Global
Workforce
Xchange ‘26
2 - 3 December 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya
Different tracks. One movement.
This two-day event features sessions organized across tracks, with breakout sessions and networking opportunities running throughout. Networking spaces include a reception cocktail hour the evening of the first night and community roundtables, dedicated spaces for peer exchange within specific regions and sectors, designed to connect with others navigating similar realities and build relationships beyond the formal agenda.
Panels are intentionally built with speakers from multiple regions. Our agenda is organized around shared challenges and solutions across the labor mobility system, and we want to encourage a productive exchange of experiences across the globe.
This event will bring together established and emerging actors across the global labor mobility system - from recruitment and training to finance and technology - alongside representatives of governments, employers, and investors active in the space.
The convening is grounded in the vision that labor mobility represents the future of global labor markets, and that a well-functioning, professionalized mobility industry is the key to unlocking it. This conference is a dedicated space for the labor mobility industry to come together, establish a shared identity, and accelerate collective progress.
What to expect
A Shared Vision
Be part of a visible movement among mobility industry actors globally - built through shared sessions, collective debate, and the connections that only happen in the same room
Meaningful Collaboration
Work alongside industry peers to identify shared opportunities, tackle common challenges, and drive initiatives that strengthen the sector as a whole
Accelerated Growth
Learn from established and emerging industry actors - and leave with the insights, tools, and relationships to move faster
New Connections
Meet the practitioners, policymakers, investors, and innovators shaping the future of labor mobility - and build the partnerships that last beyond the conference
What to expect
A Shared Vision
Be part of a visible movement among mobility industry actors globally - built through shared sessions, collective debate, and the connections that only happen in the same room
Meaningful Collaboration
Work alongside industry peers to identify shared opportunities, tackle common challenges, and drive initiatives that strengthen the sector as a whole
Accelerated Growth
Learn from established and emerging industry actors - and leave with the insights, tools, and relationships to move faster.
New Connections
Meet the practitioners, policymakers, investors, and innovators shaping the future of labor mobility - and build the partnerships that last beyond the conference.
Different tracks. One movement.
This two-day event features sessions organized across tracks, with breakout sessions and networking opportunities running throughout. Networking spaces include a reception cocktail hour the evening of the first night and community roundtables, dedicated spaces for peer exchange within specific regions and sectors, designed to connect with others navigating similar realities and build relationships beyond the formal agenda.
Panels are intentionally built with speakers from multiple regions. Our agenda is organized around shared challenges and solutions across the labor mobility system, and we want to encourage a productive exchange of experiences across the globe.
Meet Our Speakers
Speakers are being confirmed as we speak, with more joining the lineup every week. Check back soon as we continue to announce leaders from across the labor mobility system.
Lara Dyer
Chief Solutions Officer (Americas)
Talent Beyond Boundaries
Lara Dyer is Chief Solutions Officer (Americas) at Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), the first global organization to focus on refugee labor mobility. In her role, she leads TBB's strategy to expand labor mobility to, from, and within the Americas. Lara brings deep expertise in talent acquisition, global mobility, and workforce inclusion. Prior to joining TBB, Lara served as an executive in the Government of Canada, where she spearheaded innovative national immigration programs, including the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) and the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP).
Marvin Kiragu
Founder & CEO
Luka
Marvin is a visionary executive with 15 years of cross-functional leadership, expertly bridging early-stage venture building with institutional-grade global finance. Deeply passionate about entrepreneurship and job creation, Marvin is a multiple-time founder and venture builder who has successfully launched and scaled impactful ventures. He currently leads a fintech enterprise dedicated to expanding accessible financial services for blue-collar African migrant workers across the world.
Annemiek Dresen
Founder
NewBees
Annemiek Dresen is the Founder of NewBees, a Netherlands-based social enterprise supporting newcomers to enter the workforce and employers in building more inclusive workplaces. Prior to founding NewBees, Annemiek co-founded Guatemala-based NGO Niños de Guatemala, after which she worked in global finance roles at ABN AMRO. Since founding NewBees in 2016, she has helped over 6,000 newcomers and worked with 100+ European companies, earning recognition in 2022 as one of the Netherlands' 30 most inclusive leaders.
Helen Dempster
Policy Fellow and Co-Director, Migration and Displacement
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Helen Dempster is a programme co-director and policy fellow for the Migration and Displacement Program at the Center for Global Development. She has two key focuses: building partnerships which link training and mobility to support economic development in countries of migrant origin; and facilitating the economic inclusion of refugees in hosting countries. Prior to joining CGD, she worked for five years in research communications at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the International Growth Centre (IGC). Dempster holds a MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy from MIT, a master's in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, and undergraduate degrees in Law, Public Policy and International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Joe Martinez
Executive Director, Co-Founder
CIERTO
Joe Martinez is the Executive Director, Co-Founder of CIERTO, a non-profit international recruitment and training organization that provides migrant workers to employers in the United States, Canada and Spain from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. This model offers a safe recruitment and labor compliance verification/assurance system that protects workers from fraud, trafficking, and forced labor conditions, while protecting employers from bad recruitment practices. Joe has worked closely with NGOs, the US and foreign governments to address issues related to how migrant workers are recruited and dispatched in North America.
Lant Pritchett
Co-Founder & Research Director
Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP)
Lant is a world-renowned development economist who has spent the last 30 years applying economic principles to complex problems of systems change. Lant worked with the World Bank from 1988 to 2007 and taught at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2000 to 2018, where he was the Faculty Chair of the MPA/ID Degree program. He has published over a hundred books, journal articles and working papers, with over 50,000 citations on development topics from education to economic growth to labor mobility. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1983 with a B.S. in Economics and from MIT in 1988 with a PhD in Economics.