How StepUp.One is Helping Refugees in Kenya get out of Poverty

Faye Savage Ambassador from myGwork and StepUp.One speaks with Kiyemba Andrew Team Leader and Mohamed Anis Founder Founder of StepUp.One, on how they pledge to upskill 1 million Refugees.

How did StepUp.One start?

In 2019 Mohamed Hassan from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya challenged 1000s CEOs at WEF Davos. In one interview Mohamed said:

‘I come from a refugee camp in Kenya, it’s homed to 185,000 refugees, from ten different countries and sometimes when people hear the word refugees, they think that it’s something that’s 6 months, but what happens when temporary becomes permanent? We have refugees like myself that come here [to the camp] for decades.’

‘I have come here to remind leaders that

they have a responsibility to the vulnerable

people on the edge of society.’

‘Sometimes we feel unwanted and that the world would not talk about that situation. So, I have come here to remind leaders that they have a responsibility to the vulnerable people on the edge of society. When we talk about globalisation and moving forward, how do we bring everyone on-board? And not leave them behind?’

Watch:

#BQAtWEF: Mohammed Hassan Mohamud On Life In Refugee Camp - YouTube

The spark that created Stepup.One - Mohamed Hassan WEF 2019 full speech

Inspired by Mohamed’s Hassans words, StepUp.One was founded in 2019 by Mohamed Anis. StepUp.One’s vision was and remains to reskill thousands of refugees into digital professionals and deploy them within global clients to deliver digital marketing, sales, recruitment and fundraising for Individuals, start-ups and enterprises.

In 2019, StepUp.One piloted 5 graduates’ programs alongside the UNHCR, this has now expanded to over 1000 graduates across 8 different camps.

Mohamed Hassan remains part of StepUp.One until this day and is a true inspiration, he chose to speak up.

What is the future aim?

StepOne.Up is committed to helping refugees out of poverty and become self-sufficient. They have pledged to do the following by 2032:

• Upskill 1 million Refugees in marketable skills

• Each Refugee earns USD 7200 per year resulting in 7.2 billion USD generated by Refugees

• Creating a 35 Billion USD economic boost to the community globally

• For example, Creating a $720 million economic boost to the Turkana country hosting the Kakuma Refugee Camp

Over three years, we have supported hundreds of companies, from start-ups to scale-ups to billion-dollar corporations. This year, we plan to scale the venture to 10,000 refugee graduates in Kakuma and then take it to 7 other camps by the end of 2022.

The idea is then to mirror the StepUp.One program into other Refugee camps across the Globe.

We asked Andrew: How has StepUp.One supported the LGBTQIA+ community in gaining skills and work?

StepUp.One has allowed Refugees from the LGBTQ+ environment to work from home, providing them with safety from at times hostile other Refugees. It has provided them with the opportunity to become more self sufficient and be able to pay for their medical treatment and other essentials, that otherwise are not readily available for them due to discrimination due to their sexuality. All we want to do is be able to work, so we can create our own opportunities.

Check out Faye's Interview with Kiyemba Andrew here.

‘We are a Refugee-led social impact enterprise reskilling

and helping to transform lives through

the power of employment.’

We asked Mohamed Anis: What can StepUp.One offer Companies and Entrepreneurs and how does StepUp.One work?

We are a Refugee-led social impact enterprise reskilling and helping to transform lives through the power of employment. We aim to support ‘long-term’ Refugees, so those who are currently in Refugee camps and have been for sometime and are unfortunately likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

We intend to use StepUp.One as a pilot, that other camps can mirror with our support, to help as many Refugees to become self-sufficient.

There are a number of ways businesses and individuals can get involved:

• You can become a mentor

• You can become an Ambassador and give us a voice

• You can become a trainer

• You can provide us with employment opportunities

Currently, we have a lot of generous and kind volunteers who have supported on the mentoring and training side, unfortunately finding Refugees work placements after completing their training has been more challenging.

Currently, there are 6 services StepUp.One offer to their clients:

• Marketing

• Selling

• Recruiting

• Hyper-Scaling

• SEO

• Fund-Raising

We currently work on 6 platforms based on Clients’ expected outcome:

• LinkedIn

• Amazon

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Email

Once Refugees are upskilled they can be employed Virrul Assistants, Social Media Managers, Online Marketers and Fundraisers to name a few.

StepUp.Onee gives companies and individuals the power to transform a Refugee's life, through acquiring new skills and being able to use their income to support their families and themselves. We understand the value of employment and give individuals the tools to pull themselves out of poverty.

For StepUp.One services there is no contract tie in, all we ask is that our Client’s communicate with us, that way we can keep offering a high standard of services to all who choose to support us.

When hiring a Refugee and on completion of the work, the Individual receives their salary, nothing is taken by StepUp.One.

‘ We have stepped up,

will you?’

Want to help? Get in touch

Please contact us via our website: https://stepup.one/

We have stepped up, will you?

By Faye Savage, myGwork Brand Ambassador