ImpactAlpha, April 30 – The Refugee Investment Network and Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs launched the Initiative for Inclusive Investment in Mexico, or 3IM, to support investments and businesses that reduce displacement and create jobs for migrants.
Key will be to support “new venture creation and the expansion of employment, workforce development, and skills matching to create thousands of jobs and enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mexico,” the Refugee Investment Network said in a statement. No financial commitments were made.
First up: a market assessment to identify refugee investment opportunities in southern and northern Mexico.
- Immigrant edge. The initiative was created in “recognition that forcibly displaced people are hard-working, entrepreneurial, employable, and creditworthy,” said the Refugee Investment Network. In the U.S., for example, immigrants are now nearly twice as likely to start businesses as native-born Americans. Immigrant-owned business employ 8 million Americans.
- Refugee-lens investing. The growing number of refugee-focused products includes bonds, loan facilities and funds targeting refugee solutions. Last year, “Paradigm Shift,” a Refugee Investment Network report, rounded up more than 100 philanthropic funders, impact investors, institutional investors, networks, angels, market-return investors, and government partners making “active” investments in or in support of refugees.
