Promote Economic Empowerment

Through our economic empowerment work, we ensure refugees have safe economic opportunities to earn sustainable income and contribute to their communities.

When people flee violence and persecution, they leave their whole lives behind and have to start over from scratch. Learn how refugees around the world are not only rebuilding their lives and careers but also giving back to their new communities. (SideXSide for HIAS)

Overview

One of the most important opportunities for refugees is to build skills, earn a living, and invest in their communities. HIAS’ economic empowerment programs ensure that refugees have safe economic opportunities to earn sustainable income and rebuild their lives. Our programs are market-oriented, protection-focused, and concentrate on economic empowerment of all refugees, including women and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

40,000+

people accessed our economic empowerment services and support in 2024.

Strategies

Our programs help refugees and their host communities build self-reliance, increase resilience, regain dignity, and provide opportunities for independent and meaningful futures. Access to sustainable livelihoods is an important tool for meeting refugees’ needs for protection, food security, housing, health, and other services.

HIAS' economic empowerment programs aim to:

  • Equip displaced people with the skills, tools, and knowledge needed to navigate local labor markets through job readiness workshops, vocational training, and financial literacy programs.

  • Provide seed funding, credit-building tools, and business development support to help displaced individuals launch and grow small businesses, fostering long-term economic stability.

  • Build partnerships with employers and industry leaders to create job placement pipelines, mentorship opportunities, and inclusive hiring practices that connect refugees to sustainable livelihoods.

Countries

Chad
Colombia
Ecuador
Greece
Israeli flag
Israel
Kenya
United States
Venezuela

Impact

Women-led agribusiness Intiva, which produces herbal teas and dehydrated fruits, tables at a community event in Carchi in Tulcán on September 10, 2025. (Emily Primack and Lauren Pach/HIAS).

Women-led agribusiness Intiva, which produces herbal teas and dehydrated fruits, tables at a community event in Carchi in Tulcán on September 10, 2025. (Emily Primack and Lauren Pach/HIAS).

HIAS Helps Women’s Agribusiness Collective in Ecuador

Across Ecuador, HIAS works with displaced people and host community members who face economic insecurity, limited employment opportunities, and heightened risks of exploitation and abuse—particularly women.

Through an agribusiness initiative supported by UNHCR since 2017, HIAS Ecuador helps program participants build emotional stability, strengthen community ties, and create sustainable livelihoods in border regions and marginalized urban areas.

“Beyond our shared ambition with my colleagues to start a business, HIAS presented an idea that incorporated all of us to feel encouraged to take the first steps,” Aziel said. “We have been given the chance to turn our efforts into a reality.”

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Together, we can help create a world in which refugees find welcome, safety, and opportunity.

Your gift will help us provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers and advocate for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.

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