As an Alaskan arriving in Athens, David Cotton didn’t know the first thing about opening a hair salon. But he found himself doing it anyway.
With the help of an InterExchange Christianson Fellowship, David founded Project Layali and opened Layali Salon, an eco-friendly beauty salon in the heart of Athens that is managed and staffed by refugees and migrants.
Layali Salon is an example of what’s termed social entrepreneurship – in this case, creating a self-sustaining business that’s focused not on charitable services, but rather on providing employment training and permanent jobs, helping refugees and migrants build skills and networks for future success.
Learn more about how David found himself in Greece supporting refugees by building a business, and his advice for anyone looking to venture into social entrepreneurship as a way to create change.
