Starting up and starting over: how networking can enable refugee entrepreneurs to regain livelihoods in East Africa

Establishing a secure livelihood is a key element that enables refugees to rebuild their lives and overcome protracted dis placement situations. Not only can a steady source of income help refugees afford housing, food and other basic necessities, it can also facilitate their integration by connecting them with others in the community. While some seek jobs in existing organisations or businesses in the formal or informal economy, others create their own enterprises from scratch. This policy brief shares TRAFIG findings from two key refugee-hosting countries in Africa, Ethiopia and Tanzania, and illustrates how refugees are using connectivity to create livelihood opportunities, with a focus on those engaging in entrepreneurial activities. It also puts forth ideas for those seeking to scale up access to entrepreneurship for displaced persons

Figurations of displacement in and beyond Tanzania: reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Congolese and Burundian refugees in Dar es Salaam

This working paper investigates the livelihoods, trajectories, networks and self-generated opportunities of vulnerable migrants in refugee-like situations in Dar es Salaam. Its main purpose is to arrive at a deeper understanding of protracted displacement through a 'figurational approach', which stresses the networks and the interdependencies of urban refugees in Dar es Salaam, across Tanzania, and across national borders. Refugees' social relations do not unfold in a vacuum but are shaped by the regimes of aid and asylum that govern their lives. In a context of constant fear of imprisonment and deportation, this working paper gives particular attention to the alliances that the vulnerable migrants build within Dar es Salaam. It underlines their agency and coping strategies, as they bring with them many valuable skills. Capitalising on these skills can result in longstanding partnerships between vulnerable migrants and locals. Spaces of freedom where displaced people do not need to live in a perpetual state of fear and uncertainty are equally important. More than focusing on constraints, this paper underlines the urban refugees' agency and survival strategies. We pay particular attention to the mobility and connectivity of female urban refugees, also within a digital context. Through (social media) entrepreneurship, women in refugee-like situations have managed to overcome immobilisation and create new opportunities for themselves. By analysing a variety of life situations throughout this paper, we seek to recognise and pro mote urban refugees' agency and dignity