Generali
Generali committed to empowering refugees to set up 500 new businesses, providing entrepreneurs with skills training, business coaching and start-up funding.
EuropeThe Tent Partnership for Refugees is a coalition of more than 100 companies making efforts to support refugees around the world.
The Tent Partnership, which incorporated the private sector commitments announced in response to President Obama’s 2016 Call to Action, serves as a platform for companies to share information and best practices, increase private sector coordination, and forge innovative solutions to deliver greater impact in response to the global refugee crisis.
Generali committed to empowering refugees to set up 500 new businesses, providing entrepreneurs with skills training, business coaching and start-up funding.
EuropePearson committed to providing digital and programmatic solutions for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian children. A pilot launched in September.
Middle East & North AfricaWeWork committed to hiring 1,500 refugees over the next five years, and will also invite its member companies to match its hiring goal.
North AmericaMasterCard committed to expanding its services to reach refugees to integrate them into their communities through access to identity, digital infrastructure and enhanced data.
Sub-Saharan Africa© UNHCR/Petterik Wiggers
To date, Tent Partnership commitments have provided support for nearly 200,000 refugees and are being implemented across 34 countries. These commitments include employing refugees, investing in refugee entrepreneurs, delivering education to refugees, and providing access to financial services.
200k
Refugee Lives Impacted
as a result of Tent Partnership commitments
100+
Tent Members
have made meaningful commitments to help refugees
34
Countries
reached by the Tent Partnership
17 Asset Management committed to launching 17 Jordan, an investment platform that will promote Jordan-focused investment deals, a third of which will be directed at refugees and their host communities. Through the platform, 17 Asset Management will focus on raising funds for deals that have strong financial returns for their investors and positively contribute to Jordanian society, including a focus on creating new jobs for refugees.
Accenture committed to providing over $3 million in financial support and in-kind strategic consulting, program management, and digital services to support the Partnership for Refugees and Upwardly Global. Regarding Upwardly Global, Accenture is expanding its refugee workforce programs in the United States and globally as aligned to its global Skills to Succeed program. Accenture is also collaborating with UNHCR to launch a connectivity strategy for refugees and with USA for UNHCR through the Accenture Innovation Challenge to increase its impact on refugees while raising awareness among graduate students nationally.
Airbnb committed to developing a program that enables existing Airbnb hosts temporarily to accommodate refugee families when long-term housing is not immediately available. In addition, Airbnb committed to expanding its initiative to host relief workers through the travel credits program.
Airbnb committed to developing a job creation strategy for Syrian refugees in Jordan through a livelihoods pilot program. In 2017, Airbnb partnered with a number of locally based social enterprises and NGOs to pilot a marketplace for unemployed Jordanians and recently resettled refugees to offer experiences in Amman, including cooking, hiking, and photography lessons. Over 150 people participated and Airbnb is expanding this program.
Airbnb committed to creating a social media campaign to allow its hosts and guests to raise funds for the UNHCR. Efforts were amplified on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and on the Airbnb and USA for UNHCR websites. In total, the campaign surpassed its initial goal raising $1.8 million worth of aid for refugees, including an $800,000 match from Airbnb.
Akerman committed to providing pro bono legal services on behalf of refugee populations, including children and families facing immigration removal proceedings and seeking asylum in the United States, and expanding protection for thousands of immigrants who have fled persecution, warfare, gang violence, human trafficking, or abuse and neglect in their home countries. In addition, Akerman committed to extensive pro bono resources to represent nonprofits, NGOs, and social enterprise organizations that serve the needs of displaced people around the globe.
Alight Fund committed to raising $100 million in micro-loan capital to invest in 50,000 refugee and host community small-business entrepreneurs. The pilot program will be launched in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Amplio Recruiting committed to hiring and placing 10,000 resettled refugees in the U.S. in full-time employment by 2023, focusing on the construction, manufacturing and hospitality industries. This commitment, which is contingent upon the existence of a pool of working age refugees in the U.S. seeking employment, will scale Amplio Recruiting’s current efforts. To date, Amplio has placed 500 refugees into full-time jobs with partner companies in four cities. By 2023, Amplio’s operations will expand to an additional 16 locations across the U.S.
AshBritt committed to expanding its Small, Minority, and Disadvantaged Business Program (SMBP) to include refugees by working with their current SMBP partners to integrate refugees into their operations and expand their training component as necessary to meet the needs of refugee partners. For example, AshBritt will provide additional financial and business literacy training to refugees.
Autodesk committed to making an estimated $2 million software donation to UNHCR, offering 141 subscription licenses of Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate and 141 subscription licenses of Autodesk InfraWorks to support UNHCR’s physical settlement planning and design capacity.
