(JUBA) – South Sudan has been urged to view refugees as entrepreneurs, employers and business owners rather than simply as recipients of aid, a shift in thinking that officials and development partners say could unlock significant economic gains for the country.
The call was made on Thursday during a gathering in Juba that brought together government representatives, the United Nations, banks, telecommunications companies and refugee entrepreneurs to discuss economic inclusion for displaced people. South Sudan currently hosts more than 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers while also managing the arrival of more than 1.3 million returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
Mesfin Degefu, deputy representative of UNHCR in South Sudan, said the traditional view of refugees needs to change. “Refugees are not only beneficiaries of assistance; they are entrepreneurs, investors, employers, and contributors to local economic growth,” he said. Mr Degefu added that while humanitarian assistance remains essential, it should increasingly be paired with access to finance, skills development, markets and private sector investment. “When barriers are removed and opportunities are created, refugees and host communities can thrive together,” he said.
South Sudan’s Deputy Commissioner for Refugee Affairs, John Dabi, told the gathering that refugees bring skills and knowledge that can help strengthen the country’s economy. “Refugees are not just people fleeing war or conflict, but they are people with skills, knowledge, and potential,” he said. He pointed to refugee doctors and medical professionals who had set up private health facilities in South Sudan after escaping conflict elsewhere in the region. “We benefit from these services, the skills, the knowledge,” Mr Dabi said. “Let us have refugees integrated into our system.”
The event was organised by Inkomoko, a business development organisation that supports refugees, returnees, internally displaced people and host communities through entrepreneurship training and access to finance. William Ngabonziza, Inkomoko’s managing director in South Sudan, said the organisation is working to shift perceptions of refugees by shining a light on their economic contributions. “When given a chance to do business, they pay taxes, they create jobs, they build, and they take children to school,” he said.
Among the entrepreneurs featured at the event was Christine, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who fled conflict in 2018 and later settled in South Sudan after spending time in Uganda. After losing her husband during displacement, she built a fish trading business in Juba to support her five children. The business was destroyed when a fire swept through Custom Market in December 2025, wiping out her stock and livelihood. With backing from Inkomoko, including business training and financing, she restarted the business and resumed trading.
Dr Addis Ababa Othow, managing director of Equity Bank South Sudan, said access to financial services was central to economic transformation and called for greater private sector support for refugee entrepreneurs. “We are also here to reflect on how we can collectively create a sustainable pathway to economic inclusion, self reliance, and shared prosperity,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, First Secretary Larissa Beutler said refugee entrepreneurs were already making significant contributions to local economies and communities.
The gathering formed part of activities marking World Refugee Day on 20 June, which this year focuses on challenging perceptions of refugees and promoting their inclusion in economic and social life. UNHCR said stronger partnerships between governments, development agencies, financial institutions and the private sector would be needed to help refugees move from dependency to self reliance and contribute fully to the economies of the countries hosting them.