Thanks for this. It's a question we come back to constantly. You're right that upfront costs filter out many of the people who would gain the most, and there's no single fix for that. Our approach combines longer-term structural work with some nearer-term interventions:
Levelling the playing field globally. Kenyan workers currently compete with Filipino, Indonesian and Indian workers who benefit from decades of established recruitment channels, training ecosystems and employer familiarity. We're working to bring more funding, better data and stronger networks into the cross-border mobility sector so that Kenyan workers can offer a comparable value proposition.
Building out the Kenya–Japan corridor. As more language schools, recruiters and employers enter the corridor, costs should come down. Competition lowers the price of language and skills training, and a more established corridor gives employers stronger reasons to share costs. With government support, we also expect more of the infrastructure workers currently pay a premium for to be available in Kenya itself, such as qualified Japanese teachers and a local testing centre.
Direct financing in the near term. In parallel, we're working to build formal financial products for migrant workers, such as responsibly designed loans or income-share agreements. The goal is to cover upfront costs while keeping repayments sustainable and tied to actual earnings, so that cost stops being what decides who gets to go.
None of these fully solves the problem on its own, and in the early years the pathway will likely skew toward people with some existing resources. Our bet is that investing in both the corridor and the wider global mobility industry will bring that barrier down over time, making Kenyan workers more competitive and migration more affordable, while financing bridges the gap in the meantime.
Thanks for this. It's a question we come back to constantly. You're right that upfront costs filter out many of the people who would gain the most, and there's no single fix for that. Our approach combines longer-term structural work with some nearer-term interventions:
None of these fully solves the problem on its own, and in the early years the pathway will likely skew toward people with some existing resources. Our bet is that investing in both the corridor and the wider global mobility industry will bring that barrier down over time, making Kenyan workers more competitive and migration more affordable, while financing bridges the gap in the meantime.