BanQu, Inc. committed to creating mobile phone-based blockchain economic profiles through its Economic Identity Platform for approximately 1.5 – 2.0 million refugees by the end of 2017.
Barilla committed to expanding its current efforts to train refugees, via internships or apprenticeships, as well as to hire refugees in its manufacturing plants and offices in Sweden, France, Italy, Germany, and Turkey, to reach a minimum of 75 additional refugees over the next five years. The employment opportunities will be identified based on business need in these markets. Barilla will work with local organizations and government agencies to identify, train and onboard refugees into its workforce, and to provide services such as language training.
Becton, Dickinson and Company committed to continuing to work with Direct Relief, a leading nonprofit organization, to provide $100,000 of financial support and in-kind donations of insulin injection devices for distribution to countries serving refugee populations. In addition, Direct Relief committed to engaging with the U.S. government to advocate for other collaborative initiatives for humanitarian support for Syrian refugees to help control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes among refugee populations. Refugees are particularly vulnerable to health problems associated with NCDs due to their limited access to health services.
At least 500 refugees will complete Ben & Jerry’s business incubator program and be hired for part-time employment in Europe by 2023.
Ben & Jerry’s committed to launching the European-wide Together for Refugees Campaign in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Through the campaign, launched on World Refugee Day 2017, Ben & Jerry’s and the IRC are asking fans to urge their representatives to agree on a historic new piece of legislation (the “Union Resettlement Framework”); that would create a more coordinated response to the refugee crisis through refugee resettlement. Ben & Jerry’s has created a digital tool that enables citizens to email their representatives directly at benjerry.com/refugees and help ensure that some of the world’s most vulnerable people don’t have to take dangerous journeys to reach safety. Ben & Jerry’s has committed to using all of their communication channels to amplify the campaign, including digital, PR, events and an all new awareness-raising flavor Home Sweet Honeycomb.
Ben & Jerry’s committed to expanding its program which piloted in the UK in 2017 working with refugee entrepreneurs in 2018.
Bloom Five committed to providing 10 hours per month of professional development services – including technical assistance and workshops on resume and cover letter writing, written and oral presentations, seminars, mock interviews, and employment-related networking – to resettled refugees in the United States.
The Boston Consulting Group committed to providing in-kind strategic consulting to catalyze cross-sector engagement that effectively, innovatively, and sustainably addresses refugee challenges. Furthermore, BCG remains committed to contributing research on refugee topics; recent publications explore the most effective food assistance efforts for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon as well as the integration of refugees into the workforce.
BRCK committed to equipping children, women, and youth in refugee camps with digital access and digitalized resources so as to enhance their literacy skills and empower refugees with relevant content they can access easily. BRCK will also develop a social messaging platform and provide relevant training and support for the refugee community, using Wifi hotspots with easily accessible content.
Care.com committed to scaling its pilot to train refugee women for employment in the care industry from 180 to 1,000 trainees in Germany by 2020. In partnership with the International Rescue Committee, Care.com is providing training to refugee women in Germany to enable them to work in various caregiving roles, including in-home caregivers, and will help to identify internships, apprenticeships and full-time employment for the trainees. Care.com will also work with partners to provide language training and further education opportunities for trainees who want to pursue full-time childcare or nursing positions in Germany.
Careem, a technology company, is committed to hiring 100 refugees and upskilling 100 refugees over the next five years. Careem will provide full-time employment opportunities, internships, skills-based workshops and mentorship opportunities for refugees across its various markets. The specific opportunities will depend on local regulations and policies towards refugees.
Chobani committed to continue hiring refugees in its workforce. Chobani has hired 300 refugees in the United States.
Cisco committed to continuing to provide financial and in-kind services in support of the refugee crisis. Since September 2015, Cisco has provided over $4 million through employee giving, Cisco Foundation matches and grants, product donations, and in-kind support. Cisco funded the first two Refugee First Response Center prototypes, units to provide ‘healthcare in a box’ that will enable access to the internet, remote translation services, and medical care for refugees. Cisco employees, in partnership with NetHope, installed more than 80 Meraki-based Wi-Fi hotspots across Greece, reaching over 600,000 refugees. Cisco provided $350,000 in funding to Mercy Corps to support development and expansion of Refugee.Info.
Citigroup committed to collaborating with its public and private sector clients as well as with its strategic partners to focus on sustainable solutions that are responsive to the needs of refugees, such as initiatives that target youth education and employability. In addition, Citigroup committed to collaborating with sovereigns and the international development community on ideas around creative financing solutions to unlock funding to address the needs of displaced persons. Citi will continue to optimize its relationships with supranational agencies and NGOs that operate in conflict and refugee zones.
