‘A new customer segment’: Inside Western Union’s refugee assistance program
Remittance giant Western Union is recognizing that refugee communities can be emerging economies in their own right.
The Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya has 164,571 registered refugees and asylum-seekers, according to the UN Refugee Agency, and more than 500 merchants: produce markets, coffee and tea shops, bars; hardware and electronics shops, clothing stores, bike shops. Most refugee camps operate as largely cash-based economies — an expensive and inconvenient reality.
Now, Western Union and Mastercard are working on creating a digital infrastructure model for refugee camps, with Kenya as their test bed, focusing on mobile money, digital vouchers and cards that remove the intermediaries and losses associated with in-kind donations, brings funds directly to beneficiaries and gives them some control over their financial health.
“Ninety plus percent of refugees will never be granted asylum,” said Maureen Sigliano, head of customer relationship management at Western Union. “A lot of these countries where the bulk of the world refugees are” — Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey — “are poor; hosting such large volumes of refugees puts a burden on those countries. If they have a little cash in their hand, they’re no longer a burden, they become a new customer segment.”
More in Marketing
Digiday+ Research: The marketers’ 2026 guide to creator marketing, including Duolingo, Ulta and YouTube
While Instagram, TikTok and YouTube remain dominant social platforms for influencer partnerships, creators are increasingly being used across other media channels, including retail media, CTV and display ads.
How 3 brands are using TikTok Shop to expand abroad
As these brands venture into the U.K., Europe and Japan, they say that the key to a global approach to TikTok Shop involves tailored marketing campaigns.
How beauty brands are popping up around World Cup festivities
Beauty and skin care in particular have taken a bigger spotlight this year, exemplifying just how closely beauty and sports have become intertwined.