Strategy and Direction

Context and Background

Since launching its international investment strategy in early 2023, the GitLab Foundation has significantly deepened institutional and grantee partnerships in Colombia. The Foundation has refined its strategic approach, established co-investment strategies with high-impact local foundations, and committed over four million dollars to organizations dedicated to increasing economic mobility across the country.

To date, investments have focused on strengthening labor pathways in the migration, youth employment, and the informal economy sectors. The Foundation has invested in 18 initiatives projected to increase lifetime income by $3.13 billion USD for over 47,000 individuals. Investments have primarily focused on upskilling and placement, small business development, and financial inclusion in cities with dynamic labor markets, including Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, and Barranquilla, while intentionally exploring models with potential for regional scale and systemic influence.

Colombia remains a strategic priority due to its dual identity: a middle-income democracy with continued economic development, but still facing deep structural inequality. Informality continues to define over 50% of employment, youth unemployment exceeds 20%, and over two million migrants and internally displaced people face exclusion from formal systems of work and social protection. At the same time, Colombia's entrepreneurial vitality, subnational innovation, and robust civil society offer opportunities for continued philanthropic investment.

Looking ahead, the Foundation will deepen its geographic and sectoral focus, with a continued emphasis on results-based investments, evidence generation, and strategic alliances. We will continue to seek to improve the economic trajectories of individuals and contribute meaningfully to the broader ecosystem of social mobility and inclusive growth.

2023–2025: What We’ve Learned

Colombia is an incredibly rich ecosystem for inclusive growth. Over 200,000 nonprofit entities, hundreds of philanthropic organizations, and socially minded enterprises continue to advance education, economic, and community development initiatives across the country. By partnering with organizations advancing youth employment, migration pathways, and formal job opportunities, we have identified key insights that continue to shape our strategic direction.

We've learned that closing the gap between youth skills and labor market demands requires early, integrated, and employer-aligned interventions; that effective integration of migrants can drive significant economic growth when structural barriers are addressed; and that formalizing informal economic activities through innovative finance and technology solutions can profoundly impact job stability and economic mobility. The examples below illustrate how our partners are solving key challenges in the market.

| Youth
What We Have Learned | Pronounced Unemployment: Youth unemployment in Colombia remains stubbornly high, exceeding 20%, with even higher rates among Afro-Colombian, rural, and displaced populations. 
Importance of Comprehensive Support: Effective youth employment programs require comprehensive support structures, including mentoring, employment readiness training, and post-employment support. Without holistic approaches, retention and successful job placements are challenging.
Skill Gaps and Mismatch: Young people frequently face barriers accessing employment due to a significant disconnect between their current skills and the competencies sought by employers, particularly in the technology and service sectors. | | --- | --- | | Grantee Examples and Strategies | Crack the Code provides digital and socio-emotional training integrated into high school curricula, developing critical skills for entrepreneurship, continued education, and formal job opportunities.     International Youth Foundation is establishing the infrastructure to train vulnerable youth in digital tourism skills, matching them to formal employment with locally owned companies. 
Good Business Lab leverages AI-driven platforms to optimize skills training and job matching, significantly improving youth access to formal employment opportunities while filling vacant job openings.
The Global Opportunity Youth Network implements comprehensive digital skills and employment readiness programs, addressing skill mismatches through targeted vocational training, financial incentives, and inclusive employment strategies. |

| Migration
What We Have Learned | Challenges of Structural Barriers: Economic vulnerability among migrants persists due to systemic barriers, including discrimination, limited formal job opportunities, and the undervaluing of prior qualifications and experience. Addressing these requires integrated and systemic responses beyond training alone. Migrants often rely on informal employment due to legal, documentation, and credential recognition barriers.
Financial Inclusion as a Catalyst: Providing migrants and refugees with tailored financial services significantly enhances their economic stability and social integration, paving the way for improved income growth and economic resilience. | | --- | --- | | Grantee Examples and Strategies | Kiva supports financial service providers in the development of specialized products tailored for displaced Venezuelans, enhancing economic inclusion and access to formal entrepreneurship opportunities.
**Lumni** supports Venezuelan migrants in formally accrediting higher education degrees in Colombia, facilitating an easier transition into formal employment and significantly enhancing income stability. 
Pathways International creates formal migration pathways, enabling refugees and migrants in Colombia to access legal employment opportunities abroad, reducing informal employment and increasing income. |

