Konexio

Unemployment is a top challenge facing refugees, leading to financial insecurity and lack of integration. Meanwhile, the labor market faces a dearth of digitally skilled talent. Konexio transforms these challenges into opportunities by training refugees to meet society’s demand for digital skills. Konexio combines in-person classes with a proprietary online course built in partnership with Crossknowledge, a platform accessible from any mobile device. Once trainees complete courses, Konexio offers direct work placement with leading tech companies, overcoming systemic hiring bias.

Konexio is fully deployed in France, a final-resettlement country facing severe social division, and has recently launched a pilot in Malawi, a country of first asylum that lacks economic opportunity. The French model focuses on employment as a means to integration and provides a model for scale in Western countries, while the Malawi pilot focuses on poverty intervention and could reach the 16 million people living in refugee camps globally.

France currently faces the challenge of integrating over 300,000 refugees. Addressing unemployment is key: work provides not only a paycheck but also a foundation for integration. Refugees take up to 20 years to reach employment levels compared to nationals, confronting downward social mobility and a loss of recognition of their credentials. Language barriers and lack of a local network further hinder integration. 

Globally, refugees living in refugee camps lack the right to work in their host countries, resulting in widespread poverty and reliance on handouts. A typical length of stay at a refugee camp averages 17 years. Not only is 17 years of unemployment financially destructive, it also takes an extreme toll on mental health and withers employable skills.

Meanwhile, Europe’s demand for digitally skilled talent is skyrocketing. France, which has adopted digital platforms for even its most basic services, faces a shortage of ICT professionals. Currently, 90% of jobs require a basic level of digital literacy. Reliance on digital skills is growing at a pace that society has not yet caught up with.

Konexio’s European programs target refugees resettling permanently in Francophone Europe, who lack basic digital skills to keep up with a job market that increasingly demands tech talent.  Though programs are not limited by age, Konexio generally attracts trainees in the 18-35 age range. Konexio also makes particular effort to recruit women to combat the tech industry’s gender imbalance. Konexio was founded by two immigrant women of color, and includes minority and female perspectives in the leadership. Konexio also relies on continuous feedback from trainees to make iterative program improvements. Konexio’s holistic programs go beyond technical training to address refugee-specific issues, such as cultural adjustment and integration. 

Konexio recently launched its first international pilot program in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, which has 40,000 inhabitants. This program teaches digital skills specifically for freelance work as a means of economic empowerment, since refugees lack the legal right to work in Malawi. Once implemented at high-needs refugee camps globally, Konexio’s programs would impact over 16 million people. In Dzaleka, Konexio collaborates with UNHCR and locally run NGOs such as Jesuit Refugee Services to ensure that refugee voices contribute to the solution.

Konexio empowers refugees through a three-part model. Firstly, Konexio provides digital training, ranging in level from computer basics to full-stack web development. Then, Konexio works with trainees to develop soft skills and language ability. Finally, once trainees have completed their chosen course, Konexio offers a streamlined path to economic opportunity, either through direct work placement or online freelance work. Konexio’s programs combine in-person instruction with e-learning. Students not only participate in in-person courses, but also have supplementary access to our custom e-learning platform created in collaboration with Crossknowledge. Konexio’s platform uses AI to personalize learning and focuses on skillsets key to professional success. 

The first two components of Konexio’s model focus on technical training and soft skills development. Konexio’s technical courses include Digital Basics, a three-month course covering basic skills such as computer usage and Microsoft Suite, DigiStart, an eight-week intro course on web development, and DigiTalents, a 4.5-month program training full-stack web and mobile application developers. Throughout courses, Konexio trainees hone soft-skills through workshops co-created with top tech companies, such as Salesforce and SAP. Additionally, Konexio weaves language-learning throughout the curriculum, so that trainees emerge with a working knowledge of professional language.

The third and vital component of Konexio’s program is a streamlined path to economic opportunity. Upon completing Digital Basics, trainees earn the European Computer Skills Driving License (ICDL), an accredited certificate broadly recognized by employers. Upon completing DigiTalents, trainees meet entry-level requirements for careers in web and app development. Konexio has deployed all courses in its French programs, and is piloting a version of Digital Basics in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, focusing on digital freelance work. Konexio aims to place all trainees from French programs in apprenticeships with local companies seeking tech talent, thus giving trainees vital work experience and their own professional networks. In Malawi, by upskilling refugees to qualify for low-to-mid level digital freelance work, refugees dramatically increase their incomes while gaining valuable professional skills that will support them after they move on from refugee camps. 

