On the sidelines of the 11th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) held from 9-11 April 2025 in Kampala - Uganda's Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and UNHCR held a joint side event on 10th April, with a focus on Driving Job Creation and Economic Growth Through Evidence-Based Private Sector Solutions in Refugee-Hosting Areas in Africa. The side event underscored the critical need for integrating refugees into economic frameworks, fostering private sector engagement, and ensuring collaborative efforts among governments, humanitarian agencies, and the private sector to create jobs and develop sustainable solutions for the economic inclusion of refugees and host communities.

WB Releases Economic Update: On 4/1, WB released the Rwanda Economic Update (REU), titled Modernizing Agriculture to Accelerate Structural Transformation. The report highlights that Rwanda has exhibited strong resilience amidst global uncertainties, driven by robust private consumption, significant investment and strong performances in services, industry, and a recovering agriculture sector. This led to significant improvements in the labor market, with the creation of over half a million new jobs on a year-on-year basis. The REU recommends strengthening seed systems and implementing regulatory reforms to attract private investment. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/04/01/rwandas-afe-economy-registers-robust-growth-in-2024-despite-global-challenges

Funding opportunity Alert! The Fund for Women Loreal is now accepting application for funding! This fund supports grassroots non-profit organizations that support women and girls in situations of poverty/underprivileged, victims of violence, refugees, or in situations of disability. The L’Oréal Fund for Women is a charitable fund launched in 2020 to support frontline organizations in their efforts to help women to get out of poverty and prevent domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence against women. The next round of applications will be opened from April 2nd, 2025 (12pm CEST) to April 30th, 2025 (12pm CEST). If you meet the eligibility criteria, please apply now to secure funding to empower vulnerable women and girls in your communities! Apply @ https://lnkd.in/eByNujEu

Since publishing the results of our Community of Practice (CoP) Survey on U.S. Executive Actions & Refugee Self-Reliance (access it here: https://shorturl.at/W7Euw), the RSRI has curated a list of bridge funds and other funding resources to support organizations affected by the U.S. aid freeze and other executive orders that halt humanitarian work and interrupt crucial pathways to self-reliance. This list is updated weekly. Access the list of bridge funds here: https://shorturl.at/mNBPC

Be Part of #AFD2025: the largest gathering of private sector leaders addressing the challenges of displacement. As the world faces unprecedented displacement crises, the need for action-oriented conversations is more critical than ever. Join us in Nairobi, Kenya, from 28th to 29th April 2025 for the Africa Forum on Displacement 2025, where leaders from the private sector, government, and civil society will come together o address the challenges and opportunities of displacement in Africa. Don’t miss this chance to explore innovative solutions, forge impactful partnerships, and contribute to empowering displaced communities across the continent. Register today and be part of re-shaping the future of Africa’s displacement! https://registration.crowdcomms.com/afd25

Dataset of World Refugee and Asylum Policies (DWRAP) - This exciting new online platform features data from 193 countries from 1952 to 2022, allowing users to track trends over time and across geographical regions. The data also contains filters for categories such as access to protection, services, livelihoods, movement, and citizenship and participation in political processes and provides a wealth of insights and research opportunities. DWRAP was developed by Blair, Grossman and Weinstein (2022) and has been updated in collaboration with the World Bank – UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement. https://datanalytics.worldbank.org/dwrap/

Equity Bank and IFC Partner to Launch $20 million Facility for Refugees and Host Communities in Kenya: Equity Bank Kenya, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has launched a $20 million Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) to enhance financial inclusion within underserved regions in Kenya, including refugees and host communities. This initiative aims to empower refugees and host communities to become economically stable and self-reliant making them active participants in the local economy, contributing to sustainable development and long-term prosperity. The program, unveiled in Kakuma, Turkana County will be implemented in 14 marginalized counties across Kenya, among them Turkana and Garissa which host Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, with the goal of supporting refugees and their host communities towards social economic empowerment that ultimately lead to self-reliance.

UNHCR publishes socioeconomic profiles of Sudanese refugees, including their levels of education and skills. Country briefs provide additional insights on the socioeconomic characteristics of displacement and displaced populations in Sudan and countries of asylum, as well as summaries of recent data collection, surveys and analytical work replaced to displacement.

Ethiopia - Aisha: an inclusive financial product brings hope for host and refugee entrepreneurs: ILO and Shabelle Bank's innovative "Aisha" program provides Sharia-compliant financial solutions and education to refugees and host communities in Ethiopia, empowering entrepreneurs and fostering sustainable livelihoods. Read more here: https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/aisha-inclusive-financial-product-brings-hope-host-and-refugee

Partnership for Economic Inclusion, World Bank launched an enhanced Data Portal—your go-to resource for insights into economic inclusion programs. Now, you can explore the data behind the recent State of Economic Inclusion Report 2024: Pathways to Scale. With a brand-new searchable program database, the latest 2023 Landscape Survey data, and new country-level factsheets, finding detailed information on over 400 programs has never been easier. Whether you’re a policymaker, researcher, or practitioner, the portal offers powerful tools to inform your work and drive impact: https://www.peiglobal.org/tools-resources/data-portal?deliveryName=DM244430