As Colombia continues to develop high-value sectors and services, a robust culture of innovation is emerging, offering new opportunities to scale strategic interventions and foster inclusive, sustainable economic growth.

Our partners consistently identify the persistence of informality as the single greatest challenge to sustained prosperity. Informal employment still constitutes 56% of Colombia's workforce, disproportionately affecting rural communities, women, migrants, and youth, and posing major barriers to productivity, tax revenue, and economic resilience. Therefore, addressing informality must remain central to any effective strategy for inclusive economic transformation.

2025+: Looking Forward

As we move forward, we will focus our efforts on unemployment and informality in targeted industrial sectors for those more likely to work in below-living-wage jobs. This framework will allow us to maximize Return on Investment, contribute to systemic efforts, and illustrate positive practices through Laboratory and Scaling grants.

Labor informality is a structural condition that perpetuates economic exclusion. More than 50% of workers operate in informal conditions, with limited protections, variable earnings, and little to no access to social services. Informality intersects with other vulnerabilities and perpetuates inequality across demographic lines. Youth, migrants, and women are especially impacted, often facing compounded barriers to formal labor market access due to age, gender, legal status, or care responsibilities.

GitLab Foundation’s strategy centers on labor formalization as a pathway to long-term income security and inclusive growth. Through this lens, we will focus on investments that convert informal jobs to formal ones, improve conditions where informality persists, and prevent formal roles from deteriorating. Given our recent activity, we will deepen our investments in the tourism and technology fields while exploring the best course of action for healthcare investments. Each of these sectors has easier onramps for migrants, youth, and women, and can offer higher-paid formal opportunities with benefits, particularly when tied to employer demand and policy alignment. Additionally, we will seek opportunities to refine our approach to supporting small to mid-sized businesses.

Note: the sections below help chart a path for investment and collaboration, but are not exhaustive. The Foundation will maintain its discretionary pool of capital to fund promising initiatives with high ROI potential.

Strategic Priorities

Demographic Focus

Youth:

• Youth in Colombia face the highest unemployment rates nationally, exceeding 20%, with even higher rates among Afro-Colombian, rural, and displaced youth. Many young people exit education systems without job-ready skills, and lack access to early career support, work-based learning, or labor market connections, resulting in persistent informality
• Youth comprise over 15% of Colombia’s population and represent a critical share of the future workforce. Increasing their participation in formal employment reduces vulnerability and boosts national productivity. According to the ILO, reducing youth NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) rates by half could increase Colombia’s labor force participation and contribute to an estimated $2.3 billion annually to GDP. Countries like South Korea, which invested heavily in youth employment during its demographic transition, saw a sustained increase in GDP growth of 2 to 3 percentage points over a decade.

Migrants and Displaced People:

• Despite being highly motivated and often skilled, migrants and displaced individuals face numerous structural barriers, including documentation issues, credential recognition challenges, and discrimination. These factors restrict their participation in formal labor markets and drive many into subsistence-level informal work.
• Migrants and displaced persons bring skills, resilience, and entrepreneurial potential. Formalizing their inclusion has proven economic dividends. OECD analysis shows that effectively integrating migrants into formal labor markets can increase GDP by up to 1% annually in host countries. In Colombia, a 2022 UNDP report estimated that regularizing employment for just 20% of Venezuelan migrants would add approximately $1.7 billion to the national economy.

