UNHCR And Gebeya Launch Refugee Talent Cloud

The Boundless Skills initiative will see UNHCR and Gebeya identify and endorse highly skilled refugees and members of their host communities.

Gebeya, a Pan-African SaaS-Enabled Marketplace headquartered and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Ethiopia have announced the establishment of a refugee talent cloud called: “Boundless Skills” to facilitate the identification of exceptional talent by organizations worldwide.

According to a statement by Gebeya, the collaboration is dedicated to contributing to the global workforce landscape by unlocking the potential of the digital economy for businesses and refugees alike.

The Boundless Skills initiative which has been supported by the Government of the Netherlands under the PROSPECTS Partnership, will see UNHCR and Geneya identify and endorse highly skilled refugees and members of their host communities.

Amadou Daffe, CEO of Gebeya, expressed his enthusiasm, stating: “Gebeya is excited to partner with UNHCR to redefine the boundaries of the digital workforce. The boundless skills talent cloud not only addresses the need for talent but also embodies our commitment to creating an inclusive digital economy. We aim to contribute to Africa’s digital transformation actively, leveraging both continental and global job opportunities to empower African talent further and build upon the already thriving African landscape.”

“We know that the digital economy can potentially bring huge benefits to refugees – and that, if they are included in the workplace, businesses will also benefit,” said Hovig Etyemezian, Director of UNHCR’s Innovation Service. “We’re thrilled to be working with Gebeya on Boundless Skills – an innovative way to ensure refugees and their hosts in Ethiopia can safely access dignified work online. We also hope that it is a solution that can scale to other refugee hosting areas around the world.”

The “Boundless Skills” talent cloud is in line with the pledge made by the Ethiopian government to create more job opportunities for refugees and host communities at the Global Refugee Forum in 2019. Four years later, over 129,000 economic opportunities have been created for more than 38,000 refugees and over 90,000 Ethiopian nationals.

With more than 942,000 refugees and close to 4.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs), Ethiopia currently hosts one of the largest refugees and internally displaced populations in the world.