Stories from Builders of the Broken Bazaar
About this event
In this session, Dr Tabish Zaman, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at ARU, explores stories from Builders of the Broken Bazaar, a podcast uncovering how refugees, migrants, and informal entrepreneurs build livelihoods in the world’s most fragile contexts.
Drawing on research across the Middle East, Europe, and the UK, Tabish challenges the myth of entrepreneurship as profit and growth, and instead asks: what if entrepreneurship was about care, belonging, and repair?
He examines the role of institutions, how they can either empower or exclude, and why reimagining their purpose is vital if innovation is to serve society, not markets.
Expect stories of resilience. Community. Dignity. And a powerful rethink of how real innovation begins — at the margins, not the centre.
About our speaker
Dr Tabish Zaman is a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ARU, Cambridge. His work explores how refugees, migrants, and marginalised communities use entrepreneurship to rebuild lives, reimagine systems, and restore dignity. Through his podcast, Builders of the Broken Bazaar, he examines the role of institutions in shaping and too often limiting but urging a shift away from profit-driven models toward entrepreneurship rooted in care, inclusion, and social purpose.
Event presented as part of the Cambridge Festival.