Youth Leading the Way: Lessons from the 2025 Refugee Economic Summit

To commemorate World Refugee Day 2025, young refugee leaders gathered in Accra for the first-ever Refugee Economic Summit organized by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). The YAC is a refugee youth-led initiative supported by the Mastercard Foundation and WUSC under the DREEM project. In a world where refugee voices are too often sidelined, this event served as a reminder: inclusion isn’t just the goal - it’s the method.

Bringing together refugee youth, government officials, private sector actors, and civil society leaders, the Summit focused on one central idea: leveraging community as a superpower to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for forcibly displaced youth. The Summit was organized and executed by refugee youth themselves, led by YAC Coordinators Vanessa Ishimwe and Felix Sesay.

In Ghana alone, over 15,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in camps and urban centers, and the call for stronger livelihood support and inclusion has never been more urgent.

One of the day’s feature panels spotlighted practical actions to overcome legal and financial barriers faced by refugees. During the session, Mr. Tetteh Padi of the Ghana Refugee Board announced new plans to issue official refugee ID cards to expand access to jobs and financial services. In response to the event, Rica Rwigamba, Country Director, Ghana, at the Mastercard Foundation, later emphasized the importance of young people as agents of transformational change: “By equipping refugee youth with tools for entrepreneurship and employment, we lay the foundation for long-term growth and peace.”

This event reflects a growing movement across Africa to center displaced youth in economic inclusion. It aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s Refugees and Displaced Persons strategy, a contributor to its Young Africa Works strategy.

This Summit wasn’t just a platform for refugee voices; it was a demonstration of what happens when youth lead. It proved that refugee communities are ready to co-create real solutions, and that partnerships grounded in lived experience can drive policy and program design forward.

• To Governments: Strengthen implementation of inclusive policies that allow refugees to work, move freely, and access essential services. Make processes transparent and accessible.
• To the Private Sector: Partner with refugee-led businesses and actively recruit displaced youth. This isn’t just inclusion - it’s a smart investment.
• To Fellow Refugee Youth: Keep showing up. Your voice, presence, and leadership are powerful. Be visible. Be bold.

The 2025 Refugee Economic Summit showed us what’s possible when refugee youth are given the tools, space, and trust to lead. Let’s keep listening. Let’s keep building. Because refugee youth leadership is not just symbolic; it's the key to building inclusive economies that work for everyone.