Robo Co-op

About Robo Co-op

Technology Changes the World. Solidarity Changes Who Benefits.

We are a global cooperative community connecting digital education, meaningful work, and human collaboration—so more people can participate in the opportunities created by technology.

Updating Humanity through Solidarity.

Diagram: digital education, meaningful work and human collaboration joined in one continuous loop, with people and machines at each point and Robo Co-op at the center.

How it began

A Different Kind of Future Starts with Cooperation.

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

Too many people face barriers to education, meaningful employment, and economic participation—not because they lack potential, but because access is unequal.

Robo Co-op exists to help close that gap. By combining practical digital skills, collaborative work, and a cooperative approach, we are building pathways for people to learn, contribute, and move forward together.

Founded in Japan in 2021, the cooperative brings together refugees, single mothers and people from many backgrounds, who learn, work and take part as decision-makers and co-creators.

Twelve Robo Co-op community members on a video call, each holding up one hand in a C shape, with a short message beneath each person.
Community members, from our 2023 journey towards the Global Refugee Forum.

Milestones

  1. 2021

    Robo Co-op is founded in Japan.

  2. 2023

    Hosts a hybrid event at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva and pledges to advance the digital inclusion of refugees, by refugees.

    Read the news: Robo Co-op’s pledge for the Global Refugee Forum 2023
  3. 2025

    Signs a comprehensive partnership agreement with Ama Town in Shimane Prefecture.

    Read the news: Robo Co-op 2025: a year in review
  4. 2026

    Selected for UNHCR’s Advisory Board of Organizations Led by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons, 2026–2028.

    Read the news: Robo Co-op selected to join UNHCR’s Advisory Board

What drives us

Our Purpose. Our Direction.

Our Mission

To expand access to digital education, meaningful work, and shared economic opportunity through technology and cooperation.

Our Vision

A world where technological progress expands human potential and opportunity, regardless of background or geography.

Our model

From Learning to Opportunity. From Opportunity to Impact.

Our approach connects access to education with meaningful work, creating opportunities for individuals while helping organizations contribute to a more inclusive digital economy.

Model 01 · Pay-it-forward scholarship

Career Impact Bond

Learn Today. Help Someone Else Learn Tomorrow.

A pay-it-forward education model designed to make digital skills more accessible and help sustain learning opportunities for future participants.

What it provides
Free IT training through a peer-based model, with mentorship and a community around it.
Who it’s for
Refugees and displaced people building a digital career, including people without formal credentials or access to traditional education.
How you can help
Donations build the pay-it-forward fund that keeps the cycle turning.
Ways to support the scholarship
  1. LearnFree IT training, with mentorship and a community.
  2. WorkNew skills lead into paid digital work.
  3. RepayGraduates repay only once their income rises.
  4. Fund the next learnerEach repayment pays for someone new to start.

Model 02 · IT outsourcing for good

Digital Impact Sourcing

Digital Work That Creates Opportunity.

Connecting organizations with global digital talent while creating pathways to meaningful remote work and professional development.

How it differs
Rather than hiring directly, a company outsources an IT project to an impact-sourcing provider like Robo Co-op: a more open, efficient and flexible route to inclusion than traditional impact hiring.
The work
Clients include Eukarya (software quality assurance), Logisteed (digital-transformation projects) and Borderless Japan (AI and RPA training and support).
The network
We are a member of the Global Impact Sourcing Consortium, which connects companies that create work through inclusive outsourcing.
Work with Robo Lab
  1. OutsourceA company outsources an IT project instead of hiring directly.
  2. Take it onRobo Co-op takes on the work as an impact-sourcing provider.
  3. DeliverRemote member teams deliver it, gaining paid work and experience.

Two kinds of mobility

Social mobility

Digital skills help people move past local barriers and into new kinds of work, whatever their background.

Global mobility

Remote work removes the limits of geography, so people can join international teams from wherever they are, or need to be.

What guides us

Progress Means More When It’s Shared.

  1. 01 Human Potential

    Technology should expand what people can achieve.

  2. 02 Solidarity

    We move forward by supporting one another.

  3. 03 Continuous Learning

    Growth is a lifelong, shared journey.

  4. 04 Shared Opportunity

    Contribution and participation should create value for more people.

Our people

Built by People. Powered by Possibility.

Robo Co-op brings together people with different backgrounds, experiences, and skills, united by a commitment to learning and creating opportunity together.

Five people standing together in an office in front of a wall of photographs, each making a C shape with one hand.
On the road to the Global Refugee Forum, from Robo Co-op’s 2023 journey.

Where we started

Every refugee has the potential to be a changemaker in the digital world.

The conviction Robo Co-op’s journey began with, in our founder’s 2023 column.

Portrait of Jintae Kim Jintae Kim Founder & CEO, Robo Co-op

Learners Become Teachers.

Paying it forward is not only about money. In 2023, a Syrian member in Türkiye and a Burmese member in Myanmar were training Ukrainian and Afghan women members who had fled to Tokyo.

More from the people behind the cooperative in our Column and News.

I could become a teacher of digital skills to give hope to our new members in Robo Co-op. And I could start my digital career to support Silicon Valley's development from Istanbul remotely!

Portrait of Mohamad Mohamad Digital Pioneer & Educator · Istanbul, Turkey

After evacuating from Afghanistan, I could get a laptop and start learning digital skills with Robo Co-op! Now I am working as a digital expert and my dream is to teach Afghan women in the future.

Portrait of Rozma Rozma Digital Expert & Future Educator · Kabul, Afghanistan

Our progress

Building Change That Goes Beyond Words.

Independent organizations have recognized the cooperative’s work. Each recognition below links to the organization that gave it.

Explore Our Recognitions

Build the future with us

A Better Future Is Something We Build Together.

Whether you’re looking to learn, collaborate, contribute, or support, your participation can help create new opportunities.

Get Involved Explore Our Ecosystem