Konexio’s solution distinguishes itself through its three-step model of technical training, soft skills development, and a streamlined path to economic opportunity. Though many programs offer technical training, merely teaching technical skills overlooks the unique needs of refugees to gain soft skills and overcome traditional hiring barriers. By addressing these, Konexio offers a holistic, tech-based, and scalable solution to overcoming unemployment for refugees, migrants, and underserved youth.

Konexio’s programs take an innovative approach to solving refugee unemployment by addressing barriers that exist in traditional solutions. Existing programs are multi-year , excluding those who need more immediate employment; expensive, excluding those who cannot afford to enroll; or too advanced, excluding those who first require mastering of digital basics. Many solutions focus only on soft or hard skills, not both. And without direct job placement, existing programs cannot address hiring discrimination against non-traditional candidates such as refugees.

Konexio addresses these points by offering training programs lasting a maximum of 5 months and by providing free access to courses. In order to provide a holistic program, Konexio places added focus on workforce readiness, through modules that include soft skills and language training. Finally, we connect trainees with their first professional engagements, overcoming a hiring bias against people from traditionally discriminated-against backgrounds.

We work with a community of volunteers who are engaged in our pre-certification level courses as assistant workshop instructors. These volunteers, many of whom are either professionals in the tech space or former Konexio students, not only provide our students with an introduction to digital literacy, but also assist in the social integration of our students. Our content is also informed not only by the digital skills needs to the labor market, but also on the needs of our students. We surveyed over 50 different associative partners who work directly with our refugee students in order to assess the specific skills needed to facilitate their personal and professional lives.

Technology is at the core of Konexio’s programs. Our method across all program levels blends classroom teaching and personalized learning on an innovative e-learning platform, created in partnership with Crossknowledge, the global leader in digital learning solutions. Our adapted tech tools allow us to provide solutions to all our students, from those learning computer literacy for the first time to students learning complex code languages. The platform makes possible automatic evaluation of exercises and projects, allowing for an adapted learning pathway.

We are also developing additional tech tools to respond to the needs of our growing community of learners and instructors. We are working with Stanford University to finish construction on our mentorship matching mobile application, which will allow our students to seamlessly connect with tech mentors across the globe, and an internal platform that will allow us to connect the ensemble of Konexio instructors and volunteers across the globe. 

Konexio’s three-step model was developed in response to the inability of traditional tech-training solutions to solve refugee unemployment and lack of integration. Our holistic model, which includes free tech training, soft skills development, and a streamlined path to employment, will succeed where others have not because we have identified key gaps where refugees were being lost in the traditional experience. The first component, free technical training, gives refugees access to a booming sector of the economy, but on its own is not enough. Konexio’s soft skills training, including workshops on project management and teamwork as well as professional language development, is tailored to the specific needs of refugees as they integrate into the workforce. Konexio’s third component, a streamlined path to employment, overcomes traditional barriers to hiring such as unconscious bias and a lack of a professional network with which to gain referrals. 

Of the former trainees we surveyed, 70% have found jobs, started their own entrepreneurial projects, or enrolled in further education; 94% say they’ve gained valuable digital skills that they use on a daily basis, and 94% feel more integrated in their communities.

Since 2016, Konexio has trained over 350 students, and in the next year alone, our training programs will reach 500 additional students in France and Malawi. In five years, we estimate this to be over 10,000. This increase is due to two key expansion mechanisms: franchise in Europe, and partnership growth in the developing world. The number of people Konexio can reach in Europe has been growing dramatically, and is limited mostly by operational limitations such as a lack of instructors or classroom space. Since launching a Konexio pilot in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, the partnership with Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) has proved promising, and JRS leadership has expressed interest in rolling out Konexio programs in high-needs, high-population refugee camps such as those in Jordan. This growth through partnership would expand Konexio’s reach to all of JRS’s established clients. 

We have, and will continue to create real impact in our students' lives by providing the digital and soft skills necessary for job market access and professional/personal development, both of which promote long-term integration. In five years time, this population will continue to include refugees while also incorporating unemployed locals and school dropouts. The positive effects we will continue to see include access to professional opportunities, integration, and economic mobility.

Konexio plans to grow through two key mechanisms: strategic partnerships and franchise. 

