OIM - Empoderamiento de migrantes y comunidades La participación del sector privado en el desarrollo sostenible inclusivo

EMPOWERING MIGRANTS

AND COMMUNITIES:

Private Sector Engagement for Inclusive Sustainable Development October 2023 The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM or UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. This publication was issued without formal editing by IOM. This publication was issued without IOM Publications Unit (PUB) approval for adherence to IOM’s brand and style standards. This publication was issued without IOM Research Unit (RES) endorsement. UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow us at @UNDP. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

© IOM and UNDP 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. 2 Acknowledgements This publication was produced within the framework of the IOM-UNDP Joint Global Programme ‘Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development’ (M4SD), with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It was prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Crisis Bureau, Recovery Solutions and Human Mobility Team. The drafting was led by Charlotte Müller, Migration and Private Sector Analyst, under the guidance of David Khoudour, Global Adviser – Human Mobility, and Johannes Tarvainen, Migration and Displacement Specialist, with support from Angie Montenegro, Jean-Edwidge Petit-Frère and Leonie Rauls. The elaboration of the publication involved a consultation process within UNDP, including with designated focal points in all programme countries, regional hubs, the Crisis Bureau Recovery Solutions and Human Mobility Team in New York, and also involved contributions from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) country offices, IOM thematic experts, the M4SD Programme Management Unit and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). Invaluable inputs were received from the following colleagues: IOE: Mirela Stoia, Stéphanie Winet IOM: Maria Alexandra Bassermann, Killian Clifford, Adriana Garces, Philip Hunter, Audrey Hickcox, Joanne Irvine, José Fabio Jimenez, Larisa Lara, Julia Melnichouk, Shahreen Munir, Monika Petrovic, Mamunur Md. Rashid, Prajwal Sharma, Andrés Tapia, UNDP: Hala Abedrahboh, Zinaida Adam, Cristina Burgos, Awa Ciss, Patricia De la Cruz, Babacar Faye, Erick Hernandez, Yuko Hirose, Selma Cheikh Malainin, Napoleon Manegdeg, Jamaro Marville, Serigne Mbacke, Daniela Paredes, Monika Peruffo, Catherine Osborn, Patrick Nicholson, Carlo Ruiz, Johanna Saenz, Martina Salini, Safa Samid, Annabella Skof, Camille Soriano, Lana Stade, Xin Tong, Apurba Swatee and Yuxuan Wen.

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1. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary 5

1. Introduction 8 1.1. Key terms 10 1.2. Background 13 1.3. Approach and structure 15

2. How to build evidence-informed strategies for private sector engagement? 16 2.1. Study focus and key elements of the private sector mapping 16 2.2. Data sources and methods 22 2.3. Key recommendations for action 29

3. How to continue advocacy with the private sector? 30 3.1. Why private sector engagement continues to matter 31 3.2. Examples of action 37 3.3. Key recommendations for action 42

4. How to engage the private sector more efficiently? 45 4.1. Modalities for increased engagement 45 4.2. Challenges and key actions 52 4.3. Key recommendations for action 64

