According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are more than 26.4 million refugees globally—half of whom are under the age of 18. Sadly, these individuals often suffer from difficult living conditions and little legal protection. But at the same time, a lot is being done about it. From clothing and lights to tech and career opportunities, this is how some startups are stepping up to help the world’s most vulnerable individuals.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
Companies Supporting Refugees
1. Chatterbox
- Location: London, England
- Founder(s): Guillemette Dejean, Mursal Hedayat
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Seed, $2.18 Million
- Investors Include: GMG Ventures, All Turtles, Bethnal Green Ventures
Chatterbox is an innovative social enterprise that leverages the language skills of refugees to provide high-quality language tutoring services. Founded by Mursal Hedayat, a former refugee herself, the startup aims to tackle both the underemployment of skilled refugees and the global demand for language learning. Chatterbox’s online platform connects refugee professionals with individuals and organizations seeking to learn new languages, offering personalized one-on-one tutoring sessions.
2. REFUNITE
- Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Founder(s): Christopher Mikkelsen, David Mikkelsen
- Founded In: 2008
- Funding: Grant, Amount Undisclosed
- Investors Include: Twilio.org Impact Fund, H&M Group, Svenska Postkod Stiftelsen
REFUNITE is a nonprofit tech organization that aims to reconnect refugee families separated by conflict, disaster, or migration. It operates a free, mobile-based platform that allows displaced individuals to search for their missing loved ones across multiple countries and refugee camps. The organization leverages various technologies, including SMS, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), and web interfaces, to make its service accessible even in areas with limited internet connectivity.
3. NaTakallam
- Location: New York, New York
- Founder(s): Aline Sara, Reza Rahnema
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Seed, $50,000
- Investors Include: Civic Accelerator
NaTakallam, which means “we speak” in Arabic, is a social enterprise that connects refugees with language learners worldwide for online language practice and cultural exchange. The organization primarily focuses on Arabic language instruction, but it has expanded to include other languages like Persian, Spanish, and French. NaTakallam not only provides flexible income opportunities for refugees, but also offers high-quality, personalized language learning experiences for students thereby fostering cross-cultural understanding in the process.
4. Funzi
- Location: Espoo, Finland
- Founder(s): Aape Pohjavirta
- Founded In: 2014
- Funding: Series Unknown, $5.72 Million
- Investors Include: Consensus Capital, Atreyu Investments, Dreadnought Finance
Funzi, the “world’s most accessible learning system,” was initially designed to help refugees in Finland. Based on “funzifying” learning through gamification, the startup’s programs include employment services, information services, and communication and networking skills. They are currently partnered with the UN System, large private sector enterprises, and many NGOs, to deliver free courses to refugees across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
5. Mygrants
- Location: Bologna, Italy
- Founder(s): Christian Richmond Nzi, Aisha Coulibaly
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Seed, $1.12 Million
- Investors Include: Future Food Institute, Opes Impact Fund
Italian startup Mygrants provides online educational opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers; their mission is to “positively impact the lives of billions of people, wherever they may be.” The innovative platform provides information on refugees’ rights and duties and the asylum system, training in in-demand skills and the opportunity to turn entrepreneurial ideas into a business. In addition, 8,500 quiz modules in three languages help reinforce knowledge and skills.
6. DOCYET
- Location: Leipzig, Germany
- Founder(s): Alberto de Miguel Valdunciel, Florian Bontrup
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Seed, $1.4 Million
- Investors Include: SpinLab
Health tech startup DOCYET uses a digital health concierge to help patients in an unknown environment and who speak a foreign language get the best healthcare possible. The chatbot allows users to communicate their needs in their native language, eliminating any confusion, then uses AI to help them find appropriate healthcare options. DOCYET provides an easy way for refugees to communicate with doctors across language barriers and find local medical solutions.
7. Kiron Open Higher Education
- Location: Berlin, Germany
- Founder(s): Vincent Zimmer, Markus Kressler, Hila Azadzoy, Christoph Staudt
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Undisclosed
- Investors Include: Berytech, Amazon Web Services
Kiron Open Higher Education is an innovative nonprofit organization that aims to provide refugees and underserved communities with access to higher education through digital solutions. It offers a unique blended learning model that combines online courses from renowned universities with offline support and services. The organization partners with accredited universities to create custom online study programs, allowing students to earn credits that can potentially transfer to traditional degree programs.
8. Tarjimly
- Location: Silicon Valley (Mountain View, California )
- Founder(s): Atif Javed, Aziz Alghunaim, Yamen Al-Hajjar, Sara Haj-Hassan
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Grant, $355,000
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, Twilio.org Impact Fund, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Tarjimly is an innovative mobile app that provides on-demand translation services to refugees and the humanitarian workers assisting them. The platform connects refugees with a global network of volunteer translators who offer their language skills in real time. Tarjimly supports more than 200 languages and utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to match users with the most suitable translator based on language pair, dialect, and area of expertise.
9. Sona Circle
- Location: United Kingdom
- Founder(s): Seye Onabolu
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Undisclosed
Sona Circle is a UK-based social enterprise that focuses on connecting refugees with employment opportunities. The company operates as a specialized recruitment platform tailored to the unique needs and challenges faced by refugee job seekers. Sona Circle works closely with businesses to promote refugee employment, offering services like job matching, curriculum vitae (CV) workshops, and interview preparation. The organization aims to address the high unemployment rates among refugees by showcasing their skills and potential to employers while also helping companies to diversify their workforce and fulfill their corporate social responsibility goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can my business help refugees?
Any business can help refugees in dozens of ways, including hiring them to work, developing goods and services that refugees need, investing in causes that aid refugees, and being an advocate.
How can companies help advocate for refugees?
Regulatory barriers in many countries prevent refugees from finding work, owning a business, or even opening a bank account. Local companies and startups can often help change these policies by making a business case for the economic inclusion of displaced individuals.
What’s the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker?
In the US, the main difference is that a refugee receives refugee status while still outside the country. In contrast, an asylum seeker isn’t granted asylee status until after entering the country or while seeking admission at a port of entry.