How displaced people are driving local economies | Julienne Oyler

0:00This episode is sponsored by Toyota. Independence is one of those words that sounds simple, but when you really think about it, it's deeply personal. For some people, it's about freedom. For others, it's about flexibility or just having options that actually fit your life. That idea shows up in interesting ways in the tools we choose, especially now as more people think about switching to electric vehicles. Toyota's approach is to give people real choice. With their new all-electric family, the BZ, the BZ Woodland, and the CHR, each vehicle is designed a little differently, for different kinds of lives.

0:32So whether independence means getting through your day more efficiently or having the freedom to explore what's next, it's about finding something that works for you. Learn more at Toyota.com. The new all-electric family. Toyota. Let's go places. Hey, it's Paige from Giggly Squad, and I want to let you know that if you want the newest and hottest beauty products, you have to go to Sephora. I'm obsessed with the One Size Liquid Blotting Paper Spray. It's the first of its kind blotting spray that mattifies for up to eight hours. It's unreal. There's also the Summer Friday Shade Drops SPF 50, which basically lives in my bag at this point.

1:09Oh, and the Kay Alley Eden Plush Pear smells so good. It's sweet, warm, and addictive. Like, people literally stop me and ask what perfume I'm wearing, which you know I love. So if you want the makeup, skincare, hair, and fragrance products, everyone's about to be obsessed with, shop only at Sephora. This episode is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI. They already deployed one. It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping. Using self-reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks, it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.

1:45It helps schedule a test drive, get pre-approved for financing, and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive, and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One. Right now, over 117 million people across the globe have been forcibly displaced from their homes and homelands. That number has steadily risen over the past 20 years, and it's only going to increase with the start of new wars and the advancing climate crisis. It's estimated that 1 in 10 of us will be displaced in the next 25 years. But even as this issue spreads, I often see others pushing displaced people away.

2:28I see a lot of people ignoring or demeaning them instead of taking a moment to get to know them beyond these traumatic incidents. Navigating these situations calls for resourcefulness and resilience, and we can learn a lot from displaced communities. Understanding their lived experiences, providing new opportunities, and investing in their futures can actually make the world a better place for all of us. I'm Madhupak Enola. This is TED Business, a podcast from TED. Our speaker today, Julianne Euler, is the CEO and co-founder of Inhomoco, an organization that provides training, consulting, and access to finance across refugee and host communities in Africa.

3:13Julianne has seen firsthand what transformation is possible when people provide long-term investment in the talents and ideas of displaced people. Julianne is looking beyond short-term humanitarian aid and asking serious investors to do the same. Then after the talk, I'll expand on Julianne's timely message. But first, a quick break. Support for today's episode comes from Square. If you've ever been to a local business, a farmer's market vendor, a boutique, even a food truck, where everything just feels seamless from ordering to checkout, there's a good chance Square is behind it. Square brings payments, POS, inventory, staffing, and online sales together in one system, so owners aren't juggling a dozen tools just to get through the day.

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6:05And now, Julianne Euler takes the TED stage.

6:12Julienne Oyler: Recently, after a long day of back-to-back meetings, I decided to treat myself to some ice cream. So, leaving the office, I crossed a busy road, lined with solar panel streetlights, ducked into a shop, walked right past the vegetables, and back to the cookies and cream. This was in Kakuma, a refugee camp in northern Kenya, home to 400 ,000 displaced persons, local Kenyans, solar panel streetlights, and ice cream. Few camps in Africa are as bustling as Kakuma, and it hasn't always been this way. Kakuma was never meant to be a place for human potential to thrive. In the local Turkana language, the word Kakuma translates to nowhere.

7:00Julienne Oyler: When the camp was established in the 1990s, it served as an important refuge for those fleeing war in Sudan. But it was isolated with extreme heat and poor infrastructure. Today, with over 10 ,000 businesses, Kakuma serves as the economic hub for over a million people in the surrounding area. With a variety of shops, cafes, yoga classes, and nearly$100 million in market consumption each year, Kakuma is far from nowhere. So what led to this remarkable transformation from remote refugee camp to thriving community? Well, it's because of the ingenuity and determination of the people who live there.

7:44Julienne Oyler: Displaced persons and their Kenyan hosts together building solutions to their community's most pressing problems. Because forward-looking investors saw potential, private sector companies took a chance, and the government and U.N. agencies advocated for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs like Adela, who arrived in Kakuma with no formal business experience, but who today employs 26 people in her tailoring shop. and Mesvin, who runs the largest motorcycle dealership in the county and who covers the school fees for 700 kids through his own philanthropy. These are just two examples among thousands in Kakuma, proving what's possible when investment unlocks human potential.

8:31Julienne Oyler: A model that's sustainable and scalable for displaced people around the world. A model more important today than ever before, because tomorrow we could wake up to the headline that reads, all assistance for displaced people stopped. A once unthinkable scenario is now plausible. We have to prepare for a world in which the 125 million forcibly displaced people today have to fend for themselves. And we're witnessing accelerated crises with wars in Europe and the Middle East forcing even more people to flee. And climate change is triggering floods in Brazil, fires in California, unlivable conditions across continents.

9:16Julienne Oyler: As these trends continue, 1 in 10 of us will be displaced in 25 years. 1 in 10. Each of us is more likely to be displaced than ever before. The time for incremental change is over. We must do things differently. And yes, humanitarian aid remains essential in emergencies and for the most vulnerable. But the widespread system as it is today was never designed with dignity or to be a long-term solution. Bold action requires us to change our perspectives, partners, and policies. For too long, displaced people have been framed as burdens. And that thinking, that narrative, has led to missed opportunities.