5. References 65

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Empowering Migrants and Communities: Private Sector Engagement for Inclusive Sustainable Development offers a roadmap to governments and other stakeholders on scaling up the participation of the private sector in delivering the development benefits of migration. The report draws on the experiences of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and builds on ‘Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development’ (M4SD), a joint global programme supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Migration is usually a triple-win situation for migrants themselves as well as their countries of origin and destination. Yet, a series of challenges, including limited access for migrants to the formal labour market, but also to finance, healthcare and education, combined with difficulties in having their skills or diplomas recognized, and increasing xenophobia, racism and discrimination, tend to limit the benefits of human mobility for sustainable development. As a major driver of job creation and economic growth, the private sector can help overcome these obstacles by creating employment opportunities for migrants and other communities, supporting entrepreneurship, improving access to products and services, and advocating for migrants’ socioeconomic integration. This is particularly important for less developed regions. However, turbulent global headwinds and a country’s overall economic and social conditions, as well as its legal, regulatory and policy frameworks, significantly affect the feasibility of involving the private sector. Within the private sector itself, limited capabilities, a bias or negative attitudes towards migrants, consideration of trade unions and gender-based discrimination raise further barriers. All of this occurs within a context where the governments that could play a pivotal role in promoting more robust private sector engagement often lack the necessary capacities and incentives to do so. The need to expand private sector engagement for enhanced migration and sustainable development outcomes is very clear. Governments and international cooperation should focus on evidence-informed, participatory and long-term multi-stakeholder solutions. Operating in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Senegal, Serbia and Tunisia, the M4SD Programme utilized mapping of the private sector; advocacy to overcome hostility, reluctance or disinterest; capacity development and technical assistance; convening and knowledge-sharing; and service delivery and collaboration. The mappings carried out within the framework on this global Programme helped identify private sector priorities and relevant actors currently participating in migration and sustainable development initiatives, as well as those to be engaged. In Nepal for instance, the private sector mapping focused on returning female migrant workers, the majority of whom take up employment in the informal economy. The mapping showed the need to address gender equality and social inclusion in business. In Senegal, the mapping showed how high unemployment drives young people to emigrate to Europe, mostly using irregular 5 routes, and identified measures with the private sector to create new economic opportunities at home for potential emigrants and return migrants. In Ecuador, mappings showed that indifference and uncertainty towards migration topics prevail in the private sector. Many perceptions of migrants are rooted in false narratives and misinformation and are often fuelled by xenophobia and racism. By making the parts of

the private sector who are skeptical, disinterested or unwilling to be involved aware of the benefits that migration can bring for their businesses, positive changes can be achieved. Partners in Ecuador carried out several activities to facilitate greater understanding by the private sector on the contributions that migrants can bring to their businesses, namely trainings on inclusive hiring practices for the private sector and on CV writing for community members, including migrants, and the creation of municipal job banks. To support governments in enhancing private sector engagement, the M4SD Programme provided technical support to strengthen local or national capacities to work more closely with the private sector. In Serbia, the private sector mapping highlighted opportunities for cooperation among Serbian businesses and the diaspora. The M4SD Programme supported the Business Council for Diaspora of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Serbia (CCIS) in developing a new, results-based strategy, providing a clear action plan to harness the potential of the diaspora, while promoting economic growth and collaboration. Knowledge-sharing serves to better understand and mutualize what works and what does not work to improve private sector engagement, partnerships and programming in issues related to migration, including identifying and scaling up potential areas for collaboration and future concrete next steps. To enhance the well-being of community members, including migrants, governments should work with the private sector on providing access to decent jobs. In Bangladesh, the National Intelligence for Skills, Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship (NISE) platform aims to bridge the gap between the demand and supply sides by matchmaking among the government, public and private skills service providers, employers and youth. To create an enabling environment for private sector engagement, governments should address policy and regulatory barriers that restrict the rights of migrants, especially women and youth, and inhibit their access to employment, education, health, social protection, among others. The M4SD Programme has supported local and national authorities in comprehensively mainstreaming migration considerations in development policies and planning. For instance, the M4SD Programme provided technical assistance in drafting the

National Diaspora Policy in Jamaica. 6 Key recommendations for governments and development actors > Use private sector mappings such as those developed in the M4SD Programme to build evidence-informed strategies, enhanced by collaborating with the private sector. > Advocate with the private sector to raise awareness of the benefits that migration can bring for their businesses. > Support the creation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and promote private sectordriven knowledge exchange at the global, regional, national and local levels. > Increase access to decent jobs for migrants, especially women and youth, through targeted traineeships, mentoring and the provision of childcare solutions. > Address policy and regulatory barriers to migrants integration, while promoting social cohesion. > Involve the private sector in decision-making processes regarding migration policies as well as sectoral policies affected by, or having an impact on, migration, in particular labour market policies. Local M4SD projects in the municipalities of Manta and Santo Domingo in Ecuador focused on sustainable development through employment and socioeconomic inclusion. ©M4SD 7

1. INTRODUCTION The private sector can be a crucial partner for governments and organizations in the field of international development cooperation in improving the lives of migrants1 and communities around them, bolstering migration governance and amplifying migrants’ contributions to sustainable development2. This is particularly important for developing countries, where intricate challenges frequently impede socioeconomic progress. Less developed regions are home to around 40 per cent of international migrants, with around 80 per cent of migrants hailing from these very regions (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), 2020).

