The Amahoro Coalition has announced forty-one entrepreneurs and social-change leaders selected to join the fourth cohort of its Fellowship programme, the organisation’s flagship initiative supporting refugee and displaced entrepreneurs across Africa.
As the only entrepreneurship fellowship designed specifically for refugee and displaced founders, the Amahoro Fellowship is redefining displacement by backing founders who are creating jobs, attracting investment, and building businesses across Africa. Their ventures contribute to local economies, foster innovation, and demonstrate the important role that displaced entrepreneurs play in driving inclusive economic growth.
The new cohort brings together fellows from 15 countries of origin across Africa and the Middle East, now building businesses in 16 African countries. Women make up the majority, with 24 of the 41 fellows selected.
Ventures span agriculture and agribusiness, education, technology and digital services, manufacturing, health, climate action, creative industries, logistics, retail, and social inclusion.
“Cohort 4 represents a group of exceptional leaders who are not waiting for change but are creating it through generating jobs, building ventures, and solving some of Africa’s most pressing challenges from within their communities,” said Julia Oduol, Principal Strategy Custodian – Amahoro Fellowship Programme. “We’re proud to welcome them into our ecosystem.”
“We are proud to partner with Amahoro Coalition to welcome the fourth cohort of Amahoro Fellows, leaders with lived experience of displacement whose entrepreneurship and leadership are helping shape Africa’s economy.
This reflects our commitment to locally led solutions that create opportunities for displaced communities to thrive. It is especially meaningful as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, underscoring Switzerland’s longstanding humanitarian commitment to people forced to flee.” Said Patricia
Barandun, Head of Section Migration and Forced Displacement at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC.
About the Fellowship
The Amahoro Coalition Fellowship is a 12-month programme that combines self-paced learning, live sessions, mentorship, peer learning, and direct engagement with investors, employers, and private-sector leaders. Fellows strengthen their leadership capabilities, refine their business models, improve investment readiness, expand market opportunities, and build skills to scale sustainable enterprises.
Beyond training, the programme combines capacity building with catalytic capital. Each Fellow can access funding of up to US$160,000, the highest ticket investment in the world for refugee-led enterprises. The capital is used to scale their businesses, create jobs, and unlock new market opportunities, moving from potential to growth.
Impact to Date
Across its first three cohorts, the programme has supported 88 refugee and displaced entrepreneurs operating in 15 African countries.
Before joining the Amahoro Fellowship, their businesses cumulatively employed 428 people. Today, those same ventures support more than 2,240 jobs, a more than threefold increase that underscores the untapped economic potential of displaced entrepreneurs.
Collectively, fellowship-supported businesses have secured over $2.4 million in funding from Amahoro Coalition, demonstrating that displaced entrepreneurs can build high-growth businesses when given access to capital, networks, and opportunity.
For many fellows, Amahoro Coalition provided the first institutional funding for their ventures. That early investment has unlocked additional financing of more than $4.1 million, showing strong investor confidence in refugee-led enterprises.
The Fellowship’s impact extends beyond individual businesses. Fellows are creating jobs in sectors critical to Africa’s development, including environmental sustainability, agriculture, and technology and innovation.
Strategic partners
The Fellowship is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Mastercard Foundation. Through a partnership with PSA BDP, a global leader in freight and logistics, fellows also gain mentorship and industry expertise from seasoned leaders.
Cohort 4 at a Glance
- 41 Fellows
- 24 women and 17 men
- 15 countries of origin, namely Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Sudan, Cameroon, Eritrea, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ghana, Angola, the Central African Republic, Zambia, and Burundi.
- 16 host countries, including Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Malawi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Ivory Coast, and Sudan.
- 12 venture sectors, including agriculture, technology, education, health, manufacturing, climate action, creative industries, and economic empowerment.
Read more about the Fellows in the Cohort here: https://amahorocoalition.com/cohort-4/.
About Amahoro Coalition
Amahoro Coalition mobilizes Africa’s private sector to unlock economic opportunities for forcibly displaced people. Through partnerships, investment, employment pathways, and entrepreneurship support, the Coalition works to position displaced people as contributors to economic growth and development across the continent.
About the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency and is responsible for the overall coordination of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The SDC works to reduce poverty, promote sustainable development, strengthen economic opportunities, and improve prospects for people living in fragile and conflict-affected contexts worldwide.
