Refugee lens investing

Refugee lens investing is an investing framework that connects financing with refugees. It is based on the concept of impact investment, which focuses on the alignment of investor's financial return with social and environmental benefits.
Background
Refugee lens investing was developed by the Refugee Investment Network (RIN), which was established in 2018 by John Kluge. It is described as a movement that aims to tap the economic potential of refugees. Investing in refugees follows the ideas of economists such as John Maynard Keynes, who outlined the benefits of public investment, and Philippe Legrain, who maintained that "investment in refugees acts like a fiscal stimulus yielding an immediate demand dividend." Refugee lens investing identifies the opportunities of this group, which has a global population of 70 million, a number that is expected to expand by 300 million in the next decade due to climate change. John Kluge, RIN founder, maintained that humanitarian response is important but it is not enough due to its unsustainability. In a report, the World Bank maintained the need for the application of a migrant/refugee lens with a clear set of criteria for investments on both refugees and their host communities.
Refugee financing framework
Refugee lens investing deploys capital toward refugees and the communities hosting them. RIN refers to the investing framework as a “connective tissue” that mobilizes investment on refugee entrepreneurs. In the investment framework, refugees are defined as those group of people who are externally or internally displaced by armed or political conflict, ethnic tension, discrimination, environmental disaster, and the displacement of indigenous communities. Investments draw from RIN's private capital, which has more than $200 million in commitments.

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