply if we are not working with refugees now but plan to do so in the future?
Yes, you are qualified to apply if your enterprise demonstrates the potential to generate jobs for refugees in the next five years either by directly employing refugees, placing refugees in the labor force, or sourcing from refugee suppliers. However, you should only do so if you already have a track record of providing employment to other vulnerable groups.
Are there restrictions on the nationality of the refugees we support?
No, there are no restrictions on the country of birth of refugees. The initiative supports refugees from all countries who currently reside in Poland or Romania and have appropriate working documentation.
Does my enterprise need to be registered in Poland and/or Romania?
No, your enterprise does not need to be registered in Poland or Romania but needs to be operational in those countries.
Should I apply if we do not have an established management team of 2-4 people that have worked together for more than two years?
Yes, you may apply but you should show strong evidence of experience managing an enterprise with a team.
How do I demonstrate the social impact of my company?
NESsT supports enterprises that directly employ vulnerable people or indirectly create sustainable and dignified employment for vulnerable communities through their supply chain. We would like to understand how your strategy would use our funding and capacity support to create at least 50 jobs for refugees in the next one to two years.
What if my company’s annual sales are below 75,000 EUR?
If your company sales are below 75,000 EUR but you are able to provide strong evidence that your enterprise is growing and can reach this level of annual sales in the near future, you should still consider applying to the initiative. Basically, you must demonstrate the capacity to repay a recoverable grant from 35,000 to 75,000 EUR within a 3-year time.
What are grants towards scholarships?
These are grants that can be used by the enterprise to pay for wrap-around services for refugees, including support with accessing work permits, mental health services, childcare, language courses, job-specific training, laptops, etc.
We support/reskill Ukrainian women who still live in Ukraine to find remote work in Poland/Romania – does this meet the initiative’s social impact criteria?
Yes, you are eligible to apply if your enterprise has a business model and supports war refugees in Ukraine who are internally displaced and you can demonstrate the capacity to create jobs in Poland or Romania.