Konexio will build strategic partnerships in which we license our curriculum, training materials, and training model to other organizations to increase our impact. Our innovative e-learning platform is fully scalable. We have received requests from several organizations in Europe (Germany) and globally (Gaza, Jordan, Columbia) to partner. In the next year, we will select several pilots that test the partnership model. A partnership with Jesuit Refugee Services commenced in the spring of 2019 in a refugee camp of 35,000 individuals in Dzaleka, Malawi. Results so far have been promising, and Konexio will learn from the pilot and replicate successes in Malawi elsewhere. The potential beneficiary pool of refugees living in camps worldwide is as high as 16 million people.

Konexio will also franchise in high-needs areas in Europe. We aim to open two satellite locations (Lille and Lyon) in 5 years’ time. We selected these two cities based on their potential to support our factors to scale as well as their substantial populations of unemployed refugees and migrants. Over the next two years, we will be laying the groundwork for this launch. Once established in high-needs locations across Francophone Europe, Konexio has the potential to reach as many as 1.3 million people.

Two key barriers to Konexio’s reach are the need for more staff and training materials, and the need for more corporate partnerships. 

To keep pace with demand for our programs, Konexio needs to hire operational and educational staff, as well as purchase training materials such as laptops and software licenses. Currently, Konexio relies heavily on a committed corps of long-term volunteers, including Service Civiques, interns who commit up to 12 months of service. To scale, Konexio will need to hire operational staff to coordinate expansion, as well as instructors to oversee teaching and classroom operations. In order to gain funds for staff growth and training materials for new locations, Konexio will rely on large grants as it achieves financial self-sustainability through a social enterprise wing that acts as a talent contracting agency. 

Since corporate partnerships are key to developing the funds for growth, gaining more corporate partners who want to hire Konexio talent for limited-term apprenticeships is key. Currently, Konexio is in talks with a number of companies who are interested in such an arrangement, such as SAP, Salesforce, L’Oréal, and more. However, Konexio must expand its roster of corporate partners and lock down partnerships if we are to become financially self sustainable in the midst of program growth.

Konexio’s first barrier, the need to hire more staff and purchase classroom resources, is largely financial. To overcome this barrier, Konexio is actively developing its grantmaking with mid-to-large size US foundations and donors who will invest in our long-term success. Rather than applying only for small prizes, as we have done in the past, Konexio is developing an outreach strategy to build partnerships and relationships with program officers and other foundations officials, the first step to gaining stable grant revenue. Konexio has recently tapped into public grants from European entities, and will continue to pursue those opportunities. The final action Konexio is taking to overcome financial barriers is developing corporate partnerships with companies seeking to hire Konexio talent. 

Developing corporate partnerships with companies seeking to hire Konexio talent is our second hurdle. Konexio currently has the support of a handful of tech companies in implementing its programs, as well as the support of companies in the TENT Foundation, but it needs to expand its roster of corporate clients in order to become financially self-sustainable. The goal is to support ourselves through an enterprise wing, which contracts out Konexio talent to corporate partners at competitive rates. To reach the private sector, Konexio has recently conducted a speaking tour, in order to network in key cities such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco. We also hope to win fellowships such as MIT Solve to be part of a changemaker network that better connects Konexio to the private sector.

Full time staff: 10

Volunteers (Konexio courses): 60

Volunteers (organizational support): 10

Co-founders Jean Guo and Binta Jammeh met as Fulbrighters in Paris in 2016. Researching economic and health issues in refugee communities, Jean found that unemployment and a lack of local integration contributed significantly to poor health outcomes. Binta taught in Paris’s refugee-dense suburbs, where she pioneered new technologies for the classroom. Konexio, which utilizes tech education as a means of supporting refugee employment and integration, represents the confluence of each co-founder’s expertise. Additionally, both co-founders come from immigrant backgrounds, and understand firsthand the unique challenges facing refugees and migrants. 

As CEO, Jean handles Konexio’s business side, including developing partnerships and funding opportunities. As CCO, Binta handles the communications and community management and engagement of Konexio students, volunteers, instructors, and partners. Both co-founders pitch the organization to investors, foundations, and competitions, and are involved in establishing local ties with the community.

