Didier is 21. When his father was
murdered, Didier fled to Nakivale in
southeast Uganda. He found safety
in the bustling settlement along with more
than 60,000 refugees. As the initial shock
started wearing off, he focused on finding
ways to support himself and his younger
siblings. Yet, those livelihood opportunities are difficult to come and going back home
is not safe.
Didier is not alone. More than 60 million
refugees and internally displaced persons
face similar difficulties across the world.
Stricken by despair, many of them – including
several of Didier’s friends – embark on a
dangerous journey in the quest for a better life. Lack of prospects pushes people to take
otherwise intolerable risks.
Despite the adversity, income-generating
opportunities do exist. The International
Trade Centre (ITC) has partnered
with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) to translate
them into better lives, not only for refugees but also for host country nationals who bear
the costs of this global migratory crisis.
ITC and UNHCR have identified opportunities
in agriculture, artisanal work and
business process outsourcing (BPO). In Burkina
Faso, for example, the two agencies
have helped enhance traditional skills in
leather and metal working to produce highend
home décor items for sale in upmarket
shops in in the European Union.
In addition to such artisanal activities,
the internet has enabled myriads of new
opportunities for virtual work. ITC has
teamed up with the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) to tap into these opportunities
in Kenya and Uganda (see pages 24-26).
Pilot initiatives have confirmed ‘proof of
concept’ for BPO work out of the Dadaab
refugee centre. In addition, ITC has enabled
social enterprises in Uganda to hire both
nationals and refugees to undertake internet-
based research for a Swiss university, as
well as to transcribe interviews for United
Nations Radio in Geneva.
Given the scale of the problem, finding
sustainable solutions also requires new
approaches, new ways of harnessing modern
technology. To devise such tools, ITC
turned to Hyper Island, a creative business
school, and social entrepreneurship and
design students at its hub in Manchester.
A ‘hackaton’ yielded a number of new
ideas. One of them was to develop a mobile
application, or app, to link talented refugees
(such as Didier) to overseas clients for BPO
services such as translation, data entry and
image processing.
PURPOSEFUL SOURCING
Together with Common Good, a design and
innovation consultancy, and Freeman XP,
a brand agency, the students are developing
a digital platform to facilitate the necessary
linkages; organize quality assurance
systems; mainstream BPO delivery; and
handle international payments. Once fully
operational, this facility will reduce transaction
costs involved while boosting refugee
incomes. This app also aims at delivering cost-competitive services to international
clients while also giving them the chance to
engage in meaningful and impactful development
assistance.
Developing the app has demanded solutions
to mitigate a number of challenges,
such as unreliable internet access. In rural
areas, for example, UNHCR has found that
only 17% of the refugee population has
access to 3G coverage, while a fifth the of
the rural population has no coverage at all.
In many cases refugees can only access the
internet through web cafés or computer labs
run by non-governmental organizations,
which may be far away and expensive.
Against this backdrop, the team is
developing an offline solution, which only
requires connectivity to search and download
specific jobs and then to upload the
finished product. Refugees can use a local
internet café to download a BPO job to a
device and then work on the assignment
in their own time without incurring extra
data charges. The platform also leverages
cloud technology, which divides the work
into small pieces which the system aggregates
digitally for revision and delivery. This
feature allows for flexible part-time working
that fits in with commitments such as child
care or education.
TRANSLATION SERVICES
Take the example of translation services. ITC
has identified vibrant international demand
while preliminary costing exercises indicate
potential for competitive market positioning
by both refugees and partner enterprises.
In fact, this expanding market is estimated
at well over US$20 billion globally. The team has tested an early prototype of the
application though a real-life transaction
involving residents at Nakivale, including
Didier. This exercise has yielded good quality
translations (from English into French,
while payments were handled through the
M-pesa mobile system. As such, this experience
indicates overall app viability and cost
competitiveness. Further application development,
live testing and benchmarking are
planned for 2017.
Once fully operational, the app is
expected to prove a boon to entrepreneurial
refuges in remote areas. For example, Didier
has already decided to stay in Nakivale and
help his siblings from there. He has benefitted
from a UNHCR-run visual-arts programme
that taught him how to film and edit video
material. He also does translations on an ad
hoc basis.
The app will allow Didier to bid for
assignments much easily and hence multiply
his earnings while enjoying access to training
and support specifically geared for translation
assignments. If he and the surviving members
of his family manage to return home one
day, they will take the BPO tool with them
and continue generating income while they
adjust to their new setting.
Didier’s story shows how trade-led support
can help create livelihoods opportunities,
support voluntary returns and, perhaps
most importantly, allow disenfranchised people
to regain their dignity.