Jobtech Alliance Cross Border Jobs Startup Competition 2025 (Up To $10,000 cash grants + up to $200k in tech perks, mentorship & global networks

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The Jobtech Alliance has opened applications for the Cross Border Jobs Startup Competition 2025, a new initiative aimed at discovering and supporting bold African startups working to reshape labour mobility across the continent. With Africa’s workforce growing rapidly and millions seeking better employment options beyond their borders, the competition focuses on solutions that make cross-border work safer, fairer, and more accessible.

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 competition is being managed as a collaboration between the Jobtech Alliance, LaMP, IOM and TechSafari, with support from the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment. The administrators of the cash prize are the Jobtech Alliance team at Mercy Corps.

Focus Areas

They are seeking startups that:

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
Expand existing jobtech solutions into the labour mobility space.

Cross Border Jobs Startup Competition Benefits

The top 3 startups win:

Grants worth $10k each
Access to the Jobtech Alliance’s tech perks worth up to $200,000 per company (including AWS credits and more)
Mentorship + community access through Jobtech Alliance, LaMP, IOM, and partners
Eligibility for follow-on support for startups showing strong traction.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible startups must satisfy all the following conditions:

Offer cross-border labour mobility solutions for Africans, between Africa and globally and across African borders
Have a registered business.
Though the business can be at any stage (including idea/MVP stage), some evidence of traction is preferred.
Adhere to principles relating to responsible and professional labor migration