Refugees can be a boon for local economies when allowed to work or start businesses, new research suggests.

A joint World Bank–UNHCR study of Kenya’s Kakuma camp found that when allowed to participate, refugees become net contributors to local economies.

The study found that the presence of refugees increased local gross regional product by 3.4 per cent and overall employment by 2.9 per cent.

UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly Clements said refugees should be seen as drivers of activity in the communities where they live rather than passive recipients of aid.

“In Kenya, UNHCR has been able to provide seed funding to refugee entrepreneurs. I’ve met one recently in Kakuma who now has three businesses, and wants to do more,” she told media.

“In Syria, a blacksmith who was doing small scale window repair is expanding his business by doing whole window frames and sides of buildings because there’s so much damage.

“These are refugee-owned businesses,” she said. “It makes really good business sense for the country when they are allowed to work and own businesses,” Ms Clements said.

Global markets are deeply interconnected and leaving one out of every 69 people on earth – the ratio of displaced people on Earth – outside the economic system impacts the bottom line of every major corporation, she said.

Ms Clements said that businesses that connect displaced people with employment and education can create value for themselves and for refugees and local communities.

The IKEA Foundation has been working with UNHCR for the last 15 years through a partnership that involves money, jobs and climate change.

“IKEA provided about $20 million for immediate response in Ukraine, has also made a global commitment to hire refugees, and is addressing climate change by investing in a green climate financing facility which is using carbon credits to reduce its carbon footprint,” Ms Clements said.

“Education is something that refugee families want for their children but often isn’t possible in countries of asylum where people are living in remote locations. In partnership with the Vodafone Foundation, UNHCR has developed a networked school program that has helped 400,000 refugee kids and provided training for 3,000 teachers.

“It’s basically a school in a box. It has tablets, it has the connectivity to get kids online and it has step by step programs where the teacher doesn’t have to be standing next to them, but the tablet can help as a guide. The kids just love it.” Programs like these are helping children and their families and paving the way for future employees and customers,” Ms Clements said.

She also described UNHCR’s long-standing relationship with DHL in the area of supply and logistics.

“By learning from companies such as DHL, UNHCR has become among the most efficient in the UN system when it comes to fleet leasing. We’ve managed to save tens of millions of dollars a year which then can be invested in programs that are underfunded.”

Ms Clements said it was important to create a space where people are not referred to as refugees but as people that can be an economic boost to a business.

“When we take the labels off and think about how to work together to expand opportunities for everyone, businesses are always right at the centre of that dialogue,” she said.

The UNHCR’s recent ‘Philanthropy Beyond Borders’ conference heard of ways that businesses can take action for refugees in ways that also support their business objectives.

It heard that in 2018 the World Economic Forum issued a call to action for businesses to move “beyond corporate social responsibility to engage refugees in their core business” – for example, by including refugees in hiring and supply chains.

This could be done by setting up an internal task force to integrate refugee hiring into HR or adjusting procurement policies to buy from refugee-run enterprises.

Companies could also involve employees, customers and local stakeholders in support efforts such as establishing volunteer programs to mentor refugees or matching employee donations to organisations serving refugees, the conference heard.