Classic Fashion Apparel Industry Ltd. Co., the largest garment manufacturing company in Jordan, committed to hire 300 refugees into its garment factories over a two-year period between January 2018 and December 2019.
Company, New York’s first curated vertical innovation campus, committed to providing refugees with access to the tech job market and professional development opportunities. Company will encourage startups within its portfolio to hire refugees for internships and full-time roles in the coming year and will seek to recruit refugee-owned startups or startups providing direct services to refugees into its accelerator program. Company will also offer professional development opportunities to high-skilled refugees in the tech industry, including mentorship and resume review. In addition, Company will host quarterly events for its community in which it challenges portfolio startups, partners and its broader network to support the tech needs of the refugee population.
Cotopaxi committed to continuing to provide support to refugees through financial support, volunteerism, and job creation. Cotopaxi supports health, education and livelihoods initiatives for refugees through the International Rescue Committee and Nothing But Nets.
Coursera committed to launching and supporting Coursera for Refugees in conjunction with the Department of State. Coursera for Refugees enables an unlimited number of nonprofits that work with refugees to apply for at least one year of group financial aid. Partner nonprofit organizations will be able to support refugees in quickly building career skills and gaining recognizable certificates through access to the 1,000+ Coursera courses offered by leading universities. Coursera for Refugees also includes organizational support services for partner nonprofit organizations.
Dalberg committed to producing research, analysis, and thought leadership that pushes innovation and collaboration among public, private, and social sector actors seeking to manage the refugee crisis. Dalberg also committed to supporting others in the Tent Partnership and beyond with strategic advisory services aimed at developing respectful, effective, and efficient solutions to the refugee crisis.
Danby Appliances will hire 400 refugees in Canada by 2023, to include full-time and part-time employment, apprenticeships and internships. This effort is part of Danby’s Ease into Canada program, which aims to help refugee newcomers enter the Canadian workforce and integrate into their new communities.
Deloitte committed to expanding access to education, skills development, and opportunity. In collaboration with Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre, Deloitte co-developed a research study focused on the economic potential of refugees, and the barriers they face as they seek to live and work in their host countries.
Deloitte committed to developing a technology solution called FuturesHub, in collaboration with a global technology company, to help connect refugees with education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Expedia has provided financial support to ReBootKamp, an organization in Jordan that trains Syrian refugees as software engineers and helps them to find jobs. In addition, Expedia is providing ongoing support to refugees through employee giving and volunteering.
Facebook committed to bringing Wi-Fi connectivity to 35 locations across Greece, in partnership with NetHope and to develop a strategy for bringing internet connectivity to individuals living in refugee camps and surrounding communities, in partnership with UNHCR and local partners. In addition, Facebook committed to leveraging the Facebook social media platform to raise awareness and funds for the refugee crisis and donate advertising credits and creative services support to UNHCR and other refugee-serving organizations.
Fifth Tribe committed to building the HELPUGEES App, a web and mobile application that helps refugees by providing them information on commonly asked question and connecting them with volunteers to provide services such as language translation, learning English, transportation, and other tasks.
Generali committed to empowering refugees to set up 500 new businesses by 2020. Through The Human Safety Net, Generali’s new initiative for its communities, Generali is harnessing entrepreneurship to enable refugees in Europe to create their own jobs. Through work, refugees can take back their dignity and build new livelihoods that secure a decent life for themselves and their families.
Starting in Germany and France, refugees can access a competitive 6- to 8-month program of incubation, training and funding to equip them with the skills, resources and tools for becoming successful entrepreneurs.
Goldman Sachs Gives committed to donating $7.5 million to support refugees in partnership with leading NGOs, including UNHCR. Specifically, Goldman provides support to organizations delivering critical humanitarian aid, including food, shelter, urgent medical care, and trauma support; ensures refugee children have access to consistent education and safe learning facilities throughout camps in and around Syria; and supports positive refugee integration in European host countries by providing English language, employability skills, and other training opportunities
Google committed to providing new funding and technical expertise to organizations enabling 10,000 out-of-school primary school-aged refugees in Lebanon to access free formal education through a new primary school classroom model in 2017.
Groenendijk Bedrijfskleding, a Dutch apparel company, committed to sourcing €1 million of garments over the next five years from suppliers in Jordan that employ or are working towards employing 25% refugees in their factories. The clothing that Groenendijk Bedrijfskleding sources from Jordan will be sold to its clients in Europe.
Grofin committed to investing approximately $5 million in 8 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan that are either owned by refugees or employ refugees, a market that is currently underserved by traditional lenders, through its Nomou Jordan Fund over the next two years. In addition to its financial investment, Grofin will provide these SMEs with business support at pre-finance and post-finance stages, including helping to get the businesses investment-ready and making connections to local and international business opportunities. In addition, Grofin will encourage all of the 50+ SMEs in its portfolio in Jordan to hire refugees, increasing the number of jobs created for refugees by companies in the Nomou Jordan Fund to more than 100.
