As the result of a collaboration between Startup Dunedin and the Red Cross Pathways to Employment programme, a workshop will be held on Wednesday for the city’s refugee population keen on finding out about how to establish their own food business.
Startup Dunedin recently ran a workshop with Red Cross to show its team members how they might guide someone through a start-up business plan and what tools would be useful for their clients.
Startup Dunedin general manager Rachel Butler said one of the key messages heard on the day was how many of the refugees Red Cross assisted were considering food start-ups.
"So we brainstormed together what that might look like. We’re lucky Dunedin is so collaborative, and we have the DCC, Otago Farmers Market, Good Food Dunedin and Red Cross all willing to share their knowledge and be a part of the session," Ms Butler said.
She expected the majority of those attending the workshop would be refugees from Syria and Afghanistan and interpreters in both Arabic and Dari would be present. However, anyone with an interest in establishing a food business was welcome, she said.
Presenters at the workshop will be Abdal Kyassha, a Syrian who arrived in Dunedin in 2017 with his family and who began operating at the Otago Farmers Market in 2019 before launching his food truck two years ago; Otago Farmers Market general manager Michele Driscoll; and DCC environmental health officer Lyn Pope.
Red Cross Pathways to Employment manager Val Paris said a lot of refugees had raised the idea of establishing a food business.
"When we ask them what they are planning to do, more than 50% say they would like to sell food," Ms Paris said.
The Pathways to Employment programme offers various services to refugees, including assistance with finding and applying for jobs, writing CVs and covering letters, preparing prospective employees for their job interviews and talking to employers to find the best fit.
The Red Cross has been settling refugees in Dunedin since 2016.
Over the past 12 months, more than 800 refugees from 19 countries have been supported by Red Cross nationally, 102 of those having settled in Dunedin — mainly Syrian and Afghani along with smaller numbers from Palestine, Iraq and Yemen.
