Syrian Restaurateur Launches Business in Phoenix Through CDFI Refugee Program
Client: Rodain’s Syrian Kitchen
Client Location: Phoenix, AZ
CDFI: International Rescue Committee's Center for Economic Opportunity
CDFI Service Area: CA, AZ, UT, CO, TX, GA
Financing and technical assistance
A refugee from Syria resettled in 2016 with help from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Rodain is the owner of Rodain’s Syrian Kitchen. Rodain first engaged with the IRC’s Microenterprise Development (MED) Program in Phoenix, Arizona, and received training to start a bakery business. She started on a small scale and participated in several markets until June 2018 when she received a business loan of $10,000 from the IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) to launch her catering business.
Rodain has been sharing her Syrian food at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market consistently every Saturday, and she has been able to sell food at several community events such as the Art Gallery, First Friday Celebration for 2019 World Refugee Day, and many more.
Both Rodain and her husband have also participated in the CEO’s credit builder loan program with its $100 and $300 loan product, as well as the IRC’s match savings program in Phoenix (known as individual development accounts, or IDAs), to leverage investment in their business.