Henry Schein committed to donating $350K in essential health care products to an international aid organization to support volunteer physicians providing care to Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East by 2019. Henry Schein will also donate $100,000 in oral care products to support volunteer dentists treating refugees, and 7,500 health and hygiene kits for refugees living in camps, including specialized kits for women and girls.
Hilton committed to building on existing efforts to impact 16,000 refugees by 2030 by providing hospitality skills training, in-kind donations and volunteer hours to refugee organizations, and offering employment opportunities.
Hissho Sushi committed to hiring 1,250 refugees as franchise owners by 2023 as the company expands its locations across the U.S. In addition, Hissho will hire 30 refugee employees at its headquarters in Charlotte, NC. This commitment will scale Hissho Sushi’s efforts to provide livelihood opportunities for refugees. Since its founding in 1998, Hissho Sushi has hired over 1,300 refugees across its sushi bar locations and headquarters in the U.S.
HOMY committed to providing vocational training to both Syrian refugees and Jordanian students as a company that specializes in modular building. The first vocational school will be built in Amman, Jordan, and will train about 200 refugee and local students during its first year. The ultimate goal is to provide capacity-building for the future reconstruction of Syria (and other neighboring countries), as well as facilitate integration among refugees and host communities.
HP committed to establishing six HP Learning Studios in Lebanon and Jordan to engage refugee youth in developing skills and help to give refugee students access to the latest education technology while providing adults the opportunity for employment re-skilling.
HP committed to expanding the HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE) with additional free online courses and curated content to help refugees develop essential business and IT skills. In addition, HP is working with partners to increase access to technology and improve learning outcomes in refugee-hosting countries such as Malawi.
IBM committed to continuing its ongoing support of migrants and refugees, with a focus on the crisis in Europe. IBM intends to continue actively seeking grant partnerships, volunteerism opportunities, and other avenues to leverage IBM’s capabilities in support of this humanitarian crisis.
In Jordan, IKEA committed to providing employment opportunities through its supply chain for both refugees and their host communities. IKEA suppliers will employ Jordanian and refugee women at its production center to produce hand-woven rugs, textiles and other products. IKEA will start by employing 200 refugees and Jordanians and will sell their artisan products in the IKEA store in Jordan by year end, in the Middle East by mid next year and other global stores will start receiving products by 2019 onwards.
In Canada, IKEA has launched a national refugee employment initiative to help refugees join the workforce, develop new skills and integrate into communities across the country. As part of this initiative, IKEA Canada will hire 250 refugees within three years.
The IKEA Foundation committed to continuing its support of programs and partners aimed at strengthening the resilience of refugee communities and creating livelihood opportunities for refugee and host populations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Jordan.
Indiegogo committed to continuing to support fundraisers for refugees. Fundraisers on Indiegogo’s open platform have raised millions of dollars, supporting a range of relief efforts, from charitable organizations offering access to healthcare in front-line countries, to job development for those who have resettled, to living expenses for individuals who have been displaced.
Through its Salta Program, Inditex is providing targeted training and job opportunities for vulnerable groups, including refugees and other forced migrants, leading to more than 100 jobs for refugees in Inditex’s stores, factories, and logistics centers in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain to-date. It is also providing job opportunities to refugees through ordinary recruitment channels.
Since 2017, Inditex has donated more than half a million items of clothing to support refugees and migrants. Inditex has also provided financial support, since 2008, to NGOs working directly with refugees and displaced people, including Jesuit Refugee Service and Médecins Sans Frontières, for their efforts in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Syria, and Turkey, among others.
Since 2016, Inditex has been funding a pioneering academic initiative at Madrid’s Universidad Pontificia Comillas to deepen academic and applied research on refugees. The program has four components: researching refugee public policy and social integration programs, sponsoring postgraduate students in refugee regions to collaborate with refugee-support organizations, training students in the professional field of forced migration and refuge, and fostering greater public awareness of the refugee experience.
Innovest Advisory committed to mobilizing more than $7 million in debt and equity over the next two years to invest in projects that will directly support refugees. This commitment is part of Innovest’s strategy to source and curate opportunities for social purpose investors to invest in commercial business ventures that intentionally benefit refugees and/or host communities.
