The issue
100 million people are displaced worldwide due to violence, persecution, and civil strife. Refugees, especially in Africa, lack basic rights such as education and dignified livelihoods, leading to long-term exclusion from rebuilding their lives. Traditional humanitarian aid falls short in addressing long-term economic and social development needs, requiring innovative market-based solutions. The private sector in Africa can create sustainable solutions to the displacement crisis by championing innovative business models that benefit refugees while creating value for their companies.
Our Priorities
We mobilize private sector organizations to create long-lasting, market-based solutions promoting refugee economic inclusion. We focus on key interconnected outcomes:
Access to education is a powerful tool for refugees as it provides them with a foundation of knowledge to help them rebuild their lives. By learning new skills, refugees increase their chances of finding employment or pursuing other opportunities that enable them to provide for themselves and their families. Additionally, education can serve as a means of psychological support, providing a sense of stability and hope for the future.
Employment provides them with a sense of purpose and a means to support themselves and their families and helps them to become self-sufficient. Furthermore, it contributes to the host country's economic growth, as refugees can bring valuable skills and talents to the workforce. By prioritizing employment for refugees, we can create a win-win situation that benefits not only refugees but also the host communities and the private sector.
Entrepreneurship solutions provide a pathway for economic empowerment and self-reliance for forcibly displaced individuals. Many of these individuals face significant barriers to accessing employment opportunities and financial resources. If given access to entrepreneurship solutions such as business training, mentorship, and capital, these individuals can start and grow their own businesses, creating new job opportunities and contributing to their local economies.
An enabling policy and socio-economic ecosystem is needed for refugees to access education, employment, or entrepreneurship solutions. In many countries, refugees have limited rights to work, freedom of movement, access to financial services, and more. Business leaders, given their influence in many ecosystems, have a unique role to play in advocating for policy and ecosystem shifts toward greater economic inclusion for forcibly displaced people.
Our Approach
We convene and build a ‘coalition of the willing’ among private sector leaders and refugee-focused actors on the continent to enable multi-sector connections and ultimately create systems change. We support private sector leaders by providing them with information and targeted advice on leveraging their business models to create meaningful impact for displaced communities.
Joining the Coalition
Companies can join the Coalition by signing our Charter and committing to creating solutions for refugees under the abovementioned four priorities. Are you keen to learn how you or your company can be at the forefront of addressing the continent’s most pressing issues?