Women:

• Women remain significantly underrepresented in the formal workforce, especially in leadership and high-growth sectors. Disproportionate care responsibilities, gender-based discrimination, and limited access to skilling and capital restrict their economic participation and contribute to persistent income inequality.
• Women’s labor force participation in Colombia lags significantly behind men’s, with a 17-point gap. Closing this gap could yield a GDP increase of at least 9%. Investments in care infrastructure, skilling, and entrepreneurship for women have multiplier effects on household income, education, and health. Comparable efforts in Chile and Mexico—where women-focused employment programs were paired with childcare subsidies—demonstrated formal job creation gains of 12–15% and long-term productivity increases across targeted regions.

Industry Focus

Tourism - Accommodation, Food, and Leisure:

• According to Colombia's Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism (MinCIT), the tourism sector, encompassing accommodation, food services, leisure activities, and related services, has experienced significant growth. The sector's contribution to Colombia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 12.8% year-over-year, marking its highest growth rate since 2015. In monetary terms, tourism's economic value reached COP$33 trillion in 2023, representing a substantial 31% increase compared to 2019, prior to the global pandemic. This impressive growth highlights tourism’s growing role in Colombia's economy, now accounting for 3.8% of the country’s total GDP.
• The robust performance of the tourism industry has also had a positive impact on employment. Tourism-related jobs increased by 23% during 2023, adding 872,527 new jobs. As a result, tourism now accounts for approximately 4% of all employment in Colombia, underscoring its critical importance as a driver of economic recovery and growth.

Technology**:**

• Colombia's technology sector is also experiencing rapid growth, as detailed in the “Tech Talent Outlook 2025 Q1” (Expertis, 2025). The report highlights a favorable hiring environment for IT professionals, with 52% of IT employers planning to expand their teams, positioning Colombia as one of the top markets for IT job growth in Latin America.
• As of 2023, the technology sector employed approximately 247,000 workers and contributed 3.1% to Colombia's GDP. The fastest-growing areas within Colombia's technology industry include cybersecurity, software and application development, big data and AI, and cloud infrastructure, indicating robust potential for further expansion and economic contribution.

Healthcare**:**

• Colombia's healthcare sector is experiencing significant growth, driven by an aging population that is leading to increased demand for healthcare services, particularly in geriatrics and primary care. In 2023, the healthcare sector employed approximately 370,000 workers, with projections indicating this will increase to 400,000 by 2030. The healthcare sector currently accounts for 4.8% of Colombia's GDP, with an expected increase to 6% by 2026. Additionally, monthly wages in the healthcare sector averaged COP$2,570,927 in 2025 and are projected to rise to COP$2,678,906 by 2026.
• Ongoing reforms within the health system are expanding employment opportunities, particularly in rural and underserved regions, offering job stability and pathways to formal employment, thereby significantly contributing to economic development and improved healthcare access nationwide.

Learning Questions

• Which implementing strategies offer the best return on investment for each sector and focus population? For example:
  • Small and medium-sized businesses contribute significantly to new job starts and contribute to GDP. What mechanisms are most effective in strengthening businesses and formalizing job opportunities?
  • How can we effectively promote job creation through financial inclusion initiatives? Such as enhancing long-term economic growth through participant and firm-level financial tools, including micro investments, insurance, and access to financial service providers, among others.
• Tourism-related jobs do not always lead to high-growth career pathways, particularly for young people and migrants. How can we design interventions in tourism-linked employment programs that simultaneously encourage participants to explore diverse career opportunities, ensuring they are not limited exclusively to tourism, thus reducing the risk of permanent assignment to informal employment?
• Do the selected industrial sectors prove to be the highest and best use of philanthropic capital? Additional sectors, including advanced energy, construction, and sustainable services, have been identified as potential investment opportunities.
• Which industries will benefit from continued domestic and international direct investment - and generate potential employment opportunities?

