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By Miriam Jordan 

Major U.S. companies have begun to offer money, technology and training to address the global refugee crisis, saying the enormity of the problem requires more than government action.

TripAdvisor Inc. will announce Tuesday that its charitable arm will commit at least $5 million over three years to the cause. It is among more than 15 businesses, including HP Inc., Google Inc. and others, that will make their commitments public at a United Nations refugee summit.

The companies have partnered with nonprofits, such as the International Rescue Committee, that are working in countries like Syria and refugee camps in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. About half of Syria's population has been displaced since war erupted there in 2011.

In an emergency, "our private partners can work faster than governments, " said Amanda Sellers, a senior vice president at New York-based IRC, one of nine agencies resettling refugees in the U.S.

In the U.S., where refugees get government assistance for eight months, businesses can be key in promoting economic integration, she said.

The summit comes as the issue of what to do with the world's estimated 65 million refugees has become a divisive issue in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West. Security around this week's annual U.N. General Assembly is also extra tight after a string of bombings in the New York-New Jersey area. A suspect in the attacks, an Afghan-born U.S. citizen, was captured Monday.

Last week, the U.S. said it would increase to 110,000 the number of refugees it will resettle in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, up from 85,000 last year and 70,000 each of the previous two years. President Barack Obama, who is hosting Tuesday's refugee summit, is expected to rally other countries and large companies to help tackle the crisis.

Images of Syrians fleeing for their lives spurred TripAdvisor to launch a campaign last year that raised $1.4 million for emergency aid. As part of its new $5 million commitment, TripAdvisor will help fund job training for refugees in the U.S. It will fund youth education in Greece, where thousands of families are waiting in camps for their asylum cases to be adjudicated. The company is also paying to expand a project that Google launched last year, RefugeeInfo.eu, which provides information to refugees on the move.

"We are obligated as leaders in the private sector to do everything we can," said Steve Kaufer, TripAdvisor chief executive.

In an online campaign, Airbnb has committed to match every donation made, up to $1 million, to the U.N.'s refugee agency through year-end.

HP is committing more than $1 million in technology and training for refugees in the coming year. With fellow tech giants Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., it is establishing centers in Jordan and Lebanon that will offer business and computer courses.

Separately, the company is working on a pilot program in Turkey that will make online freelance opportunities available to refugees, and it is supporting the launch of new tech centers in Jordan to train refugees in app design and other technical online work.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Western Union Co. are among firms in the financial sector that have donated millions for medical care, food and other essentials for refugees.

The companies also see a business opportunity in helping refugees.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has a partnership with the IRC in 19 cities to hire refugees, and its Starwood Foundation will launch a pilot hospitality training program in Dallas and San Diego. The move "increases our talent pipeline," said Kristin Meyer, associate director of community partnerships.

Last year, MasterCard Inc. began supplying prepaid debit cards to Portland, Ore.-based Mercy Corps, which is using them to distribute cash assistance to refugees in Greece. Refugees use the plastic money to pay for food, medication and other items.

"We believe that a corporate entity can do well and do good at the same time," said Paul Musser, a MasterCard executive. He wouldn't disclose how much the company had invested in the venture but said it had not turned a profit.

Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2016 00:15 ET (04:15 GMT)

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