10:04Julienne Oyler: Over the last decade, I've worked alongside 100 ,000 businesses in five African countries, mostly in displacement-affected communities. And these entrepreneurs, they have the traits that case studies and business schools celebrate. They are resilient and resourceful. They innovate and adapt. They deeply understand their market. They're the very leaders and problem solvers investors around the world seek, but are rarely seen as investment worthy. In Homoco, the organization that I co-founded and lead is Africa's largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs, unlocking accessible capital in communities too often overlooked by traditional finance.

10:50Julienne Oyler: We've dispersed 25 ,000 loans, de-risked by business advising and skills development. And with a 97 % repayment rate, we're demonstrating that displaced entrepreneurs are just as investable as any other. And we're part of a growing private sector movement in Kakuma, where already three commercial banks operate, the International Finance Corporation has committed$20 million in investments in risk-sharing facilities, and Kenyan entrepreneurs are scaling hotels and supermarkets. And let's be clear. I don't think we should double down on the same unchecked capitalist practices that have led to today's global disparities.

11:33Julienne Oyler: Capitalism and markets are flawed, but when we design for inclusion, they can be forces for change. When Uganda allowed refugees to work, the country's GDP increased by nearly a billion dollars. Ethiopia reformed its policies, and now thousands of refugees contribute in key sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. When Rwanda, the country where I live, included refugees in its national ID program, they gained access to health care, financial services, and are growing an economy. Here's the truth. These examples, these African solutions, are what the rest of the world needs to learn from. These are solutions rooted in a shared experience, in hospitality, in humanity.

12:24Julienne Oyler: A few weeks ago, I had dinner with my colleague Kuku. He was a refugee in Kakuma for nearly 20 years and the first person we hired there. He advised a thousand businesses in Kakuma's vibrant markets, equipping entrepreneurs with financial skills, growth strategies, and access to capital. But our dinner wasn't in Kakuma. It was in South Sudan. his home country. Like many displaced people, Cuckoo's path has been anything but linear. He's had to navigate complex systems and is one of the few people able to return home. Leveraging his experience, he's part of our founding team in South Sudan, an expansion made possible by the audacious generosity of members of this community.

13:07Julienne Oyler: He's still advising businesses owned by people who've had to flee war and the South Sudanese diaspora, like him, returning home to rebuild their nation. They all just want to contribute at their full potential. The data is clear. The entrepreneurs are ready. So let's do what we know works. Investors, open your portfolios to businesses owned by displaced people. Philanthropists, prioritize funding economic inclusion, especially if you have a climate focus, as climate-driven displacement accelerates. and entrepreneurs recognize this 125 million and growing population as viable customers. Academics and journalists shift the narrative, highlight the resilience and opportunities in these communities and policymakers.

14:00Julienne Oyler: Economic integration isn't charity. It drives regional peace and shared prosperity. From Kakuma to California, Syria to South Sudan, one truth remains is that humanity flourishes when people have the tools to succeed and the belief that they can. The future isn't just about preventing displacement. It's about seeing that the solution to one of the world's greatest challenges lies within the people most affected, displaced people themselves. And it's on the rest of us to recognize this and invest in them. Thank you.

15:03my phone while I get the job done. No spreadsheet in sight. What a life. Do right by yourself and your business and search Xero for your free trial. Conditions apply. Hey, it's Paige from Giggly Squad. And I want to let you know that if you want the newest and hottest beauty products, you have to go to Sephora. I'm obsessed with the one size liquid blotting paper spray. It's the first of its kind blotting spray that mattifies for up to eight hours. It's unreal. There's also the Summer Friday Shade Drops SPF 50, which basically lives in my bag at this point. Oh, and the Kay Alley Eden Plush Pear smells so good.

15:39It's sweet, warm, and addictive. Like, people literally stop me and ask what perfume I'm wearing, which you know I love. So if you want the makeup, skincare, hair, and fragrance products everyone's about to be obsessed with, shop only at Sephora. This episode is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI. They already deployed one. It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping. Using self-reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks, it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love. It helps schedule a test drive, get pre-approved for financing, and estimate trade-in value.

16:16Advanced, intuitive, and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One.

16:28That was Julianne Euler at TED 2025. Well, you heard Julianne. Investors, it's time to open your pockets and portfolios, especially to people who've previously been shut out or ignored from traditional markets. Their unique perspectives open opportunities for all of us and can create impact far beyond the boardroom. We need to especially grapple with the fact that we're going to need more long-term, sustainable solutions now that so many people are being forced out of their homes by climate-related disasters. Julianne makes a good point. Instead of making educated guesses far away from the front lines, why not look for solutions from the people who have actually lived through this themselves?

17:15How can we learn to trust in entrepreneurial careers that aren't exactly linear? How can we better value both the resilience and resourcefulness of people's lived experiences? We have to remember that people know what's best for them and their communities. Believe in their vision. Put your money behind it. And it just might have a transformative effect. That's it for today. TED Business is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley-Ma, edited by Alejandra Salazar, and fact-checked by Julia Dickerson. Special thanks to Maria Ladias, Farrah DeGrange, Daniela Balarezo, Tansika Sangmanibong, and Roxanne Heilash.

18:01I'm Madupa Akinola. Thanks for listening.

18:11This episode is sponsored by Toyota. One of the most interesting parts of being human is that we're all a little different. Different preferences, different priorities, different ways of seeing the world. And ideally, the things we use should reflect that. Toyota's new all-electric lineup is built as a family, but not a uniform one. Each vehicle has its own personality, from the sleek, expressive design of the CHR to the more rugged feel of the BZ woodland. It's not about standing out for the sake of it. It's about finding something that actually feels like you. Learn more at Toyota.com, the new all-electric family.

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19:21And I can keep track from my phone while I get the job done. No spreadsheet in sight. What a life. Do right by yourself and your business and search XERO for your free trial. Conditions apply.