Can One of Africa’s Largest Refugee Camps Evolve Into A City?

Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, established in 1992 and home to 300,000 refugees from countries including South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Congo, is being transformed into a municipality as part of an effort to reduce long-term aid dependency. The plan aims to help refugees become self-sufficient through entrepreneurship, though they face significant obstacles including restricted citizenship rights, limited formal employment opportunities, and difficulty accessing affordable credit with typical loan interest rates around 20%. Organizations like Inkomoko are providing financial training and lower-interest loans to refugee entrepreneurs, enabling some success stories like a tailoring business owner who employs 26 people and a retail chain operator.