The commitment projects include creating new jobs for refugees in the apparel industry in Turkey and Jordan, providing access to finance for refugees in Jordan, Uganda, and Somalia, and offering affordable solar home systems to refugees in Kenya. Innovest will work alongside partner organizations such as the First Syrian Exporters Group, a consortium of Syrian owned garment businesses in Turkey, Pawame, an off-grid solar company in Kenya operating in Kakuma camp, KIMS Microfinance, the leading microfinance provider in Somalia, and FSI, a provider of ethical labor in recruiting and hiring refugees. It is estimated that these projects will create more than 6,000 employment opportunities for refugees, in addition to job opportunities for host communities.
Ipsos will hire 100 refugees by 2020 and will lead “Project Understanding,” a global study focused on how to build a broad public consensus on supporting refugees.
Jerash Garments and Fashions Manufacturing Company committed to hiring 100 additional refugees in its factories in Jordan in the next year. In 2017, Jerash became the first company in Jordan’s garment sector to employ Syrian refugees and this commitment builds on Jerash’s current efforts to employ 45 refugees, helping refugees in Jordan to become self-reliant. Jerash provides free transportation, child care, and technical and life skills training for its refugee workers.
Johnson & Johnson committed to donating an additional $1.75 million to Save the Children, earmarked for refugees, to be spent in 2016 and 2017.
Johnson & Johnson committed to expanding programmatic efforts from Lebanon and Jordan to Turkey and Egypt, and to shift its program focus to refugee education, mental health support, and community building initiatives for refugee parents, as well as launch a public awareness-campaign in support of refugees in the United States.
Kirkland & Ellis committed to continuing to provide pro bono representation of men, women and children facing removal proceedings after seeking asylum in the United States and ongoing pro bono support to a variety of other nonprofit organizations engaged in refugee and immigrant relief services.
KOIS committed to raising at least $20 million in investment for a three-year development impact bond (DIB) that is structured to support skills trainings, entrepreneurship, and job placement for the most vulnerable Syrian refugees and host populations in Jordan and Lebanon. The first tranche of the DIB is anticipated to launch in 2019 with the Near East Foundation, and Spark. Under the DIB, the Near East Foundation will expand an existing entrepreneurship program that provides training and seed capital to reach an additional 2,500 refugees and 2,500 locals in Jordan and Lebanon. KOIS will work identify and work with additional service providers in Jordan and Lebanon as they become DIB-ready.
The Libra Group committed to addressing the refugee crisis as the founding sponsor of The HOME Project, a nonprofit organization that was set up to meet the needs of unaccompanied refugee children in Greece. The HOME Project rescues children from the hostile conditions of the streets, holding camps and detention centers and brings them to the safety of professionally-managed shelters that have been set up specifically to provide a secure home environment in which children can socialize, integrate and flourish.
LinkedIn committed to growing its refugee initiative, Welcoming Talent, to additional countries beyond Sweden. LinkedIn is taking a different strategy in expanding to Canada by integrating LinkedIn training curriculum into economic empowerment and employment programs, in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s office and two local NGOs, and scaling this approach with the IRC to expand in global markets.
Localized committed to providing 500 refugees with access to role models and relevant career guidance from professionals who share cultural context and language over two years. Piloting in Jordan and the United States, Localized works with refugee organizations to provide access to its platform and identifies experts who speak Arabic and can provide practical and sector-specific mentoring.
Lynke committed to opening a second tech center in Jordan by the end of 2017, expanding on its partnership with Microsoft, MasterCard, HP, UNHCR, Coursera, and others to replicate their facilities in a second economic zone. This will double the number of refugee employees building apps or conducting outsourcing work for Lynke’s partners, and double the number of graduates for partners to hire.
ManpowerGroup is helping refugees connect to meaningful career opportunities. Since 2015, Manpower has helped over 3000 refugees gain new skills or competencies to find jobs in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK and Germany. ManpowerGroup is also working with its roster of company clients to educate them on the diverse pool of refugee talent.
Masimo committed to providing equipment and services valued up to $1 million, with the hope of assisting in improving health through the deployment of health screening initiatives. This will include providing child and family health screening to refugees and supporting aging/elderly refugees in countries which have accepted refugees, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Italy, Germany, USA, and Canada.
Masimo committed to looking for hiring opportunities for refugees in countries which have accepted refugees, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Italy, Germany, USA, and Canada.
MasterCard committed to expanding the reach of its MasterCard Aid Network, humanitarian prepaid, and remittance services, to 2 million aid recipients; to mobilize and partner with other private and public sector organizations to build “smart communities” that seek to integrate refugee populations; to assist refugee-serving organizations with information safety and security workshops and guidance; and to convene a multisector working session to determine how refugees can more easily access financial services.
McCain Foods will hire 125 refugees in full time, hourly, and temporary positions across its operations in Canada by 2024. To do so, McCain is partnering with local agencies in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and Manitoba to match refugee candidates with positions. In addition, McCain will consider how to expand the refugee hiring initiative to its global operations.
