Our story
This is a story that began with Katerina's family in 2022 and opened out into a global one. It is about the people SettleX serves — and what it actually takes to settle.
Where it began
When war came to Ukraine, our founder's own family was displaced. Katerina's mother, her cousin and her teenage son, other relatives and close friends had to leave home. Under wartime restrictions men could not leave, while women had to go to keep the children safe. Families were split apart at the border.
Her family is now scattered across Europe, Canada and beyond. That was the beginning of SettleX — a private story that quickly turned out to belong to millions of people.
What it revealed
Meeting people who had fled Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Ukraine and many other places, it became clear this is not one country's tragedy. It is a global one. Millions of people arrive somewhere new with nothing.
And the heaviest load falls again and again on the same people: women with children, rebuilding an entire life from zero.
What settling actually takes
Arriving is not the same as settling. A new language. A new culture. Qualifications and experience that no one recognises. Work that has to fit around school runs and childcare. And underneath it all, the slow work of belonging somewhere again.
Some people find their footing quickly. Others, through no fault of their own, stay stuck for years. The difference is rarely ability — it is whether the right support arrived at the right moment.
Our community benefit
The central community benefit created by SettleX is not simply the delivery of training. It is the creation of a pathway from displacement to economic participation.
By combining practical skills, technology, mentoring, community and routes into employment or enterprise, SettleX seeks to enable people who have experienced disruption or displacement to rebuild their independence, contribute economically and ultimately create opportunities for others.
This is particularly important for women with children, for whom conventional employment and education pathways may not accommodate family responsibilities, relocation or other barriers.
SettleX therefore creates community benefit through skills development, employability, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, economic independence and social connection.
Our journey so far
Real people, requalified, employed, and supported — and a model now being rebuilt for global reach.
Milestone 1 of 5.
2022
beauty masters requalified
beauty masters requalified
Five displaced women retrained and certified in nail technology through a Beauty Guild–accredited provider — funded by a £5,000 social enterprise grant in Glasgow.
Milestone 2 of 5.
2023 – 2024
people employed across the year
people employed across the year
Ten people employed in different capacities through the year — trained, paid fairly, and given real working experience in the UK.
Milestone 3 of 5.
Onward
placed via partner network
placed via partner network
People were connected into a wider network of partner organisations and employers, where they went on to be given jobs. Skills led to income, not just certificates.
Milestone 4 of 5.
Ongoing
private 1:1 mentoring
private 1:1 mentoring
Continuous private mentoring with Ukrainian founders — advice, resources and networks shared directly, one to one, at no cost.
Milestone 5 of 5.
Now
new technology, wider reach
new technology, wider reach
Today we're redesigning the whole approach around new technology — AI and no-code tools that let people learn remotely and earn from anywhere. What began with one cohort in Glasgow is being rebuilt as an online platform with global reach.
The Journey
Stage 01
Leaving home, carrying everything.
Stage 02
The hard distance in between.
Stage 03
A safe place to arrive.
Stage 04
Belonging, and people around you.
Stage 05
New skills for the future of work.
Stage 06
Building a business, giving back.
The people we serve
Displaced people are not cases to be managed. They are teachers, engineers, nurses, designers, coders, small business owners, mothers and fathers. They arrive with skills, ambition and years of resilience.
What they lack is not ability. It is access — to networks, to tools, to work that fits the life they are actually living, and to someone treating them as the capable adult they already are.
Resilience creates hope
We watch it happen constantly. People who have lost their home, their country and their footing still learn new skills, start businesses, and make things that serve others.
Every person who rebuilds becomes proof for the next person that rebuilding is possible. SettleX exists to turn that resilience into hope someone else can hold onto.
What we do about it
Priority to women with children. Practical training in AI, no-code and online business. A community that treats displaced people as founders and professionals — and helps them build regenerative local economies where the value stays in the community.
A note from the founder
I have never been displaced — I chose every move I made, and the UK has been my home for over 16 years. But I watched my own family lose that choice, and I watched my mother, in her late sixties, struggle to rebuild a life from nothing.
What I know is how to start over, and how to build. SettleX is where I put that to work — as an ally and a builder — for people who never chose to leave.