Entrepreneurial Refugees in London Celebrated Through Photo Series
Eight refugees who became entrepreneurs and based in London have been celebrated in a photo series created to mark Refugee Week 2024. The collection of portraits was created by JJ Keith, a photographer who has collaborated with The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) on his wider project called Open Britain, which is focused on more than 100 first-generation migrants who are now based in Britain.
TERN and Open Britain provide an opportunity to support refugee-led enterprises with refugees signing up through Europe’s first-ever online marketplace, Anqa, launched by TERN last year. TERN’s Head of Community Ventures, Isobelle Ford, stated that “each of the TERN x Open Britain stories spotlights the dream of an entrepreneur in our community and follows the hurdles they have overcome to make it a reality. Together, we can create a community where every refugee has a fair chance of building a livelihood”.
The business owners honored in the picture series include Akbar Majidova, who started a restaurant with his wife to preserve Uzbekistan culinary traditions and promote its delicious food, and Yeukai Taruvinga, an activist and entrepreneur who founded Active Horizons, an organization that empowers young people. Yeukai is originally from Zimbabwe and spent nine years in the UK’s asylum system.
Oksana and Oleksii Chaiun, an electrical retailer couple, founded Light Craft Family and make handcrafted LED night lights that cast a warm glow in various familiar shapes. Vladimir Kolodin established Faerie Mystic, which uses diverse spiritual traditions and acoustic and indigenous instruments to create transcendental music and promote mental wellbeing while uniting people. Other business owners who gain coverage in the photo series include Max, Razieh Riazati, Olena Nesterenko, and Veronika Shmorhun
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