Join us for an inspiring and insightful event to learn about the state of global migrant and refugee entrepreneurship (migrapreneurship) ecosystem by one of its pioneers, Usman Iftikhar.
Follow the journey of three incredible migrapreneurs where we celebrate their extraordinary achievements and contributions as they work to build a better world.
This event aims to shed light on their unique journeys, challenges, and successes, showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit and the positive influence they bring to their adopted communities.
The panel features:
Usman Iftikhar, Founder and CEO of Catalysr
Sakshi Thakur, Founder & CEO of Humanism Global
Eldin Rostom, Co-Founder & CEO of diag-nose.io
Arjun Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO of Inaam
The audience will be given an opportunity to ask questions during the event.
Migrapreneurship Journey: The Stories and Impacts of Migrant Entrepreneurs
Date: Thursday 6 July
Time: 5.30pm-7.30pm
Venue: StartSpace
Bookings are essential, please register to confirm your place.
Please note: Auslan interpretation is available on request for StartSpace events. Our staff require two weeks to plan and book this service. If you would like to request Auslan Interpretation, please let us know by Wednesday 22 June when you register for the event, or email the team to request it: [email protected].
About Usman
Usman Iftikhar is a systems entrepreneur, passionate about utilising the power of entrepreneurship to collectively solve global problems such as global climate emergency and the global refugee crisis. He is the co-founder and CEO of Catalysr, an award-winning startup incubator in Australia, which empowers migrant and refugee entrepreneurs (aka migrapreneurs) to launch their own startups. Since 2016, Catalysr has supported over 800 migrapreneurs to learn about and launch their own businesses. Catalysr’s work has been recognised in the joint UNCTAD, UNHCR and IOM policy guide on entrepreneurship for migrants and refugees, which was co-launched by Usman Iftikhar at the UNCTAD World Investment Forum 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Usman is also a co-chair of the Programme Design and Delivery working group at the Global Refugee Entrepreneurship Network, run by Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) UK. Usman is also currently a venture partner at Backbone Partners, which is an early stage VC fund for immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia.
Usman is a 2020 Stanford GSB alumnus, a 2019 Obama Leader, an EHF Fellow, WEF Global Shaper, 2019 Westpac Social Change Fellow, 2018 AMP Tomorrow Maker, Singularity University’s GSP 2017 Fellow, and a Young Social Pioneer alumnus at FYA. In 2018, Usman was named the 2018 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year by HRH Prince Harry among 1.4 billion young people living in the 53 Commonwealth nations. In 2019, he was named as one of the top 50 on Kochie’s Business Builders Power list with Google, on Smart Company’s 30 under 30 list, and also won the Western Sydney Leadership Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement. In 2020, Usman was declared a winner in the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category, for the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Leadership Awards. In 2021, Usman was given the prestigious Western Sydney Champion award by the Committee for Sydney.
About Sakshi
Sakshi Thakur is the founder and CEO of Humanism, a social enterprise that aspires to eliminate global poverty—one job at a time. Founded in 2018, the initiative employs marginalised women in Pondicherry in South India to produce artisanal lanyards and organic cotton tote bags for Australian events and conferences.
Sakshi is also a Manager at SENVIC working towards supporting social enterprises thrive in Victoria, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Catalysr supporting migrants and refugees building businesses and startups. Prior to this, Sakshi studied Biomedical Science and Commerce, worked at EY in Finance for a few years, then pursued further study with the Masters of Entrepreneurship at Melbourne Business School where she worked on her first tech startup. Through all her work, her mission is to see an equitable world that leaves no human behind.
About Eldin
Eldin Rostom is an experienced startup leader in the Australian medtech ecosystem having been involved with early-stage university spin-out companies focused on commercialising orthopaedics, reconstructive surgery, and paediatrics devices. He is now leading Diag-Nose.io, a seed-stage biotech company that leverages omics (biological) data and AI to revolutionize diagnostics and drug discovery for chronic rhinosinusitis, a condition affecting 10% of the world’s population.
Eldin was formerly a director of the Perth Biodesign Digital Health Program and the chair of their alumni society. His affiliations include renowned global startup communities such as Stanford Biodesign and Creative Destruction Lab and he is a fervent supporter of migrant entrepreneurs and the Catalysr program.
About Arjun
Arjun “Arj” Agarwal is the co-founder and CEO of Inaam an Australian Impact Investing fintech. He is a TEDx Speaker and a globally recognised entrepreneur and leader having worked across 3 continents. At 26, Arj is a social impact advocate working to bridge the global gap between, capital, young people and entrepreneurship, for a better tomorrow.
About Catalysr
Catalysr is an award-winning startup accelerator in Australia. We run intensive entrepreneurship programs for high-performing migrant and refugee entrepreneurs – aka Migrapreneurs – who want to find success in Australia by building their own startup or social enterprise.
Catalysr is a place for people with fresh ideas who are ready to dream, to work hard and to challenge themselves to bring their big ideas to life.
