Refugee agency, livelihoods and inclusion

Podcast description:

The majority of the world’s refugees live in countries with fragile economies, where opportunities for employment and self-reliance are often limited. With displacement lasting more than a decade on average, the question of how refugees can build sustainable livelihoods has become increasingly urgent.

In this fifth episode of Refugees at work – What are their Prospects?, Professor Alexander Betts and Bisimwa Mulemangabo discuss how refugees navigate labour markets, the barriers they face, and the innovative ways they create livelihoods.

The conversation explores the diversity of refugee economies, from small-scale entrepreneurship to professional employment, and highlights how policies, host community dynamics, and private sector engagement can shape outcomes.

Crucially, the discussion emphasizes the role of refugee agency — refugees’ own voices, choices, and aspirations — in designing effective and lasting solutions. By centring refugees as economic actors rather than passive recipients of aid, the episode points to pathways that can foster dignity, inclusion, and shared prosperity for both refugees and host communities.

(Produced by ILO PROSPECTS, with support from consultants Tom Netter and Philip Staercke)