Inclusive Economies for Urban Migrants & Refugees
Summary
In 2024, the Mayors Migration Council committed to launch a new multi-year initiative to enhance the economic self-reliance and social inclusion of 5,000 migrants and refugees living in cities by the end of 2027. By conducting comprehensive research, facilitating mayor-led advocacy, and providing direct technical and financial support to city governments, the initiative will amplify positive narratives that accelerate pro-migrant policy change and implement city-led solutions that have a tangible impact on the lives of migrants, refugees, and receiving communities. A global mayoral coalition will develop a joint policy agenda on economic inclusion for migrants and refugees and to influence national and international actors. The project will also provide direct financial and technical support to five city governments to implement innovative solutions on economic inclusion by creating a new dedicated funding window of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees and generate research and analysis to support mayoral advocacy and action on economic inclusion, focusing on key sectors for the green economy.
Approach
The Mayors Migration Council (MMC) commits to launching a new multi-annual initiative to enhance the economic self-reliance and social inclusion of 5,000 migrants and refugees living in cities by 2027. By conducting comprehensive research, facilitating mayor-led advocacy, and providing direct technical and financial support to city governments, the initiative will build new evidence that advances the field; amplify positive narratives that accelerate policy change; and implement city-led solutions that have a tangible impact on the lives of migrants, refugees, and receiving communities today while building the case for accelerating the localization of humanitarian and development aid in the future. The initiative will directly engage 10 global mayors.
The MMC will deliver the initiative across three interconnected pillars:
Advocacy: Launch a global mayoral coalition to develop a joint policy agenda on economic inclusion for migrants and refugees and to influence national and international actors. The coalition will build on the successful framework of the Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration and produce a political agenda on economic inclusion similar to The Global Mayors Action Agenda on Climate and Migration (mayorsmigrationcouncil.org/news/c40-mmc-action-agenda) .
Action Plan
During the 2024 CGI meeting, the MMC will announce the new initiative in collaboration with anchor donors and strategic partners, creating momentum among other stakeholders. In parallel, the MMC will begin executing key preparatory steps for implementation in 2025.
In 2025 the MMC will:
Produce a ‘State of the Field’ analysis that defines how economic inclusion manifests in cities and identifies approaches and sectors with the greatest potential for action
Establish a new mayoral coalition dedicated to economic inclusion for migrants and refugees
Run a transparent selection process to identify and grant at least five new city government projects which advance economic inclusion through the GCF. The grantees will implement these projects over a 24-month period.
In 2026, the MMC will:
Use insights from the State of the Field to develop a targeted ‘Research Deep Dive’ into high-need, high-potential areas that addresses critical data gaps to support advocacy for improved policies and positive narratives
Assist the mayoral coalition in developing and amplifying a unified Political Agenda to advance economic inclusion for migrants and refugees, including key asks to national governments, the international community, and the private sector.
Connect city grantees to a robust suite of capacity building tools and sessions to enhance the implementation of their projects.
In 2027, the MMC will:
Conduct a review of the initiative’s overall progress, documenting the initial outcomes of evidence-based advocacy and the implementation projects funded by the GCF
Continue to enhance the impact of the mayoral coalition by providing targeted advocacy support to mayors, seizing emerging political opportunities at key multilateral events and decision-making forums
Facilitate connections between cities and external donors or partners to enhance the impact and sustainability of their projects, through matchmaking platforms and convenings.
Background
Most migrants and refugees turn to cities for safety and opportunity, with one in five international migrants living in just 20 cities (UN, 2015) and 70 percent of displaced people seeking refuge in urban areas (UNHCR, 2023) . As major economic hubs generating 80 percent of global GDP (World Bank, 2023) , cities offer unparalleled economic opportunities for newcomers, including diverse job markets and entrepreneurial prospects. In turn, migrants and refugees contribute significantly to local economies, including by addressing labor shortages and skill gaps. However, their legal status may restrict their access to work authorization; their livelihoods may rely on the informal or gig economies, putting them at risk of exploitation and instability; and discrimination may limit their access to capital and economic opportunities.
Despite these challenges, mayors and city governments from all over the world are stepping up with pragmatic solutions —from vocational training for Venezuelans in Barranquilla, Colombia, to green job creation programs in Milan, Italy, or microenterprises for migrant youth in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Yet mayors still face barriers that limit their capacity to deliver solutions at scale. The lack of local-level data on economic inclusion limits mayors’ ability to gather evidence needed to counter negative narratives on migration. National policies restrict or delay access to work permits and social services essential for including migrants and refugees into local economies. And city governments struggle to access domestic and international finance needed to deliver programs that benefit migrants and refugees. Nationally, central governments provide limited, earmarked funding. Internationally, financial institutions often require national guarantees or high credit ratings, which many cities, particularly in low-income countries, lack. In 2022, only 1.2% of all international humanitarian funding reached local actors (Development Initiatives, 2023) and less than 8% of the needed annual climate finance was urban (Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, 2023) .
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
While the MMC has secured the resources required to launch and implement the commitment, it is primarily seeking additional financial resources to scale the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees and grant more city governments to implement economic inclusion projects, implementing partners to provide in-kind support to mayors and city governments advancing economic inclusion within their own cities, and media support to amplify the initiative as model behavior. This said, the MMC welcomes additional thematic expertise on city-level economic inclusion, as well as best practices from cities around the world, to inform and strengthen our activities., The MMC is offering mayors and their city governments access to the organization’s full suite of programmatic offerings, including advocacy and diplomatic support, access to relevant international decision making processes, new evidence on effective economic inclusion practices, and both direct and indirect financial and technical resources to implement promising projects that advance economic inclusion, such as workforce development, labor mobility, entrepreneurship support, and strengthening green economies. The MMC is also offering participating mayors communications support through access to media partners and co-producing media products.
At the same time, the MMC is offering donors and strategic partners unique access to mayors and city governments, brokering connections for mayors to inform international actors’ operations and policy development. For example, the MMC will connect mayors with UNHCR and IOM country programs to advise their economic inclusion programs within cities.