Sweden has a generous immigration policy and last year received the most asylum applications per capita in the E.U. Yet getting into the country is just the first step to a new life. As Appelgren says, Sweden is “a place with two doors. The first is the door to the country: this door is open. The second is the door to the labor market, and it’s closed.”

So Appelgren began pairing smart, driven young immigrant women with mentors who could offer advice on everything from résumés to job interviews to Swedish cultural customs (no cheek pinching, for a start). Mitt Liv is not a charity: some of Sweden’s top corporations pay the company to not only take on mentees but also to consult on how to diversify their workforce. That business model has helped the organization grow. Mitt Liv started with just 40 people in its mentorship program. Now some 400 people are mentored between September and June every year.

Click here to read the full article with Sofia Appelgren in TIME Magazine