Despite the important contributions migrants can make to their countries of destination, transit and origin, these are often restricted by several challenges, including limited access to the formal labour market, difficulties in having their skills recognized, inadequate access to finance, health care and education, and xenophobia (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2018); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2016a).

Migrant women face even greater obstacles, resulting in higher rates of unemployment, informal work and increased vulnerabilities (OECD, 2020). In this context, engaging the private sector allows governments and organizations in the field of international development cooperation to address the challenges faced by migrants and other community members in developing countries more effectively and efficiently, to harness migrants’ contributions to the developing countries they reside in or are from, and to achieve sustainable development for all. As a major driver of economic growth and job creation, the private sector can create employment opportunities for migrants and other community members, support entrepreneurship, improve access to products and services and advocate for migrants’ inclusion (Bisong & Knoll, 2020; Dos Reis et al., 2017; López Gross et al., 2021). Despite the benefits of governments and organizations in the field of international development cooperation engaging the private sector for the well-being of the entire community, including migrants and the private sector itself, there remains a need to strengthen and enhance this engagement as inadequate information, a lack of private sector or political will and direct or indirect discrimination towards migrants limit private sector involvement. 1 Following an inclusive definition of migration, the following definition of migrants from the IOM glossary will be used which defines a migrant as “[a]n umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people, such as migrant workers; persons whose particular types of movements are legally defined, such as smuggled migrants; as well as those whose status or means of movement are not specifically defined under international law, such as international students.” (IOM, 2019, p. 132). This document, nonetheless, mainly focuses on international migrants but also includes prospective migrants, internal migrants and displaced people.

2 Along these lines, international agreements and agendas have recognized that the private sector has a critical role to play in ensuring that migration is managed in a safe, orderly and regular manner and that migrants can contribute to sustainable development. See for instance the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. See section 1.2. for more detail. 8 Against this background, the United Nations system and international organizations have an important role to play, together with governments, to strengthen private sector engagement (PSE) for the mutual benefit of local communities, including migrants and the private sector. For this reason, this publication aims to support national and local governments and organizations in the field of international development cooperation aimed at increasing private sector engagement. The document draws on UNDP and IOM’s long-standing experiences of working with the private sector and on specific experiences with private sector engagement as part of the IOM-UNDP Joint Global Programme, ‘Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development’ (M4SD). Funded by the SDC, the M4SD Programme aims to harness the development benefits and to reduce the negative effects of migration on host and home communities, on migrants and on their family members. It builds on the achievements of the previous two phases of the Joint Global Programme on Mainstreaming Migration into Development Strategies, which have been jointly implemented by IOM and UNDP since 2011, and on the Joint Migration and Development Initiative. The Programme’s third phase aims to further solidify results and achievements reached to date and to help translate policy-oriented and process-driven actions into concrete results on the ground. The Programme operates in 11 countries: Bangladesh, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Senegal, Serbia and Tunisia.3 It supports national and local governments to apply a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to migration governance with a focus on four main sectoral areas: education, economic inclusion and employment, health, social security and human rights. In a whole-of-society approach, the concrete initiatives of the Programme include migrants and local communities, the private sector, diasporas and civil society. These local initiatives are overviewed in Figure 1. Private sector engagement has been one component within the Programmés concrete initiatives that aims to enhance partnerships with the private sector and to jointly identify opportunities for cooperation, thereby enabling the private sector to contribute to the roll-out of concrete initiatives at the community level. Furthermore, synergies were sought with the Programme’s diaspora engagement component. 3 For more detail see the M4D Net (migration4development.org) and the respective country pages. 9 Figure 1: Local-level initiatives in the 11 M4SD Programme countries and private sector engagement component Promoting livelihoods opportunities Improve, strengthen and share the for unemployed youth, prospective psychosocial approach in the health care and returning migrants (many of assistance of women and children victims whom are Roma) of violence Ivanjica, Knjazevac and Prokuplje > Oriental region > MOROCCO SERBIA Economic integration and promotion of PSE: Diaspora engagement Reintegration assistance to entrepreneurial spirit of young community returnee migrants (RAM) members through the support for Koshi Province (previously microenterprises and integration into the SERBIA MOLDOVA Province 1) > NEPAL job market

