This partnership was formalized by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a ceremony attended by key representatives from both organizations in Abuja on Tuesday.

This novel partnership between UNHCR and TGI leverages both parties’ core expertise and knowledge to advance the socio-economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons and their host communities in Nigeria.

This will be achieved by designing fit-for-purpose and market-relevant solutions that enable target populations to actively engage in agricultural income-generating activities.

Farouk Gumel, TGI’s vice chairman, commented on the partnership and TGI’s expertise in creating community-centric initiatives as part of its broader commitment to driving inclusivity and adding value to communities.

“We are proud to cement our partnership with UNHCR, which will see to the integration of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees into the forefront of Nigeria’s workforce. We believe in inclusive growth and community empowerment and we will leverage our work with smallholder farmers in our outgrower programmes as a model to integrate these communities,” Gumel said.

Nigeria is estimated to have an arable land area of 34 million hectares, of which only 6.5 million hectares are used for permanent crops. The agricultural sector in Nigeria accounts for about 23 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs around 70 per cent of the country’s workforce.

Leveraging the country’s growth potential in the agriculture sector and the skills of IDPs, refugees and host communities, the collaboration between TGI and UNHCR will explore prospects for investments that unlock livelihood opportunities for thousands of people in need.

“Nigeria is home to 3.6 million IDPs and 108,000 refugees. UNHCR is at the forefront of addressing their urgent needs. One of our key priorities is to create self-reliance opportunities for refugees and IDPs. This partnership with TGI is central to our collaborative approach, aiming for sustainable solutions and reducing dependence on humanitarian assistance,” said Arjun Jain, UNHCR’s Representative to Nigeria.

The collaboration will focus on value chain integration, land recovery, agricultural inputs, skills development, employment, and financial inclusion.

Working closely with government authorities, development actors, and community leaders, TGI and UNHCR will facilitate large-scale agricultural projects and other economic initiatives that provide employment opportunities and foster stronger connections between displaced communities and state services.

Approximately 120 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced today due to persecution, conflict, violence, and climate change. Over 3.7 million forcibly displaced people reside in Nigeria, representing almost 3% of the global displaced population.

Most IDPs in Nigeria have been living in the middle-belt, northeast and northwest of the country for over a decade, within states that face grave economic challenges.

Some 70 percent of the refugees in the country live within the host community with the rest residing in settlements.

Additionally, there are around 400,000 Nigerian refugees who are living in exile, largely in the Lake Chad Basin countries; many are keen on returning home voluntarily, in safety and dignity.

UNHCR has been at the forefront of responding to the needs of IDPs and refugees. The increasing number of displaced persons has exacerbated resources and increased dependency on aid, prompting UNHCR and other humanitarian actors to shift strategies towards sustainable solutions and self-reliance.

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Dubbed BoundlessSkills.com, this platform aims at connecting skilled refugees and members of the communities that host them, with potential employers.

Nearly 300 refugees have been fully onboarded on the platform since its inception in November 2023.

“We’re thrilled with the tremendous potential this initiative has already demonstrated in just a few months,” said Leul Girma, COO of Gebeya. “Thanks to support from visionary partners, we’re now mobilizing to match these skilled refugee professionals with rewarding career opportunities. And this is just the start. The digital economy offers a powerful pathway toward greater self-reliance for displaced populations. We’re eager to replicate and expand models like Boundless Skills Talent Cloud to help refugees safely access decent work opportunities online.”

The Boundless Skills partnership between Gebeya and UNHCR is made possible through the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands through the PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund.

This partnership also aligns with the pledge by the Government of Ethiopia at the Global Refugee Forum 2023 to create economic opportunities for refugees and host communities.

“Solutions that ensure forcibly displaced populations in Ethiopia, including refugees, are included in the country’s economic sector remain critical,” said Margaret Atieno, UNHCR’s Deputy Representative in Ethiopia. “Despite their skills, professional experience and higher education degrees, displaced people struggle to access dignified work. Through this partnership, UNHCR and Gebeya are working to empower refugees to earn a living, to become self-reliant and contribute to the digital economy,” said Atieno.

The skill sets available on the platform include both technical and non-technical skills, ranging from software development and data analysis to digital marketing and customer care services.

To strengthen the impact of the Boundless Skills platform, Gebeya has partnered with various organizations including the Refugee Investment Network (RIN), an organization dedicated to creating solutions to global forced migration, which has the goal of successfully matching refugees with decent work opportunities, and the Amahoro Coalition working towards providing solutions for refugees through decent work opportunities.

In particular, Amahoro will be supporting the scaling of the talent pool by onboarding a pipeline of more than 2,000 skilled and qualified refugees across Gebeya’s Talent Cloud ecosystem.

Amaharo will then work to connect these pre-vetted refugee talents with jobs available through their network of private sector partners.

Ethiopia currently hosts close to 1 million refugees and asylum seekers, being the third main refugee host country in Africa.

Since meeting their goal to fully onboard 300 refugees by April 2024, the Boundless Skills Talent Cloud is now exploring possibilities to scale up to greater numbers across the continent soon.

Businesses and organizations interested in accessing hiring opportunities and getting involved on the Boundless Skills Talent Cloud.

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