Washington – September 22, 2026 -- 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) has pledged to scale its MentorHER Initiative into a global, AI-driven mentorship platform reaching 300,000 young people worldwide by January 2030, under a three-year Commitment to Action unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2026 Annual Meeting.
1DF targets 300,000 young people through a 36-month, three-phase rollout
The commitment was announced during CGI's Leaders Stage session, "Steering AI Innovation towards Impact." The rollout begins with a pilot phase for matching and career-readiness resources, then moves to scaled recruitment through global university partnerships, corporate employee networks, and regional ambassadors. 1DF will report outcomes annually to CGI over the three-year period.
Global youth NEET rate hits 20%, per International Labour Organization data
The International Labour Organization reports that 20% of young people worldwide are not in employment, education, or training, a figure 1DF frames as a structural jobs crisis tied to limited professional networks and mentor access. World Bank gender-and-jobs analysis identifies the same pattern disproportionately affecting young women across South Asia and other regions, citing network isolation and cultural constraints as barriers to entry in high-growth industries.
Colgate-Palmolive funds the expansion; Thathal ITS builds the digital infrastructure
Colgate-Palmolive, a longtime MentorHER partner, is providing foundational financial support for the global scale-up. IT solution provider Thathal Information and Technological Solutions (Thathal ITS) will implement the AI-driven platform, which is designed to replace localized, manually administered mentoring models that cannot scale internationally. The expanded platform will connect high-potential students and early-stage professionals to global corporate leaders, an open career resource library, and remote work pathways.
MentorHER shifts from a U.S. program to an international workforce tool
MentorHER was originally created to support underserved young women in the United States through workplace mentorship. The CGI commitment repositions it as an international infrastructure project aimed at dismantling regional barriers to economic mobility. "In the age of AI, mentorship has become more essential than ever to career success, and no one should be left behind because of their zip code," said Christie Garton, founder and CEO of 1,000 Dreams Fund.