In Kakuma Refugee Camp and the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, over 65% of households live on less than $1.90 a day. With humanitarian food rations being cut to just 40% of basic needs, traditional aid is no longer enough.
Single mothers and female-headed households face the steepest barriers, often excluded from traditional microfinance due to a lack of collateral or prior experience. We fill this gap by targeting the ultra-poor, ensuring no one is left behind.
We provide high-potential refugee entrepreneurs with the mentorship, workspace, and seed capital needed to transform early-stage ideas into scalable, sustainable businesses.
Driving financial inclusion through community-led saving groups that allow members to access credit, build collective capital, and insure against emergencies.
Equipping households with essential skills in budgeting, bookkeeping, and digital banking to ensure long-term wealth preservation and growth.
Bridging the gap between refugee-led enterprises and local or national markets, ensuring that high-quality products and services reach ready buyers.
We believe that in the chaotic environment of displacement, linear interventions often fail. Our "Chaos Model" focuses on building decentralized resilience.
By integrating financial tools with child care and digital training, we create a spider-web of support that catches those who would otherwise slip through the cracks.
| Problem | Activities | Outcomes / Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme poverty, lack of collateral, and caregiving burdens. | Seed capital, VSLAs, business training, on-site childcare. | Women graduate from subsistence to sustainable entrepreneurship. |
Targeting the ultra-poor using PP metrics. We provide 12 weeks of intensive training, free on-site childcare, and $250 in non-repayable seed capital to launch their ventures.
Successful graduates contribute $250 into a "Digital Chama" savings pool. This fund finances the next cohort of entrepreneurs, creating a revolving multi-fundthat is locally sustained.
A intensive 24-month intervention targeting the ultra-poor, providing a holistic pathway from subsistence to economic independence.
Modernizing traditional savings groups through digital platforms, allowing for transparent tracking and easier access to revolving multi-funds.
A specialized initiative linking women artisans in Kakuma to high-value international fashion and home-goods markets.
In business & financial literacy
Fueled by over KES 3 million
Average household growth
Within savings groups
Learn, Earn, Innovate
Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR) is a community-based organization established in 2016 in response to the pressing challenges faced by refugees in Kakuma, Turkana County in Kenya.
Copyright © 2026 Solidarity Initiative for Refugees
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