BAG Innovation wins the Migration Challenge

Ten finalists had the opportunity to pitch for the prize in Quito during the Twelfth GFMD Summit this week. The award was given to BAG Innovation.

The Migration Challenge Start-up Competition aimed at rewarding the most promising human resources, fintech, civictech and edtech start-ups with solution-oriented products to improve migration systems that respond to labour market needs. Today’s decision was made by judges Pietro Mona, Ambassador for Development and Forced Displacement and Migration of Switzerland; Santiago Ribadeneira, Managing Director of Endeavor Ecuador; Yanira Caraza, Seedstars’ Event & Analyst Coordinator, and Marielena Certad, CMO of PLAY Business School.

IOE Secretary-General Roberto Suárez Santos said: "BAG Innovation stood out for the use of technology for skills matching. It is impressive how they are making a difference by helping students and graduates to match the market needs in terms of experience and skills. This is just the start; they have a promising, bright future. We wish them every success in their endeavours."

Ambassador Pietro Mona said: “This has been a fantastic event that should receive more attention by the GFMD community. Looking at innovative solutions is key for the future of the GFMD, and with BAG Innovation we reward an actor that is doing just that by using technology to bring migrants and displaced persons closer to the labour market.”

BAG Innovation is a platform that uses Artificial Intelligence and Gamification to revolutionise the future of career guidance. This Rwanda-based start-up enables migrants to get valuable insights into the local market needs, receive career advisory and match with potential employers.

Winner Gabriel Ekman, Co-founder of BAG, commented: "Winning this competition is a great honour and a privilege for us. It is also a strong confirmation that our technology is truly making a difference in bridging the gap between migrants and employers in an innovative manner. This prize not only gives us visibility, but it will allow us to prove our methods in several new markets and scale the global migration development impact."

BAG will have the chance to take part in the Global Seedstars Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland in April 2020, and will benefit from 3-months acceleration scholarship for the Investment Readiness Program (IRP). First and second runners-up – M-Shule and Inmi – are awarded 2-months acceleration scholarship for IRP.

Our partner Seedstars also expressed their gratitude: "We are really proud to partner up with IOE to this Migration Challenge. We had high-quality pitches. The winner will represent their countries at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland, where start-ups compete for up to $500,000 in investment. The event is filled with sessions, panels, workshops and the best minds from emerging markets."

Find all the tweets on our official Twitter accounts in English, French and Spanish: @ioevoice, @ioevoix, @oievoz. Photos can be found on our official Flickr account.

IOE address

71 Avenue Louis-Casaï
1216 Cointrin
Geneva, Switzerland

T: +41 22 929 00 00
F: +41 22 929 00 01

ioe(at)ioe-emp.com