McKinsey & Co. committed to conducting and publishing new research, which will seek to understand the root causes, economic, social, and environmental impacts of migration and to develop a toolkit for policymakers, executives, and social leaders; lead activities to improve education for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon; and partner with a leading international humanitarian organization to develop interventions to create meaningful job opportunities for Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Microsoft committed to empowering organizations who respond to humanitarian emergencies, as well as the people and communities who are impacted. Since January 2016, Microsoft has invested $4 million in cash and over $30 million in technology solutions. This includes technology and capacity building support for nonprofit digital transformation, connectivity and information solutions like the expansion of the refugee.info platform and TV White Space Kits, and livelihood programs for education, digital skills training, and psychosocial support for refugees.
NaTakallam, a language education and translation social enterprise, provides part-time employment to refugees and other displaced persons who work remotely as teachers and translators. To date, NaTakallam has provided work opportunities to almost 150 refugees living in 21 countries who have taught and translated for 4,500 clients. NaTakallam plans to employ additional refugees.
NeedsList committed to directing financial, supply, and human resources to local NGOs who are providing services and locally sourced supplies to refugees. NeedsList will focus on the United States as well as a number of European countries hosting refugees, including Greece, Italy, France, Germany, and Serbia. NeedsList will scale its current operations to directly engage 50 companies and over 100,000 people to meet the needs of 500,000 refugees by 2020.
Newton Supply Company committed to increasing the percentage of refugee-made products outsourced by Open Arms, a nonprofit social enterprise and sustainable apparel and sewn goods manufacturer, from 30 percent to 90 percent in 2017, to employ more female refugees, and to focus their marketing efforts on raising awareness of their refugee made products.
Not Impossible Labs committed to establishing “maker labs” in refugee camps and settlements. These labs will be focused on innovative thinking and “maker” skill sets, and will provide refugee youth with tools, trainings, and skills-building workshops to develop breakthrough solutions to local needs and challenges. Not Impossible launched the inaugural lab in Q4 of 2016.
Nova Credit Inc. committed to building the world’s first cross-border credit reporting agency, enabling immigrants to access their credit. Nova committed to prioritize and develop data partnerships with countries that have a high refugee population in the United States, including Iran, Bhutan, and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these nations have limited financial infrastructure and the company pledges to pursue alternative data partnerships to help drive financial inclusion for these populations in need.
Oath committed to donating $1 million in pro bono media across its brands such as Aol.com and Yahoo.com to promote greater awareness and activism for the refugee crisis. In addition, Oath is committed to directing the power of its technology and products to support refugee resettlement and integration through financial inclusion and education.
Oliver Wyman committed to recruiting qualified refugees in Europe, raise the issue of providing employment with clients, and use their partner network to explore solutions for enhancing entrepreneurial activities and developing job-related skills for refugees.
Oliver Wyman committed to providing a central website where clients can access information on organizations that can help them support refugees.
OnWORD Partner committed to providing sustainable integration solutions for foreign-trained refugee professionals through housing, language assistance, and career and educational support.
Palladium works with government agencies, companies, and non-profits to implement programs and research that spur employment, entrepreneurship, life-saving assistance, resilience, and self-reliance amongst refugees and their host communities in Lebanon, Uganda, Mali, and Indonesia.
Paramount Fine Foods committed to sourcing $1 million of products over the next year from suppliers in Jordan that employ or are working towards employing 25% refugees in their factories. Paramount will use the products it sources from Jordan, such as olive oil and tahini, at its restaurant locations throughout Canada.
Peace by Chocolate will hire 50 refugees by 2022 at its facilities across Canada. In addition, Peace by Chocolate will provide mentorship and guidance to 10 refugee startups to develop their business and help four refugee businesses access new markets through Peace by Chocolate’s distribution and retailing networks.
Pearson committed to extending its partnership, Every Child Learning, doubling its initial investment of $2.2 million and working with partners to develop and provide digital educational solutions and programs for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian children.
PIMCO committed to supporting the immediate needs of refugees with financial and human capital, including volunteering and pro bono assistance, from the PIMCO Foundation and PIMCO colleagues. Most recently, PIMCO’s Newport Beach, CA office – the firm’s global headquarters – hosted a Refugee Housing Campaign, through which funds were raised to provide a year’s worth of rent for five refugee families in Orange County.
RB, through its brand Durex, is supporting efforts to provide sexual health and reproductive health education to refugees. RB has partnered with The Unmentionables, an NGO, and has developed a smartphone app and web-platform called “UnFiltered”, to ensure those who need sexual health and reproductive health education can access it anywhere. RB is now working to roll out “UnFiltered” to school educational boards globally in 2019, with the goal of having 250,000 people download the app and 50,000 people complete one module in 2019. Outside of “UnFiltered”, RB is also exploring other opportunities to support The Unmentionables in their wider work with the refugee community.
