Syrian women in the UK: Starting businesses and belonging

By Fardous Bahbouh

Starting a business can be thrilling and exciting. It also takes courage and determination, which are not in short supply in the refugee and migrant communities.

Many of their businesses bring a "piece from home" to their new environments, or represent a practical way to calibrate their knowledge, expertise and qualifications. 


17-year-old Yassin sees himself as one of the lucky ones. He was able to escape Libya and make it to Europe.

A diverse group of Syrian female entrepreneurs reflect on their experiences of establishing different businesses in the UK: a technology training provider, a cheese manufacturing business, a catering company and an Arabic weekend school.

They discuss their journeys and the numerous challenges they face. They also share what success means to them and how their businesses helped them establish a stronger sense of belonging to this country. 

Fardous Bahbouh is a journalist, linguist and voice-over artist based in London. She has contributed to the BBC, Time Out London, Vice, the New Arab and others. She is the founder of Lingua Media Connect.  She is also the voice for the Arabic version of the Cartoon Leo the Truck.

Follow her on Twitter @FardousArabic



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