Refugee youth represent one of the most underutilized yet potentially transformative forces in global humanitarian efforts. Too often viewed as passive beneficiaries, displaced young people are frequently sidelined from decision-making processes that affect their lives. This report argues for a radical shift: recognizing refugee youth as architects of change and investing in their leadership, innovation, and agency.
Refugee Youth Changemakers (RYCM) is a pioneering initiative that incubates youth-led solutions in East African displacement contexts. Through localized programming, capacity building, mentorship, and micro-grants, RYCM empowers refugee youth to design, lead, and scale projects that address the most pressing challenges in their communities—from gender equity to mental health to climate resilience. This 10-page report provides a comprehensive analysis of the problem, presents data, highlights impact stories, and outlines a strategic roadmap to expand refugee-led innovation through multisectoral partnerships.
There are more than 13.2 million refugees in Africa (UNHCR, 2024), with over 70% under the age of 35. These youth face systemic exclusion from education, employment, civic life, and funding ecosystems. Most humanitarian programming treats refugee youth as recipients rather than co-creators, leading to solutions that lack local ownership, sustainability, and impact.
Key barriers include:
Lack of funding access for youth-led organizations
Exclusion from decision-making spaces (policy forums, response planning)
Limited mentorship and technical skills development
Gender-based constraints that disproportionately silence young women
RYCM began as a student agricultural initiative at Earth University and evolved into a refugee youth empowerment movement in East Africa. Our strategy rests on three core pillars:
We work directly in camps and urban displacement areas to identify youth with ideas to solve community problems. We offer:
Design thinking training
Leadership development
Technical mentorship
Micro-grants (USD $500 – $2,000)
We advocate for the integration of refugee youth into camp governance, NGO coordination platforms, and national youth councils. We help youth craft advocacy agendas and facilitate representation at key meetings.
RYCM brokers partnerships between youth-led initiatives and NGOs, governments, and private sector actors. We link innovations to platforms that can scale them regionally and globally.
| Impact Area | Metric | Data |
|---|---|---|
| Projects Incubated | No. of youth-led initiatives supported | 38 |
| Geographic Reach | Countries | Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya |
| Beneficiaries Reached | Direct and Indirect | ~21,000 |
| Mentors Trained | Local and diaspora professionals | 63 |
| Youth Leaders Elevated | Youth trained who now lead orgs | 17 |
| Partnerships Secured | Collaborations with NGOs & donors | 9 |
In Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement (Uganda), RYCM supported a youth group to launch a solar-powered mobile charging hub. This initiative reached over 4,000 people in its first 6 months and won the DREEM Youth Innovation Prize 2023.
In Kiziba Refugee Camp (Rwanda), young women designed a community mental health workshop series that now runs quarterly, supported by peer counsellors trained by RYCM.
If refugee youth are equipped with tools, mentorship, and funding to design solutions, then they will become catalysts of social transformation in their communities.
Our model is built on five outcomes:
Increased youth confidence and leadership
Localized innovation that meets real needs
Community ownership and sustainability
Reduced donor dependency through co-investment
Policy influence through youth advocacy
Despite global emphasis on localization, less than 1.2% of humanitarian funding reached local actors in 2023 (OCHA Financial Tracking System).
Specific challenges for refugee youth-led solutions include:
Legal status barriers to registering youth-led NGOs
Donor risk aversion to funding informal or unregistered initiatives
Lack of data on refugee youth capacities and needs
Digital exclusion in camps limiting online participation
Regional Policy Context:
IGAD’s Nairobi Declaration (2017) promotes refugee inclusion, but implementation is uneven.
East African Community has youth charters, yet few mechanisms to include displaced youth.
Refugee-Led: All core staff and founders are from refugee backgrounds.
East Africa-Focused: Deep contextual knowledge of settlements and host communities.
Intersectional: We integrate gender, disability, and climate resilience into all projects.
Establish physical and digital hubs in 5 displacement settings for ideation, training, and co-working.
Establish an East Africa Refugee Youth Innovation Fund managed by youth, capitalized at $5M over 5 years.
Form an interagency coalition on Refugee-Led Solutions to facilitate collaboration, policy dialogue, and learning.
Develop a dashboard tracking youth-led solutions, outcomes, and funding flows to inform future investments.
At a time of escalating displacement, investing in refugee-led innovation is not charity—it is strategy. The future of humanitarian and development programming must be participatory, localized, and sustainable. RYCM represents a tested, scalable model that centers youth leadership and community ownership.
We invite governments, donors, NGOs, and the private sector to join us in transforming displacement into opportunity. Together, we can create ecosystems where refugee youth are no longer left behind—but are leading from the front.
UNHCR (2024). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2023. https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends
→ Provided displacement figures and demographic trends.
OCHA Financial Tracking Service (2023). Humanitarian Funding Data.
https://fts.unocha.org
→ Cited for the <1.2% of humanitarian aid reaching local actors.
IGAD (2017). Nairobi Declaration on Durable Solutions for Somali Refugees and Reintegration of Returnees in Somalia.
https://igad.int
→ Regional policy reference promoting refugee inclusion.
East African Community (EAC). Youth Policy Framework.
https://www.eac.int/
→ Cited for youth inclusion efforts in regional policies.
Mastercard Foundation (2023). DREEM Project Overview.
https://mastercardfoundation.org
→ Support program reference for refugee youth mentorship and innovation.
World University Service of Canada (WUSC). Youth Engagement and Empowerment Programs.
https://wusc.ca
→ Partner for innovation incubation and summit organization.
Refugee Education Council (2022). Principles for Meaningful Refugee Participation.
https://refugeeeducationcouncil.org
→ Framework used to design inclusive youth engagement.
RYCM Internal Monitoring Reports (2022–2024).
→ Provided original program data, case studies, and impact metrics.
Brookings Institution (2021). Reimagining the Humanitarian-Development Nexus.
https://www.brookings.edu
→ Insight on localizing aid and refugee-led programming.
UNESCO (2022). Education for Displaced and Refugee Youth.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org
→ Used to highlight education access issues in East Africa.
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