LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new partnership launched today between the Citi Foundation and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) will provide refugees, young people displaced within their own countries and vulnerable youth from the communities hosting them with support to help them generate a reliable income and contribute to their local economy.
Throughout the two-year project, Rescuing Futures, nearly 1,000 young people across three cities; Athens in Greece, Amman in Jordan and Yola in northeast Nigeria, will be supported to start their own businesses.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee said: “The IRC’s partnership with the Citi Foundation represents a best-in-class global public-private partnership. “The IRC has unique expertise in working with conflict-affected populations and the urban-displaced to build economic resilience. Alongside the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative, a commendable commitment to investing in the futures of young people, this project will have a life-changing impact on some of the most marginalized youth around the world.”
The humanitarian landscape is changing; 60% of the world’s refugees, and 80% of internally displaced people, now live in urban areas, and four-fifths live in developing countries that can least afford to host them. There are more young people in the world now than ever before – 1.2 billion – and they face huge challenges with employment.
Jim Cowles, CEO of Citi Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said: “Our Pathways to Progress initiative is our solution to securing positive futures for vulnerable young people. Working with the IRC will enable us to invest in some of EMEA’s most vulnerable youth and put them on a sustainable economic path. Given today’s context, well designed interventions like Rescuing Futures can address inequality of opportunity, and positively impact community wellbeing and economic growth.”
The Citi Foundation is a longstanding supporter of the IRC, helping to fund their Research & Development and emergency work in recent years. This year saw the expansion of the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative globally with a $100million commitment to reach 500,000 young people with entrepreneurship and employability training before 2020. Alongside the $2 million grant from the Citi Foundation, a further $8 million has been committed across EMEA to support programmes under the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative and contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: reducing youth unemployment. Grants include $1.6 million to Youth Business International, $1.3 million to TechnoServe, $450,000 to United States African Development Foundation, and $450,000 to Ruwwad Al-Tanmeya.
About the Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation.
About the IRC
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 28 offices across the U.S. helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue-uk.org and on Twitter and Facebook.
About Citi:
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi
