Welcome Merchant

Australia

Before starting our journey with @catalysr I remember stumbling upon an exciting new Instagram account which immediately caught my eye! @welcomemerchant is a lovley account that showcases businesses run by migrants and refugees. From food, to art, to clothing, all the way to painting services - Welcome Merchant tells the stories and shows the pictures of local businesses brought to us by the great range of different people and cultures that have moved to Australia over the years. "We NEED to get in touch with whoever has started this up!" I said immediately after seeing it - and shortly after that I heard we'd be working alongside each other in the same Accelerator Program. THAT was exciting!

The two wonderful ladies behind this are Marjorie and Adriana, both from a migrant background themselves. Marjorie has been working in the refugee rights sector for many years and Adriana is from a marketing background, making them pretty much the best combination of founders for this. When Covid19 hit, they quickly realised that many of the migrants they planned to feature would have no access to government support. Whilst busy trying to keep their businesses afloat, many were also not that confident with online marketing so the hope was that Welcome Merchant would at least boost their profiles. And it sure has!

Beyond promoting migrant and refugee-run business, Welcome Merchant also has a spotlight for Refugee Employers, shouting out those who make a point of including migrants in their workforce.

With some great plans and ideas in the works, I'm extremely excited to see them pitch on Wednesday shortly after us, and even more excited at the prospects of maybe doing something together in the future. There are already some very familiar posts on their Instagram feed (hi @salamateahouse @thesocialstudio @parliamentonking @secondstitchmelbourne @thesocialoutfit @thebreadandbutterproject ❤️) and many others that we're excited to go and explore!

#SDG8 #decentworkandeconomicgrowth #SDG10 #reducedinequalities #SDG16 #peacejusticeandstronginstitutions #welcomemerchant #empowerment #supportrefugees #refugeeentrepreneurs #refugeeswelcome