Refugee Talent committed to placing 175 refugees in Australia in full time jobs by May 2019 across various sectors. Refugee Talent will assist refugee candidates with the job application process and will offer companies that are hiring refugees support with diversity training and how to best integrate refugees into their workforce.
Refugee Talent also plans to expand its refugee placement efforts to New Zealand in 2019.
DSM committed to developing programs that enable refugees to obtain employment and to develop employee volunteer programs to facilitate the development of language and cultural skills of refugees resettling in the United States. In addition, DSM committed to offering programs to refugees on nutrition improvement and education and continue to work with leading organizations such as Upwardly Global, WFP, UNICEF, Global Health Corps, and World Vision to ensure that refugees have opportunity, nutrition, and healthcare.
Safe Ports, a U.S. company with expertise in logistical operations, committed to hiring 100 refugees over the next year at its new logistics hub, the Safe Ports Regional Gateway, in Mafraq, Jordan. The Safe Ports Regional Gateway will serve as a logistics hub for global businesses looking to set up or expand their operations in the Middle East. Safe Ports will work with international institutions and NGOs to train refugees and Jordanians to operate logistics equipment and Safe Ports will then employ those trained professionals for projects at the hub.
Salesforce.org committed to offering financial and in-kind services in support of integrating and upskilling refugees. Since 2015, Salesforce.org has provided more than $2 million through strategic grants and employee donations to non-profits which focus on training and upskilling refugees in order to help them progress into stable jobs, predominantly in the IT sector. Through this funding, more than 1,500 refugee youth have been positively impacted. Salesforce.org has also built its own mentorship and training program, known as Buddyforce, which matches Salesforce.org employees to refugees in order to support them with finding a job, learning the local language, and providing training on computer skills and Salesforce products. Salesforce.org has also committed to offering donated and discounted technologies to nonprofits involved in the refugee crisis. All nonprofits receive 10 free subscriptions and then steep discounts on additional technology solutions.
SAP committed to empowering 60,000 young refugees between the ages of 8 and 24 over the period of four years with coding skills through yearly ‘Code Weeks’ in nine countries around the world. First announced at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, Refugee Code Week supports the United Nations New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which aims to strengthen the economic and social contribution of migrants to their local communities and host countries. As a pillar of the SAP / UNHCR Refugee Aid Program, Refugee Code Week is a regional digital literacy initiative to empower youth across top host and transit countries with the critical coding skills they need to build for a better future and thrive in the 21st century. SAP works in partnership with UNHCR and ReBootKamp to turn coding literacy into expertise and job placements as a result. SAP has trained 10,500 young people since its launch in 2016.
Signify has provided lighting solutions to community centers, schools and homes that support refugee populations in Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Tanzania – reaching more than 50,000 refugees to date. In addition, Signify has established an income-generating project for refugees in Tanzania, where female refugee entrepreneurs rent out solar lanterns to community members for nominal fees.
Singhal & Co. committed to offering corporate internships to two refugees a year until 2020; donate up to $10,000 a year in educational scholarships for refugees until 2020; and provide $20,000 in funding toward assisting refugees through the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants until 2020.
Sodexo committed to hiring 300 work-eligible refugees by 2020 in at least four countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil and Sweden. Sodexo will work with local organizations and key government agencies to identify and onboard the refugees into its workforce.
Sparrow Mobile committed to expanding its RefugeeMobile program from 250 families (700 individuals) to 1,000 or more families (2,800 individuals) by 2018; to expanding to another geographic region; and to targeting at least 50% women as primary smartphone recipients.
Starbucks committed to hiring 10,000 refugees in 75 markets in which Starbucks currently operates. Starbucks will work in partnership with NGOs to provide job readiness training for careers in retail and employment opportunities to qualified candidates who possess work authorization.
Sumitomo Chemical committed to increasing its efforts to protect women, children, and vulnerable refugee families from malaria in partnership with the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign. Specifically, Sumitomo will build upon the matching grant challenge to double the amount of nets raised by grassroots malaria advocates who join the campaign. This commitment is estimated to increase the amount of nets to 350,000, for a total of 700,000 nets, and is valued at $1,225,000.
Supercell is helping to finance a project called Startup Refugees, through the Me-saatio foundation the owners founded. The goal of the program is to help resettle refugees arriving in Finland through workforce enablement, mentorship and training for aspiring refugee entrepreneurs, and the possibility of providing starting grants of 1,000 euros. In addition to the financing, Supercell employees have also supported data and program development work in the project’s reception centers.
