Kakuma, Kenya: Creating Business Opportunities for Refugees

The Kakuma City Initiative in Kenya focuses on enhanced connectivity along the Turkana West Development Corridor and is part of the Cities Alliance Global Programme on Cities and Migration, which focuses on migration management in secondary cities in low-income countries. The project is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In Kakuma, Kenya, Cities Alliance cooperated with UN-Habitat.

The Sustainable Economic Development Along the Turkana West Development Corridor Through Enhanced Connectivity project is improving connectivity and networks that enable businesses, local governments, and individuals to gain access to a wider choice of goods, finance, employment, and investment opportunities, leading to a sustainable local economy in the region. It organised development forums for cities along a major Kenyan transport corridor, expanded a network of cities for knowledge exchange and cooperation, supported the planning of an Economic Enterprise Zone (EEZ) to promote the local economy in Kakuma-Kalobeyei, built soft infrastructure to support a city network, and strengthened capacity at the local level to integrate migration into city development.

The movie follows refugees in the Kalobeyei Refugee Camp and listens to their everyday struggles in the camp. It shows the initiative Hand Craft Coop, which works with survivors of gender based violence by giving them space to work, and why the local market is a vital point for the community.