Hola Code is a Mexican startup that offers programming training to migrants who returned from the United States.
The Hola Code programming course has a duration of five months, and the students pay nothing until they find a job. This business model is similar to other initiatives such as Microverse, a school for remote developers.
Hola Code also provides food, banking services, yoga classes, and even mental health support for migrants.
Marcela Torres, CEO of Hola Code, emphasizes that this project is not philanthropy. The startup is a pro-profit company with a social mission: to help those who had voluntarily returned to Mexico as those who have been deported by the American authorities, with a particular interest in the DREAMers, young people who entered the United States when they were children.
Returnees can contribute to Mexico’s workforce.
The number of Mexican migrants deported by the United States grew by 13% during the past year. From January to December 2018, more than 190K Mexicans were deported along with Central American migrants. For Torres, the government has not done enough to assist the returnees who, on many occasions, do not speak Spanish.
Mexico can benefit from the arrival of this group since the lack of qualified people is a barrier to cover many of the IT jobs.