KYRGYZSTAN

Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma > MOROCCO TUNISIA PSE: Reintegration of return migrant workers

PSE: Economic integration MOROCCO NEPAL

BANGLADESH

JAMAICA SENEGAL PHILIPPINES Supporting local co-development Empowering youth and young ECUADOR initiatives, linking migrants, local prospective migrants through authorities and investors & setting employment, training and policy up a territorial platform to promote > TUNISIA

Socioeconomic integration employment Manta and Santo Domingo Diourbel, Sédhiou, Saint Louis > de los Tsáchilas > ECUADOR SENEGAL PSE: Youth employment and education PSE: Employability and PSE: Reintegration and financial inclusion entrepreneurship Source: Own elaboration. PSE refers to the private sector engagement component of the M4SD Programme. 1.1. Key terms While no universally agreed-upon definition exists, private sector engagement can be defined “as an activity that aims to engage the private sector for development results” (OECD, 2016b, p. 1), or, in the context of this discussion, to achieve improved migration and development outcomes. It refers to a process led by national or local governments, or by organizations in the field of international development cooperation. While the SDC highlights that PSE implies “joining forces on an equal footing for an impact-driven development intervention” (SDC, 2021, p. 7), other definitions have emphasized the active role of the private sector (Di Bella et al., 2013; OECD, 2016b) as characteristic of PSE. PSE may take varying levels of formality, ranging from informal collaborations to formalized partnerships, such as public-private partnerships (OECD, 2016b). The OECD put forward a rather complete typology of private sector engagement in development cooperation, distinguishing between five modalities (knowledge and information-sharing, policy dialogue, technical assistance, capacity development and finance), for each of which different mechanisms can be used (see OECD, 2016c, p. 44). For instance, knowledge and information-sharing can be facilitated through multi-stakeholder networks, learning platforms, con10 ferences, seminars, workshop and other events, as well as through funding for research. Other mechanisms, not included in this typology, include exploratory consultations, linking businesses to new opportunities and advocating business practices (Donor Committee for

Enterprise Development (DCED), 2019). Here, the focus is on PSE as part of migration and development-related initiatives. This means PSE that leverages the development benefits and mitigates the adverse impacts of migration on host and home communities, migrants and their family members and that fosters sustainable development. This includes the following processes: > Integration, being defined as the “…two-way process of mutual adaptation between migrants and the societies in which they live, whereby migrants are incorporated into the social, economic, cultural and political life of the receiving community. It entails a set of joint responsibilities for migrants and communities and incorporates other related notions, such as social inclusion and social cohesion.” (IOM, 2019, p. 106). > Reintegration, referring to the “…process which enables individuals to re-establish the economic, social and psychosocial relationships needed to maintain life, livelihood and dignity and inclusion in civic life.” (IOM, 2019, p. 176). > Social inclusion, defined as “the process of improving the ability, opportunity and dignity of people disadvantaged based on their identity, to take part in society.” (World Bank, 2013, p.4). > Social cohesion, referring to “the extent of trust in government and within society and the willingness to participate collectively toward a shared vision of sustainable peace and common development goals.” (UNDP, 2020d, p. 11). Thereby, PSE mutually benefits migrants, local communities and the private sector, enhancing migrants’ and local communities’ socioeconomic well-being by ensuring that everyone can equally participate in society, enjoy equitable access to rights and benefits and by promoting and enhancing private sector profit and market access. A migrant can be defined as any “person who moves away from [their]4 place of usual residence” (IOM, 2019, p. 132), thereby including individuals who move internally and internationally, and for different durations and reasons.5 M4SD Programme countries comprise a variety of migration and development contexts. The Programme takes an inclusive approach to migration, including prospective migrants, internal migrants and displaced people, even though the focus is on international migrants. In the case of international migrants, the term migrants – as used throughout this document – encompasses the different stages of the international migration cycle that migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, could pass through, namely emigration, transit migration, immigration and return migration

(UNDP, 2020a).

