The Mayor’s Office of Bogotá Partners with the Tent Partnership for Refugees to Drive Job Opportunities for Migrants and Refugees

BOGOTÁ, D.C., March 20, 2026. The administration of the Mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) – a global network of over 500 companies committed to the labor market inclusion and socioeconomic integration of refugees and migrants in the city.

The MOU, signed by Mayor Galán and Brandon Yoder, Tent’s Vice President for the Americas, solidifies a strategic alliance aimed at accelerating the integration of migrants and refugees into Bogotá’s workforce.

As part of this collaborative effort, Tent will further mobilize its network of member companies – including the 20 major employers it already partners with in Colombia – to expand job opportunities for refugees and migrants seeking employment in the capital.

“I am thrilled to formalize this cooperation with the city and the Mayor of Bogotá,” said Lucas Gómez, Tent’s Country Director of Colombia. “Bogotá has proven to be such a welcoming city, hosting the largest share of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia – but of the 600,000 that reside here, only 72,000 have a formal job due to common barriers they face when trying to secure employment. At a time when 61% of companies nationally are facing labor shortages, this strategic partnership will allow us to leverage the District’s institutional capacity, accelerate the connections being made between Tent member companies with open roles and Venezuelan migrant jobseekers, and further strengthen Bogotá’s position as a leading city in labor inclusion.”

In practice, the alliance will strengthen employability pathways, facilitate direct connections between migrant talent and strategic business sectors, and promote more inclusive recruitment processes. Furthermore, it will coordinate with the District Employment Agency to streamline labor intermediation and broaden access to formal, dignified, and sustainable jobs.

Bogotá already possesses a strong foundation to scale this initiative. The city has made significant strides in formal labor insertion for the migrant population; the goal now is to amplify that reach through deeper private-sector engagement and institutional strengthening.

Specifically, the partnership with Tent offers a strategic advantage: the capacity to mobilize businesses and connect talent with formal employment opportunities. In Colombia, Tent works across sectors such as services, agribusiness, hospitality, and food & beverage, promoting inclusion through training and connection to job opportunities. 

Beyond its impact on employment, this agreement bolsters Bogotá’s standing as a leader in innovative and collaborative migration policies, aligning public and private efforts to deliver concrete results in people’s lives.

With this signing, Bogotá reaffirms its commitment to sustainable economic inclusion that benefits both the refugee and migrant population and the city as a whole, championing formal employment as a vital tool to close gaps, generate well-being, and strengthen the social fabric.

About Tent Partnership for Refugees

With more and more refugees and migrants displaced around the world, businesses have a critical role to play in helping them integrate economically in their new communities. Tent was launched in 2016 by Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of Chobani – a multibillion dollar food company in the U.S. – to mobilize the world’s largest employers to fill this gap. Today, Tent is a network of over 500 major companies committed to helping refugees in Colombia and across ten other countries in the Americas and Europe access local labor markets by helping them become job-ready and connecting them to work. Find out more at www.tent.org.