Xpat

I am applying for The Elevate Prize because I understand the opportunity cost of not applying or pursuing this prize — which has the potential to drastically advance Xpat’s mission and impact. Our mission to enhance the overall wellbeing and experience for the Black community that lives abroad (a.k.a. expats) has global and generational impacts that will leave a lasting effect on the world. We aim to create a more equitable world where, opportunities to pursue a better quality of life outside of one’s home country, are available regardless of race, gender, lifestyle, or creed. 

Recognizing the life-changing impact and benefits that living abroad offers, Xpat is dedicated to addressing disparities that exist because the longterm implications of not addressing these challenges would be a disservice to humanity and future generations.

The Elevate Prize funding would be used to:

* Provide study and living abroad scholarships to underserved individuals

* Make much needed updates to the Xpat app which currently connects our community who represent over 110 countries and territories across the globe

* Build our data & analytics capabilities so that we can adequately measure impact and strategically align efforts

* Improve community building efforts

* Expand our team

Xpat started as a result of my personal expat journey which began before I was even born. When my mother was pregnant with me, she migrated from her small hometown in Jamaica to America to provide my sister and I with a better quality of life. My mother’s courage and tenacity inspired me to move abroad to London and then eventually Portugal. Living abroad had such a profound impact on me as it opened up a world of opportunities and experiences that I didn’t even know existed.

Although my experiences were rewarding, they also exposed the disparities that existed. In addition to the underrepresentation & misrepresentation of the Black community there was a lack of relevant resources to support the daunting but worthwhile journey of living abroad. This inspired me to build a platform that catered to the the unique needs and interests of the Black expat community to counter some of the common barriers and challenges. 

In addition to equipping our community with knowledge, resources, and support, we are building the largest online directory of Black expats in the world so that our global footprint can be quantified, our journeys can be shared, and our global contributions acknowledged.

Black people are underrepresented and misrepresented in expat communities, which include people who study, work, or live abroad. This problem has life-changing implications as research supports the notion that living abroad or having international experience provides greater opportunities for social mobility, academic enrichment, professional advancement, and overall wellbeing. In addition to this challenge, there is also a data disparity as the true magnitude of this problem has not been quantified given that data around the global Black expat profile (e.g. size, needs, behaviors, etc.) is unknown. 

Xpat addresses these problems by equipping Black expats with relevant knowledge, resources, and community. Through various digital platforms we are actively working to dismantle common barriers which include underrepresentation, false narratives, data gaps, etc. through efforts such as The Xpat App (community and wellbeing app), Xpat Chats (live chat series featuring Black expat insights), and Xpat Reports (reports about the Black expat profile and experience). Collectively our efforts influence positive social change within the Black community and across the globe by increasing representation of Black expats, amplifying our voices, and providing much needed data and insights about the global Black expat experience and profile.

The work that we do at Xpat is innovative because we are taking a data driven approach to addressing the problem and empowering our community at the same time. The benefit of having a platform that is community focused (on Black expats) and technology enabled (through the Xpat App) gives us a competitive advantage because we will be the first organization to collect and present findings on the global Black expat experience and profile from the perspective of studying, working, and living abroad. Currently only data about race and studying abroad has been captured (inclusive of only a few nations) but this data has not been captured yet on a global scale for the Black community with respect to working and living abroad. 

We are going to disrupt the market because we will be able to provide data to support our efforts and requests for systemic changes in the way universities, companies, and organizations provide and support opportunities abroad for the global Black community. The unique insights that we will be able to offer, not only give us a competitive edge, but enable us to mitigate some of the data disparities that currently exist.

My story as a first generation American of Jamaican descent and now as a two time expat is a true testament to how and why Xpat will impact humanity. In addition to providing access to a better quality of life as I have experienced firsthand, Xpat provides a community and platform that creates a more equitable world.

Our key steps are to inform, engage, and inspire. We accomplish this through live chats, community discussions, and virtual events which make it easier than ever for our community to organically connect. The app also provides exclusive access to a global directory of Black expats, resources, and support groups. 

Our current platform and approach has proved to be effective given the organic growth of our app community to 1300 members in less than four months.

There are also additional impacts in the long run that are yet to be measured when we consider the implications that this has with respect to increasing the representation of the Black community on global platforms that influence local and global policies and opportunities for generations to come. Collectively, our efforts will improve social mobility, academic enrichment, professional advancement, and overall wellbeing outcomes across the globe.