Malengo, a non-profit organization empowering young people in East Africa through international education, has secured $12.9 million in impact funding from The Shapiro Foundation to expand vocational training and university programs for low-income students and refugees in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. Founded by Cornell University Professor Johannes Haushofer, Malengo enables educational migration to Germany, helping students move from living on $1.40 a day to earning over $40,000 annually. The investment will scale Malengo’s income share agreement (ISA) model, creating sustainable education and financial pathways that reduce poverty and boost community development.
Tag: refugee education programs
Tapping into Africa’s Refugees: Economic Opportunity Hiding In Plain Sight
This article by Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, highlights the untapped economic potential of Africa’s 45 million forcibly displaced people, including refugees. Drawing on inspiring examples such as Mesfin Getahun in Kenya’s Kakuma settlement, Roy argues that refugees are not just aid recipients, but dynamic entrepreneurs and contributors to local economies. In response, the Mastercard Foundation is committing $300 million in partnership with UNHCR to expand education, skills training, and dignified work opportunities for refugees across Africa, especially youth and women. The article calls for collaborative, long-term investment from governments, development funders, and the private sector to transform refugee settlements into engines of inclusive economic growth.