Economies of Belonging: Displaced People, Entrepreneurship, and Investment

Convened shortly after the UN General Assembly and marking the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, this event reconsiders how forced displacement is understood—moving beyond humanitarian protection alone to examine economic participation, entrepreneurship, and long-term inclusion.

Beginning with a fireside chat on John Kluge Jr. and Christine Mahoney’s new book, Banking on Belonging: Why Investing in Refugee Entrepreneurs Benefits Everyone (Columbia University Press), the panel event will bring together scholars, investors, policymakers, philanthropic leaders, entrepreneurs, and civil society to examine the economic dimensions of belonging and the transformative potential of refugee entrepreneurship and investment.

Drawing on the book's themes and Startups Without Borders’ field experience building entrepreneurial ecosystems, the conversation will challenge narratives that cast displaced people primarily as recipients of aid–reframing refugee entrepreneurship instead as a driver of innovation, job creation, and economic resilience.

This event is co-hosted by Columbia Global, Refugee Investment Network, and Startups Without Borders, and it is part of Displacement in a Changing World, Columbia Global's year-long series marking the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The series explores how today's shifting world order is reshaping the lives of displaced people and what global protection means in practice–connecting Columbia schools, Global Centers, and communities across the world in conversation.

Speakers

• Melissa Berman, Columbia Business School (moderator)
• John Kluge Jr., Founder, Refugee Investment Network
• Valentina Primo, Founder, Startups without Borders
• Yanki Tshering, Accompany Capital
• Daniel Naujoks, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs

Agenda

• 4:15-4:30 PM: Opening Remarks
• 4:30-5:15 PM: Fireside Chat: Banking on Belonging, with John Kluge Jr.
• 5:15-6:30 PM: Panel Discussion: Building Economies of Belonging
• 6:30-7:00 PM: Reception (with catering by Migrant Kitchen)