Taqanu committed to helping refugees re-establish their identity on an accelerated basis by analyzing digital footprints and phone usage, supplementing this with biometrics, so that refugees can recreate their identities. With identities quickly re-established, Taqanu will enable refugees to access more conventional banking services required to achieve full financial integration in their new homes.
As part of TD’s commitment to open doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow, it is launching an internal executive task force on refugees which will build on TD’s work to date providing access to financial services, employment and financial education to new Canadians. TD recognizes that it has multiple ways in which it might better support refugee integration. Over the next ten months, the task force will take a thoughtful and purposeful approach, engaging senior leaders across the bank to develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing refugees today, and deliver a strategy that accelerates refugee integration and success in their new communities.
TOMS committed to giving more than 500,000 new shoes to refugee children over the next two years through UNHCR’s integrated programs that eliminate obstacles that prevent children from going to school. TOMS will also continue to partner with leading international relief organizations to respond to the global refugee crisis by providing shoes to refugee children and safe birth services to women living in camps.
Toptal, an online freelance platform, committed to provide pro-bono services from freelance experts available in its TopVolunteer network to NGOs that offer assistance to refugees. Over the course of a year, TopVolunteers will offer their expertise in software development, design and finance to refugee focused NGOs around the world, thereby filling key operational gaps for these NGOs.
TripAdvisor committed to giving at least $5 million until 2019 from the TripAdvisor Charitable Foundation to aid the humanitarian refugee crisis, expanding its partnerships with the International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps, as well as providing in-kind support through its TripAdvisor Media Group.
Twilio committed to offering credits and discounts for refugee-serving organizations to access Twilio’s communication platform; to launching a Call-to-Action campaign to recruit and deploy developers to provide pro bono support to refugee-serving organizations; and to providing an additional product donation, cash grant, and dedicated developer team to a leading NGO.
Twitter committed to supporting NGOs that directly assist refugees with an “Ads for Good” advertising grant of $50,000 and to provide best practices trainings to refugee-serving organizations in Europe and the United States.
Udemy committed to leveraging the Udemy platform and audience to create economic empowerment opportunities for refugees by onboarding them as course instructors, and to deliver educational content to displaced people helping them qualify for market-relevant jobs.
Unilever committed to implementing initiatives with global and local NGOs in select markets across Europe and the Middle East with the aim of providing skills and job training to enhance livelihoods, improve refugees’ health and well-being, and support their social integration. In addition, Unilever will continue to participate in external platforms and coalitions to raise awareness of the role the private sector can and must take to alleviate the impact of the refugee crisis. Unilever will also champion policies that support refugees’ rights and offer them stability and security, such as the European Union Resettlement Framework.
Uniqlo committed to providing livelihood opportunities for refugees. Uniqlo will expand its practice of hiring refugees across the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and Japan. This builds upon Uniqlo’s significant support to UNHCR to provide both in-kind and financial contributions over the past 10 years, in addition to providing livelihoods opportunities for refugees in Malaysia, Pakistan, Nepal, India, and Iran.
UPS committed to leveraging funding, expertise, company resources, and UPS volunteers to expand its partnerships with UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, Care, the Salvation Army, and others, investing up to an additional $1 million to provide relief to refugee communities and support to displaced people around the world.
VPS Healthcare committed to developing and delivering training programs for qualified doctors, nurses and health workers in Jordan, including refugees and Jordanians, in partnership with the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS).
Western Union committed to supporting economic opportunities for refugees and displaced persons over three years through a new company-wide global initiative started in 2017. Specifically, Western Union will help expand educational opportunities for refugee children and youth; provide refugees with internships, freelance and traditional employment opportunities at Western Union and with key corporate partners; and leverage Western Union’s core assets – including its financial technology and global network of 35 million members to support refugee crisis response initiatives and shift the global conversation about refugees to one of economic opportunity.
WeWork Community committed to expanding its hiring of qualified refugee candidates and to employ 1,500 refugees over the next five years, beginning in the United States and United Kingdom. As part of this effort, WeWork will invite its 20,000+ member companies and the broader business community to match its hiring commitment and get involved, joining a movement to humanize the refugee crisis by providing opportunities for every person to gain control of their future and create their life’s work.
Zynga committed to working proactively with resettlement agencies globally to make Words with Friends EDU, the educational version of Words with Friends, focused on teaching English academic vocabulary, readily and freely available to displaced people who are looking to develop their English language skills. Zynga will also provide three Expert Advisors to mentor the finalists of the EduApp4Syria competition, an international innovation competition to develop an open source smartphone application that can help Syrian children learn how to read in Arabic.
Join a growing network of companies leveraging their unique skills and resources to support refugees