2017 - 2020: M-UP: The Network for Migrant Entrepreneurs to Scale Up and Grow

Youth Business International is a founding partner of this network supporting migrant entrepreneurs to scale up and grow.

In 2017, Youth Business International (YBI), supported by the European Union’s COSME programme, co-founded the M-UP programme. The three-year project brought together key players in the field of migrant entrepreneurship support to share best practices, deliver new solutions and better support migrants to scale their businesses and become successful entrepreneurs.

Programme overview

YBI is a co-founder of the network alongside SPARK, YBI members KIZ and MicroLab and Youth Business Spain’s sub-member Autoocupació. Between 2017 and 2020, the network brought together over 20 expert organisations from across Europe to help migrants navigate the challenges of turning their existing microbusiness into a successful small to medium-sized enterprise (SME).

To achieve this, it took a bottom-up approach, reaching out to entrepreneurs, who were at different points along their journey, including:

Those that have successfully transitioned to a SME
Those that are on the path to doing so
Those that have potential but have not started yet

Programme Impact

Between 2017 and 2020, M-UP has reached over 180,000 people and built a thriving network of European organisations, entrepreneurs, practitioners, experts and policymakers who are passionate about empowering migrants to realise their full potential. As a result of this collaborative work, Europe’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is better placed to support the growing numbers of migrants seeking livelihood support as the COVID-19 crisis has further damaged economies.

Learn more about M-UP and the inspiring entrepreneurs supported through the network by visiting the website.