The UK's first venture fund dedicated to refugee founders has launched with £300,000, which it plans to increase to £500,000. It will write cheques of £50,000 to £100,000 into three to five companies to build a track record for a planned £10m fund.
The Refugee Venture Fund (RVF) has been set up by The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN). TERN has spent ten years supporting refugee entrepreneurs in the UK and previously spun out Skylight Ventures, which makes micro-loans to refugee-led businesses.
Atomico, one of Europe's largest venture firms, is backing the fund as a partner. Founding shareholders include the family office of investor Sukhpal Ahluwalia and the This Day Foundation.
How the vehicle is built
The pilot will run as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with a small group of cornerstone investors, rather than as a traditional limited partnership. That keeps costs low while the managers build a track record.
The SPV uses a dual-class share structure that gives TERN enhanced governance rights. The aim is to protect the fund's mandate even as outside capital comes in. It is an unusual feature for a vehicle this small and reflects a concern that the investment focus could drift as the fund grows.
Eligible companies must be majority owned or led by refugees, and their founders must be UK-based with legal refugee status. The fund is sector-agnostic but will favour high-growth software, AI and climate technology businesses.
It will not back companies at the idea stage. Applicants need at least a minimum viable product, a completed pilot or evidence of commercial traction. They also need a credible route to an acquisition or other exit within five to ten years.
The numbers behind the thesis
The fund cites research by TERN and Square estimating that 26,500 refugee entrepreneurs already contribute £520m to the UK economy. The same work estimates a further £5.1bn of potential economic activity if more of those businesses were started and scaled.
The September 2026 Cedar Review surveyed 81 refugee entrepreneurs. It found that 56% had run a business before arriving in the UK and 79% already employed staff or planned to. However, 40% named access to start-up finance as a major barrier.
Charlie Fraser, TERN's strategy and partnerships director, said the gap is about access to networks and capital rather than ability or ambition. He described the fund as closing a market gap, "not lowering the investment bar".
Governance and next steps
The advisory board includes Reece Chowdhry of Concept Ventures, Matt Penneycard of Ada Ventures and Amir Rizwan of London Social Ventures. Lilijan Sulejmanovic, a refugee entrepreneur and diaspora investor with more than 20 years in management consultancy and private equity, will provide operational support.
The pilot cheques are small by venture standards. Spreading £300,000 to £500,000 across three to five companies gives an average ticket of roughly £100,000. The real test is whether those early positions can show returns that would persuade institutional LPs to commit to the £10m follow-on fund.
Original source: BusinessCloud — https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/uk-venture-fund-backing-refugee-founders-launches/ (also reported by Tech.eu — https://tech.eu/2026/10/13/uk-launches-refugee-focused-venture-fund-with-initial-ps300000-investment/ and Sifted — https://sifted.eu/articles/refugee-vc-fund-atomico-investment-uk/)
