SOAR Initiative

George Mason University’s vision for creating an entrepreneurship program for immigrants and refugees “connected the dots” of Sumeet Shrivastava’s history.

In Virginia, a few programs are specifically designed to help immigrant entrepreneurs. The newest of these is Shrivastava Family Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship (RISE), which just launched at George Mason University.

In this article for AACSB Insights, JK Aier, Crystal Fickers, Rebecca Howick, Ajay Vinzé write about how the he SOAR Initiative at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University will provide holistic entrepreneurial training to three populations of aspiring entrepreneurs: refugees and immigrants, people of low socioeconomic status, and residents of rural and emerging communities.

The business school’s SOAR Initiative is a critical building block in George Mason University’s efforts to advance social mobility, or an individual’s ability to improve their socioeconomic status.

The RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship) Program as a cohort of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's SOAR Initiative. SOAR provides a holistic model for startups and empowers individuals who do not currently have adequate access to entrepreneurship training opportunities. RISE focuses its support on aspiring entrepreneurs from refugee and immigrant backgrounds.