Talent Beyond Boundaries

The development problem

With more than 65 million people forcibly displaced and 21 million refugees outside their home countries, hundreds of thousands of talented, educated, and skilled individuals are currently prohibited from working in the countries where they have sought refuge.

At the same time, more than 40 percent of employers around the world report that they face significant skill gaps, and experts project that labour shortages will lead to a $10 trillion loss in GDP globally between 2020 and 2030. To date, there has not been an effective effort to connect this talent pool to private sector employers who are interested in recruiting globally.

The innovation

Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) is demonstrating the hidden potential that the refugee talent pool offers when it comes to filling global skill gaps. Although aiding refugees by helping them to find employment has been the subject of academic writing for years, TBB is the first and only organisation that is working with the private sector to establish a clear pathway.

TBB’s goal is to place refugees in jobs in stable countries around the world where they can regain their self-reliance through private sector employment. With funding from the State Department, TBB has built a Talent Catalog, which includes 7,000 records with information about refugees’ work history and skills, and has established corporate partnerships with employers in Canada and Australia.

GIF's investment

GIF’s investment in TBB will be used for placing 20 refugees located in Jordan and/or Lebanon in skilled employment and securing legal work permits and visas for them in Morocco and/or UAE. This placement has to be done in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and without exposing the refugees to an increased risk of forcible return.

Our investment will also be used to generate process maps and related documentation for scaling up the labor mobility model for refugees, as well as to disseminate evidence and practical learnings on labour mobility for refugees.

Why we invested

An innovative idea and model that addresses a burning issue in global development
High depth of impact on GIF target beneficiaries
There are very few opportunities that leverage private sector engagement, and for those that do exist, there is limited funding
A good opportunity to engage in creating new migration corridors and potentially attract news player to help address refugee crisis
A strong team and well-connected team

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