PSE has also addressed diasporas – here defined as communities of emigrants and their descendants who identify with their country of origin and maintain strong ties with the same 4 The original definition states “his or her” which was replaced by “their” to be inclusive of all genders. 5 “The term includes a number of well-defined legal categories of people, such as migrant workers; persons whose particular types of movements are legally defined, such as smuggled migrants; and a those whose status or means of movement are not specifically defined under international law, such as international students.” (IOM, 2019, p. 132). 11 (see IOM, 2019). Throughout this document, the terms migrants and diaspora members will be used separately, acknowledging that – in line with the above definition – not all diaspora members are migrants and not all migrants are part of the diaspora. Private sector engagement as part of migration and development-related initiatives mostly includes the following entities (UNDP, 2020b): > Companies, including large companies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives and social enterprises > Intermediary institutions and interlocutors, such as chambers of commerce, industry and business associations, business alliances and round tables > Financial institutions, such as commercial banks, microfinance institutions and cooperative banks Other privately-owned entities, such as private schools, universities and the media, are not considered here. Throughout this document, the specific focus will be put on large companies and MSMEs, intermediary institutions and financial institutions. In countries of origin, transit and destination,

these entities may support the efforts of governments and organizations in the field of international development cooperation to build prosperous and resilient societies that encompass everyone and ensure opportunities for all, depending on the type of entity, as presented in Figure 2. Figure 2: Private sector activities related to education, employment and economic inclusion, health, social security and human rights

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL

EDUCATION HEALTH

ECONOMIC INCLUSION SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTS Large companies & MSMEs Large companies & MSMEs Large companies > Support skills training, > Hiring > Support access Large companies language courses > Support incubators to healthcare, > Promote > Provide mentorship & accelerators energy and other inclusive basic services > Offer apprenticeships > Invest in/source from hiring practices migrant enterprises Financial institutions Intermediaries > Support financial Financial institutions > Promote literacy programmes > Improve access to inclusive > Intermediaries financial services hiring practices > Tailor financial services Intermediaries > Coordinate educational Intermediaries opportunities > Introduce awards with companies and recognitions ENGAGE IN POLICYMAKING AND PRIORITY SETTING WITH NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Source: Own elaboration based on a review of the literature. 12 While the private sector may engage with migrants in other ways as well, for instance by funding humanitarian assistance (see International Finance Cooperation, 2019) or by providing services on behalf of governments (see Bisong & Knoll, 2020), the report focuses on the aforementioned forms of private sector practices as they foster inclusive sustainable development. While migrants are often viewed as beneficiaries of private sector engagement, and therefore separate from the private sector, they can also be active participants in the private sector themselves. Both migrants and diaspora members can be business owners, investors and entrepreneurs in countries of origin and destination and, as such, can be part of the private sector (Bisong & Knoll, 2020).

1.2. Background Private sector engagement is not a recent phenomenon but has gained increasing attention and importance as stakeholders recognize the value of partnerships and multi-stakeholder approaches in maximizing the positive impact of migration on individuals, communities and economies. International development agendas, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the forefront, have highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder approaches, including engagement with the private sector together with other non-governmental stakeholders, as part of forging more comprehensive solutions to sustainable development. This is particularly the case for SDG 17 on partnerships. Along these lines, the United Nations has long embraced a multi-stakeholder approach, recognizing the private sector as a crucial partner in addressing global challenges. Major initiatives include the UN Global Compact, the UN Private Sector Forum (PSF) and the Business and Industry Major Group (B&I MG), advancing sustainable and responsible business practices and promoting dialogue on global issues, such as climate change, sustainable development and human rights. In addition to these well-established forums and initiatives, the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) has continuously emphasized the role of the private sector in sustainable development.6 In his report “Our Common Agenda” the UNSG called for more “inclusive multilateralism”, including the private sector and other non-state actors, and announced the “Summit of the Future” in 2024 as another high-level, multi-stakeholder forum (United Nations, 2021). UN agencies collaborate with numerous private sector companies and have developed their private sector (engagement) strategies.7 Initiatives include the following ones: 6 https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21472.doc.htm 7 See, for example, UNDP’s Private Sector Strategy (2018-2022) updated in October 2023 to UNDP’s Private Sector Strategy (2023-2025), or IOMs Private Sector Engagement Strategy 2023-2027.

13 > The Connecting Business initiative (CBi) which engages the private sector in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. > The SDG Philanthropy Platform which aims to optimize efforts and resources to achieve the SDGs. > The Business and