Amahoro Coalition calls for private sector alignment to turn refugee rights into jobs in Ghana

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye 

Ghana has a clear opportunity to convert its progressive refugee policies into measurable economic gains by removing administrative barriers and strengthening private sector partnerships, according to findings from the Pathways to Employment country reports undertaken by Amahoro Coalition.

The findings were presented at a media roundtable in Accra, where stakeholders examined employment access for Africa's over 45 million forcibly displaced people and identified practical reforms that could benefit both refugees and host economies.

While Ghana's Refugee Act of 1992 grants refugees the legal right to work, move freely, and access public services on par with nationals, the research reveals that administrative gaps systematically undermine these rights. “What the evidence shows is that the problem is not hostility or lack of policy intent, it is the failure of systems to align, which turns documentation and procedure into unintended barriers to employment,” Mercy Kusiwaa Frimpong, Strategy Custodian for Communications at Amahoro Coalition, who presented the research findings, said.

The study found that refugees must obtain work permits before securing formal employment, but the permit process requires an employer's letter of commitment, creating a circular dependency. Processing delays, which officially should take one week but often extend to months, cause refugees to lose job opportunities even after successful interviews.

Opening the engagement, Fred Mawuli Deegbe Jr, Private Sector Partnerships Lead for West Africa at Amahoro Coalition, stated that refugee employment is fundamentally an economic and labour market issue rather than solely a humanitarian concern. “Jobs do not happen in policy documents, they happen when businesses are confident enough to hire,” Mr. Deegbe said. “If we reduce uncertainty for employers and focus on skills, refugees move from being seen as a challenge to being recognised as contributors to economic growth,” he added.

The research draws on a 15-country analysis examining persistent barriers preventing displaced persons from accessing formal employment across Africa. Obstacles consistently cluster around documentation challenges, unclear work authorization, employer risk perceptions, and skills mismatches rather than outright legal prohibitions.

Bathsheba Asati, Principal Strategy Custodian for Growth at Amahoro Coalition, noted that refugee employment should be viewed through the lens of labour mobility and regional integration under frameworks such as ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Displacement is not a temporary issue for Africa, and neither is labour mobility. The question is whether existing systems can be adjusted to turn exclusion into opportunity, without creating entirely new structures,” Ms. Asati said.

The research highlights that displaced populations are already active within regional labour markets, often informally, and formalizing their participation would strengthen productivity and resilience. According to Ms. Asati, governments need to rethink how identity systems, migration policy, and labour regulation interact, while businesses should shift toward skills-based hiring.

Key findings – Ghana country report

●     Documentation barriers – The Ghana Card, introduced in 2022 to provide refugees with national identification, faces renewal challenges that block access to banking, employment, and other services

●     Circular permit dependency – Refugees need employer commitment letters to obtain work permits, but employers often hesitate to provide letters without confirmed work authorization

●     High informal employment – Despite qualifications, most refugees work informally in agriculture, construction, and petty trade due to formal sector barriers

●     Sectoral opportunities – Healthcare facilities and international schools successfully employ refugee nurses, doctors, and French teachers where skills gaps exist

●     National Service discrimination – Refugees face systematic disadvantage in accessing mandatory National Service placements crucial for civil service careers

Recommendations for action

The report identifies several high-impact reforms:

1.    Streamline the Ghana Card as a combined residence and work permit to eliminate bureaucratic duplication

2.    Remove the employer letter requirement from work permit applications to break the circular dependency

3.    Strengthen private sector engagement through targeted awareness campaigns, job fairs, and employer forums

4.    Support refugee entrepreneurship with microfinance, business training, and simplified licensing

5.    Enhance inter-agency coordination through a Refugee Employment Task Force bringing together the Ghana Refugee Board, Ghana Immigration Service, UNHCR, and private sector actors

Why Ghana matters

Stakeholders noted that because Ghana hosts approximately 12,200 registered refugees, relatively small compared to regional peers, targeted administrative reforms could deliver outsized economic and social returns."With the right alignment, Ghana could position itself as a regional reference point for employment-led refugee integration at a time of growing displacement across Africa," the report states.

Discussions also highlighted resource constraints facing the Ghana Refugee Board, the primary institution supporting refugees, with limited infrastructure affecting documentation processing, reception services, and integration support.

About the Pathways to Employment Series

The Pathways to Employment country reports examine how labour markets, private sector demand, and policy frameworks shape access to work for forcibly displaced people and host communities across 15 African countries. The research was commissioned by the Amahoro Coalition and conducted by the Refugee-Led Research Hub at the University of Oxford, with support from the Mastercard Foundation. The full Ghana report and additional country studies are available at: https://amahorocoalition.com/pathways-to-employment/

About Amahoro Coalition

Amahoro Coalition is the leading convener of African private sector leaders for social impact. The organization partners with governments, employers, development institutions, and civil society to expand access to dignified work for refugees and displaced persons while supporting more inclusive, productive, and resilient labour markets. Through research, systems change, and private sector engagement, Amahoro advances employment as a long-term response to displacement and a driver of shared economic growth. For more information, visit: www.amahorocoalition.com