A report released today by the Refugee Studies Centre at ODID uses research in Uganda to demonstrate that, far from being passive individuals who rely only on aid, refugees can also be economically active in their host countries, helping to support themselves and even providing employment for local people.

Refugee Economies: Rethinking Popular Assumptions, released on World Refugee Day, finds that in Uganda, where refugees have greater freedoms than elsewhere to move around and work, they have been able to make their own way in the business world. They are often highly networked individuals, using mobile phones and the internet to run businesses, sometimes even having global trade networks.

A totalof 99% of the refugees said they were earning their own income. In the capital city Kampala, 78% receive no international aid at all. Meanwhile, 40% of refugees who were employers provided work for Ugandan nationals, and nearly half (43%) of the employed refugees living in Kampala worked for Ugandan nationals. The report argues this shows that refugees can bring economic benefits to their host country, contradicting a widely held view that refugees are just a drain on a receiving nation’s resources

Researchers visited three areas in 2013: two refugee settlements (Nakivale and Kyangwali) as well as Kampala. In addition to qualitative studies, the researchers conducted surveys with 1,593 refugees in Uganda. The researchers also interviewed Ugandan nationals, government officials, business representatives, and staff from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The research was conducted as part of the Humanitarian Innovation Project (HIP), a project that aims to show host countries how they can build upon the skills, aspirations and entrepreneurship of refugees.

• To explore the report further, through video, interactive infographics, case studies and photos, visit the microsite here.
• Read a roundup of all the media coverage here.
• Read a post about the report by Alexander Betts on Debating Development, the ODID blog, here.
• Find out more about the Humanitarian Innovation Project here.