Application Deadline: 31 October
We’re launching the Cross Border Jobs Startup Competition to identify and support bold startups shaping the future of labour mobility for Africans. This competition seeks to source bold ideas, spotlight existing solutions, and build momentum for safer, fairer, and scalable pathways for the African continent to move across borders
If you’re building a platform or service that helps African talent move, connect, and thrive across borders, we want to hear from you.
1. Why We Are Running This Competition
The Challenge: Africa’s labour market is expanding at an unprecedented pace. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 10–12 million young people are joining the labour market annually, yet only about 3 million formal sector jobs are being created. This gap leaves millions without viable and formal employment options at home.
Meanwhile, regions such as Europe and the Gulf are grappling with acute labour shortages in industries and sectors like hospitality, construction and nursing among others. This mismatch creates both a challenge and an opportunity: African talent is eager to work, and the global demand is rising; but the systems to connect workers with the demand remain broken, risky and underinvested.
The evidence:
And yet, when migration works, its impact is extraordinary. A single move from a low-income to a high-income country can increase incomes by 400 to over 1,000% within just one year. For an unskilled worker with limited prospects in Ghana, it would take over 40 years of domestic economic growth to match the income gains achieved through migration. The ripple effects also extend far beyond the individual: families benefit through better education, healthcare, housing, and stability, while communities gain from remittances and returning skills.
We’re launching the Cross Border Jobs Startup Competition to identify and support bold startups shaping the future of labour mobility for Africans. If you’re building a solution that makes cross-border work safer, fairer, and more accessible, this is your chance to showcase it.
We are seeking platforms and startups that:
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- Facilitate worker mobility across African or global borders, through recruitment, placement and/or service management
- Offer enabling services focused on the needs of migrants, such as finance, language training, compliance, housing, or recruitment
- Expansion of existing jobtech solutions into the labour mobility space
Prizes
Three winners will each receive $10,000 grants, up to $200,000 in tech perks, mentorship, and eligibility for additional support if traction is achieved.
- 🗓️ Applications open: 1 October
- ⏳ Deadline: 31 October
Eligibility
- The platform is offering cross-border labour mobility solutions for Africans, both globally and across African borders
- Company at any stage (including idea/MVP stage). Some evidence of traction preferred.
- Must have a registered business
How to Apply
👉 Apply here by completing the short application form, alongside a max 10 slide pitch deck
Click HERE to Apply
Do you need professional help for this application? Click HERE
Disclaimer: Edfrica does not have direct influence nor guarantee the outcome of this application following the support you receive from us
