At the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, businesses made a $250m pledge, with major commitments coming from IKEA, Vodafone and LEGO.

The IKEA Foundation, Ingka Group and Inter IKEA Group pledged €100m in programme grants and to assist 2,500 refugees through job training and language skills initiatives at 300 IKEA stores and units in 30 countries through to 2022.

The LEGO Foundation announced a $100m grant for play-based learning through PlayMatters, an initiative to strengthen resilience and build the social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative skills of young refugee children.

The Vodafone Foundation made a commitment to expand the digital education through its Instant Network Schools programme, from 85,000 young refugees to more than 500,000.

Over 30 other organisations – small and medium enterprises, law firms, multinationals, social enterprises, private foundations, coalitions and investment networks – have come forward with pledges.

The first-ever World Refugee Forum was conducted to find solutions for 70 million children, women and men uprooted from their homes globally by war, conflict, and persecution, including 25.9 million refugees, who have sought safety across international borders.

“It is good business to do good, and we at IKEA have the fortune to think in generations,” Tolga Öncu, retail operations manager at Ingka Group told a joint news conference with executives from The LEGO Foundation and Vodafone.

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