Employment and entrepreneurship are an important part of integration, and refugee and asylum seekers with a higher level of education, plans to start a business, or those who are women, face difficulties in securing employment in Finland. The business programme works to maximise the economic and human potential of newcomers, making the Finnish workplace and business world more diverse and inclusive. Its goal is to create a path for faster refugee and asylum seeker labour market integration, supporting these individuals to overcome the specific barriers they face.

• Asylum seekers, refugees and other newcomers
• Finnish companies and businesses
• Finland as a whole, through the integration and economic improvements brought by the initiative

Startup Refugees Business Programme offers services for newcomer entrepreneurs. The program includes a course on entrepreneurship, networking opportunities, workshops, mentoring and business advice sessions among other things.

Since 2015 Startup Refugees has supported 613 business teams, and 64 companies have been established as a result. 1 421 people have also secured employment as a result of the support provided by the programme. In 2022, 90 % of participants were third-country nationals.

In 2019 the programme published a report on the results of its matchmaking service from 2015 – 2018. According to the report, newcomers are highly motivated to work in Finland and are willing to move to areas with labour shortages. English language skills were found to be more important than Finnish language skills in securing employment, and it was therefore recommended that newcomers are given the opportunity to develop their skills in both languages.

Further reports and evaluations of the programme are planned for the near future.

Startup Refugees' initiatives rely mostly on public funding. The state of Finland and the EU are its biggest funders, and certain Finnish cities also support some projects. In addition, Startup Refugees receives donations from foundations, companies, and private individuals, and - on a smaller scale - through provision of certain services.