Next Steps

• Continue to refine strategic partnership with Fundacion Santo Domingo - effectively supporting workforce and economic mobility projects while identifying long-term strategic priorities.
• Consider implementing key considerations and recommendations from Compartamos Con Colombia. Including the development and overarching theory of change, potential use of RFPs, and additional collaborations with funders.
• Conduct a 6-month review of strategy documents to ensure progress and continued alignment.
• Develop a learning agenda to guide strategic investments, answer ongoing questions, and drive iteration.

Progress and Updates

Strategy and Investments Update (9/2024)

Strategy and Investments Update (3/2024)

Colombia Context and Overview (2023)

Operating Plan and Partnership

Colombia Operating Plan

In FY24, GitLab Foundation disbursed $790K to Colombian nonprofits and is projecting to grant $3M in FY25. We successfully entered the Colombian market, developed a robust pipeline of economic mobility-focused organizations, and identified local and international funding partners with aligned strategies. Given that funding commitments are planned to more than double in FY25 across the entire organization, we will need a broadened approach to support additional volume and complexity.

The Colombia Operating Plan illustrates a course of action to deepen the Foundation's activities in FY25 and beyond. As the Foundation grows—refining its strategy, increasing grant dollars, and onboarding staff members—we seek to identify reliable partners to help source grants, build trust with local actors, effectively implement the Colombia strategy, and communicate impact. This Operating Plan delineates activities and near-term actions, and recommends a formal partnership with Fundación Santo Domingo.

Recommendations

1. Deploy A Two-Pronged Approach:
   1. Internally-Sourced Grants: Continue to identify high-impact organizations through traditional channels.
   2. Establish In-Country Partnerships: Identify one to two in-country partners to extend impact, reach, and brand in Colombia.
2. Formally Partner with Fundación Santo Domingo (FSD)
   1. FSD will extend our impact by identifying, selecting, and driving new partnerships with Colombian organizations. They are perfectly positioned to take a data-informed approach to economic mobility and offer avenues of impact inaccessible to GitLab Foundation team members, including regional collaborations, policy approaches, and social enterprise investments, among others.
   2. GitLab Foundation will disburse $800,000 over two years ($400,000 each year) to advance aligned projects. To enhance impact, it will co-invest and braid several sources and types of funding.

Operating Model, Overview

In Colombia, we recommend a two-part approach to implement our strategy. By developing a dual approach, GitLab Foundation will benefit from continuing to establish its credibility and reputation as a high-impact foundation while improving operational efficiency through partnerships with local foundations.

1. Internally-Sourced Grants: Identifying High ROI Initiatives through Traditional Channels

• Currently, the Foundation’s Program Officer manages all relationship building, site visits, strategy development, grantee sourcing, and due diligence – providing a learning-by-doing approach that drives strategy and operations. As a relatively young organization, developing institutional knowledge is essential. It will help the Foundation establish itself as an entity in the Colombian philanthropic community, allow flexibility in developing strategies, and support partnership development.

2. Partnerships: Driving Strategies through Implementing Partners

• The Colombian philanthropic community is strong, with numerous local and international foundations. Site visits and interviews identified several foundations already working to improve economic mobility across the country. What distinguishes them is their ability to get proximate to local communities and develop highly effective solutions as a result.
• As we deepen our engagement in international markets, identifying intermediary partners who can add capacity to our foundation will help extend impact while minimizing operational needs. Benefits of a strong intermediary include:
  • Conduct sourcing and due diligence
    • Identify new investments, validate legal and operational status, translate documents, etc.
  • Manage project implementation
    • Conduct in-person and virtual monitoring, request and process mid-point and final reporting, etc.
  • Drive collaboration and local partnerships
    • Drive regional project-based initiatives, braid local and international funding streams
  • Data and Impact
    • Analyze data, assist grantees with reporting, and calculate ROI/DIL
  • Reducing cost and increasing impact

Partnership Development and Selection

Partner Criteria

GitLab Foundation will assess all potential partners using the following rubric to ensure project success and sustained impact. The Foundation will review these criteria as new partners are onboarded and as operations evolve.

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Partner Recommendation