Cuso International joins forces with Tent Partnership for Refugees helping businesses integrate refugees in their new communities

March 18, 2021 – Today, Cuso International is joining forces with the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) – a global network of over 140 major companies committed to integrating refugees in their host communities – by becoming one of its preferred implementing partners.

Tent’s preferred implementing partners are a coalition of organizations around the world that have a proven track record of providing quality services at scale to companies implementing refugee programs. Tent has invited organizations to become a preferred partner if their areas of focus include helping refugees find employment or supporting refugee entrepreneurs.

Cuso International is one of 16 organizations, including ACCES Employment, Casa Refugiados, Community Corporate, EachOne, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), INTRARE, Jobs4Refugees, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Migraflix, MOSAIC, Powercoders, Refugee Talent Hub, SPARK, The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN), and United Work, that have been selected.

Over the past six years, Cuso International, with the support of the Government of Canada, has implemented the SCOPE project (Empleos para construir futuro) in Colombia in partnership with official job intermediation agents, the public and private sectors, as well as civil society organizations.

Through this initiative, Cuso carries out activities helping companies find human talent for their job vacancies, while vulnerable people such as migrants and refugees overcome obstacles to employment and remain in the labor market. To date, the project has registered more than 13,800 direct beneficiaries and close to 6,400 have gained access to formal employment.

Given the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela Cuso International, through strong business partnerships, has linked 725 migrants and refugees to formal employment. Cuso is also providing online courses for companies and public sector entities providing guidance on hiring migrants, the benefits of labor inclusion and the value of diversity.

“Our selection as a preferred partner of Tent is a source of pride for Cuso International and, at the same time, implies a greater commitment to strengthening the inclusive employment ecosystem for migrants, women, youth and victims of the armed conflict, which will certainly contribute to a better and more equitable society.” said Alejandro Matos, Country Director, Cuso International Colombia.

Founded by Chobani’s CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, Tent is a network of major global companies — including H&M, Philips, and Starbucks, among others — who are integrating refugees in their core business operations.

Scarlet Cronin, Senior Director of Global Partnerships at Tent, said: “We’ve built a network of organizations around the world that can provide local, tailored, expertise to businesses that are interested in developing and executing refugee programs. Cuso International is giving vital, on-the-ground, support to businesses – helping them reach the local refugee population and better understand how to make their refugee programs most effective.”

For more information about Tent’s preferred implementing partners visit, www.tent.org/our-partners-orgs/.

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About Cuso International

Cuso International is a Canadian charity focused on ending poverty and inequality. It works in partnership with governments, civil society organizations, multilateral agencies, and the private sector. It delivers programs aimed at advancing gender equality, promoting the empowerment of women and girls, and improving economic opportunities for young people. Each year, Cuso mobilizes hundreds of skilled volunteers who work alongside local partners to maximize their impact and build capacity.

 About the Tent Partnership for Refugees

With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of 30 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani’s founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 140 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations – by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs, and consumers. The full list of Tent members can be found here. Find out more at www.tent.org.