Supports small business creation and expansion for people from a refugee or migrant background, people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and others.

Bridget Kelly is living her dream life as an artist and business owner, thanks to the support of her family and Ignite Small Business Start-Ups.

Ignite client Lida Mangal created her business, Ghan Fashion, to employ women in Afghanistan to create her unique designs and help lift them from poverty.

Great brows don’t happen by chance, they happen by appointment! This could well be the catchline of Mary Logan’s fledgling business, Mary Logan Beauty.

It was obvious from a young age that Tyler Stackman was artistic, but a chance meeting last year helped transform his talent into a business.

Damon Gameau’s latest documentary, Regenerating Australia, has captured the perceptive First Nations voice of Anaiwan academic and entrepreneur Rose Lovelock, an alumnus of Settlement Services International’s (SSI) Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative.

An Ignite® entrepreneur who attended TEDxSydney as part of SSI’s community partnership has returned again this year — but this time as a speaker, sharing his incredible story with more than 5,000 people.

SSI celebrated its annual fundraising event — the SSI Mosaic Gala — at the glamorous Merivale Ivy Ballroom on September 14, with entertainment by Lucky African Drum and Sirens Dance, guest speaker Matt Okine and the announcement of winners of the Ignite Multicultural Women’s Business Scholarship.

Canada’s refugee-turned-minister of immigration, Ahmed Hussen, was recently in Sydney during a multi-city visit to Australia, taking time to visit SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups at the Addison Road Community Centre offices in Marrickville.

When Cornelia Schulze moved to Sydney from Germany four years ago, she found the transition difficult at first. With two business degrees and a 25-year career in publishing, Ms Schulz has a wide range of skills which she was keen to put to good use.

Carly Bishop was first introduced to IgniteAbility through Ability Links NSW, and ever since, has seen her business idea not only come to fruition from concept to start-up but was also recently recognised as an Illawarra Women in Business (IWIB) awards finalist.

Former-refugee and SSI Ignite entrepreneur Ghazal Ehsan arrived in Australia as a mere fourteen-year-old. Today she is deeply immersed in starting up her own cosmetic teeth whitening business in Sydney.

SSI Ignite Small Business Start-Ups works together with a pool of specialists to help Ignite participants to achieve their business goals.

Arriving in Australia in 2013 marked the beginning of a new life and career for 49-year-old Saman Khaladj.

Once the dazzling capital of ancient Persia, Esfahan is still known for its unmatched beauty, Islamic architecture and picturesque sights. However, on the other side of the world, a young baker supported by the SSI IgniteAbility initiative has elevated the name of his hometown to new horizons, as Esfahan Sweets introduces traditional Persian sweet delights to the streets of Sydney.

According to Ashod Paloulian, life is like a tennis match: you have to fight for every point and, if you lose one, you just have to try again. Both this analogy and this attitude toward life describe well this 33-year-old Syrian father of two who, only nine months after landing in Australia as a refugee, is already working as a tennis coach with the support of Ignite Small Business Start-ups.

Canada is recognised globally for the welcome it offers to refugees, evident in everything from the Prime Minister personally greeting airport arrivals to its settlement of 30,000 Syrian refugees in a four month period. It was with great delight then that SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis recently accepted a Canadian government invitation to talk about SSI’s work in this area.

Rassul Zahrouni had a successful and happy life in Iran. He owned two jewellery shops and enjoyed peace and prosperity with his family and friends.

Shazy Sahrulazizi, Ariff Bahar and Chen Hu are all final year students of the Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Wollongong. As do many of their peers, they juggle classes, study, group assignments and extra-curricular activities, trying to fit everything into their busy schedules.

SSI’s first event in Parliament House, Canberra was a resounding success, with Federal Minister Craig Laundy MP vowing to ensure that the Ignite Small Business Start-ups (Ignite) initiative receives the funding it deserves so that humanitarian entrants have the opportunity to give back to Australia.