Refugee Venture Fund

About

TERN's UK pilot venture fund offers selected refugee and forcibly displaced founders £25,000–£100,000 in minority-equity investment plus 12 months of tailored coaching, a Showcase pitch and access to its entrepreneur network, with applications closing 13 December 2026.

Benefits

• 💰Investment
  Conditional on selection, selected companies may receive between £25,000 and £100,000 in venture capital for a minority share of the company
• 🎤RVF Showcase
  Conditional on selection, founders get a place in the RVF Showcase to present their business to other investors who could write the next cheque
• 📚12 months of business coaching
  Conditional on selection, founders receive 12 months of tailored business coaching focused on what the company actually needs
• 🤝TERN network access
  Conditional on selection, founders gain access to TERN's community of entrepreneurs and advisers, described as 1,000 people and counting

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: at least one founder has lived experience of forced displacement, including refugee status or other humanitarian protection, statelessness, resettlement, or British National (Overseas) status from Hong Kong
• Mandatory: the business is registered in the UK, or the applicant lives in the UK and plans to register it there
• Mandatory: at least half of the business is owned by people with a displacement background; if less than half because of prior fundraising, the case is reviewed by a person
• Mandatory: the founder(s) already have the right to live and work in the UK and to be self-employed as director of their own company; if another team member has the displacement background, that person also needs the right to work in the UK
• Mandatory: the applicant is starting a new business or growing an existing one; a product, prototype or pilot with users is a strong sign, and an idea already being worked on can still apply
• Preferred: high-growth, venture-capital-backable businesses with serious ambition and evidence of initiative, strength and determination
• Sector note: software, artificial intelligence, health and biotechnology, and climate and energy fit well, but no sector gives an advantage

Participation Commitments

• Applications close on 13 December 2026
• The application starts with quick questions that indicate within about a minute whether the fund could help, then asks who you are, what you are building and why you are an entrepreneur worth backing
• Every application is read by a real person; the fund says it never uses software to score or decide
• If advanced, applicants meet the team to discuss background, motivation and plan
• The final step is presenting the business at the RVF Showcase; the Investment Committee then makes the final funding decision
• The fund describes a four-month selection process
• A perfect pitch, perfect English or a conventional CV are not required; a pitch deck is recommended but not necessary
• If invested, the fund takes a minority share, usually a board seat or regular formal meeting, expects to see business numbers, agree plans and be told early if something goes wrong or a big opportunity arises; its agreement is needed on a small number of major decisions such as selling the company or raising much more money
• The fund states that after around 5 to 10 years venture capital investors expect to turn their share back into money through a sale, new investors buying the share or the founder buying it back

Target Region

Applicants must be based in the UK or have a business registered in the UK, and must have the legal right to live and work in the UK; the fund is aimed at refugee entrepreneurs in the UK.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other