Team Konexio embodies a fighting spirit of diverse members from all walks of life and nearly every corner of the globe. We’re refugees, migrants, expatriates, locals, men, women, old, and young who are committed to using digital learning to highlight the potential of excluded and disadvantaged publics to be at the forefront of digital and socio-economic inclusion. Our team members and volunteers have diverse skill sets, including web development, communications, business operations, legal affairs, and fundraising. Volunteers come from over 12 countries and speak over 10 languages, including French, Arabic, and English. Our diverse cultural backgrounds make Konexio an accessible hub for people of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

We currently work with 70+ local and international partnerships. Corporate partners include leading tech companies such as SAP, Salesforce, Algolia and UIPath who work in supporting our soft skills workshops and technical skills training. NGO partners include UNHCR, Techfugees, and Jesuit Refugee Services, who help in the sourcing and recruitment of students. Institutions including the US government, French national government and regional and local governments, the Institute for International Education, and the Digital Labs/Library Network of Paris support Konexio through funding, networking, and classroom space. Konexio is additionally working with UNHCR to expand its Malawi pilot to other locations of critical need, such as in Jordan, which has been heavily impacted by the Syrian refugee crisis.

Our current funding comes from government and foundation grants. As we expand and add a social enterprise arm, we plan to diversify our revenue streams. With this hybrid status, we are looking to implement two key revenue models:

1. Tech headhunters with a social mission. Students will be self-employed entrepreneurs, and Konexio will receive a fee from the client firm. The talent sourcing arm of the organization is for-profit, while our training-based code school is non-profit. 

2. Tech contractors with a social mission. A team of Konexio trainees will provide services for freelance projects. Konexio is responsible for managing the project and providing deliverables as a contractor. The for-profit arm of the organization is the project team while our training-based code school is non-profit. 

With digital skills and digitally-trained talent in growing demand across Europe -- 90% of jobs across the continent require the use of digital skills, and Europe will have over 1 million vacant jobs requiring digitally-skilled workers b 2020 -- we have a solution that will not only allow companies to fill this market demand for talent, but to do so by supporting diversity, social inclusion, and championing corporate social responsibility.

Konexio is developing a social enterprise wing in which it acts as a talent contracting agency. This not only helps Konexio’s trainees gain real-world experience, but also provides Konexio with the revenue to cover the trainee’s expenses. We will use two models for contracting: Konexio as a headhunter, and Konexio as a talent agency. When Konexio acts as a headhunter, Konexio trainees are placed into jobs at the client company, and Konexio will take a small fee for providing the client with talent. When Konexio acts as a talent agency, teams of Konexio trainees will accept projects from clients and complete them in-house, managing the project end-to-end. Konexio pays trainees directly for their work and earns net revenue, which allows the organization to cover trainee expenses. 

In addition to the social enterprise wing, Konexio is actively developing grantmaking opportunities with private US foundations and donors. Rather than chasing after small prizes, Konexio is seeking partnerships with foundations invested in long-term project success, and who can provide recurring funding over a period of several years.

We are applying to Solve because we believe that our initiative provides a solution for the challenge which examines how refugees on the losing end of the digital and technology divide can overcome this through increased access to digital learning and training initiatives. Our emphasis on building communities of support and leveraging innovative tech tools will help our students create productive lives for themselves in their new host communities, and the Solve network of opportunities and resources will bring us even closer to our goal of championing job access and inclusion for all in the digital age.

Currently, Konexio is prioritizing developing partnerships with tech companies and other corporations as part of its strategy towards financial self-sustainability. In particular, companies that have made supporting refugees and immigrants part of their CSR platforms are ideal. Such companies include Airbnb, Google, and Microsoft. Konexio is seeking corporate partners that not only collaborate to provide workshops and mentorship to trainees, but also work with Konexio as a contracting agency so that we can place graduated trainees in paid apprenticeships and internships. Another reason these partnerships figure so prominently in Konexio's strategy is that in contrast to many refugee-focused NGOs, we seek to prioritize solutions found in the private sector. Since a key component of refugee integration is supporting individuals to the point of financial independence, the closer we can bring trainees to the private sector, the better. Additionally, this makes Konexio more resilient to potential changes in political climate, which may affect public funding.

Secondary to corporate partnerships, Konexio is seeking partnerships with NGOs that would be able to run Konexio courses as part of their existing programs, in similar to the JRS-Konexio pilot currently running in Malawi. Potential partners could include international programs such as the IRC or local grassroots providers such as Refugee Transitions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Konexio would like to apply to the Innovation for Refugee Inclusion prize as our work in refugee integration and economic self reliance is directly related to the goals of the competition. If we were to win this prize, the funds would go entirely to program and staff expansion. Konexio's priority is to hire more classroom instructors and purchase more training materials so that we can move students off the course wait list, currently nearing 100 students, into classrooms. As Konexio's programs grow, so will our impact statistics, helping us to more effectively develop the corporate partnerships that move the organization towards full financial self-sustainability and further support refugees with a streamlined path to employment.