Refugee Entrepreneurs Double Profits Through Cross-Cultural Business Partnerships
Kakuma, 26 March 2026
In Kakuma refugee camp, artisan collaborations are transforming livelihoods and challenging traditional business models. Rodger, a Congolese refugee tailor, partnered with Nancy, a local beadwork artist, increasing bag prices from £4.60 to £7.60—a remarkable 56% premium. This partnership exemplifies how combining diverse skills creates competitive advantages in challenging environments. Starting with 26 bags at a cultural festival, their venture now produces 30-40 bags monthly, requiring additional staff due to growing demand. The International Trade Centre’s THRIVE project facilitates these cross-cultural partnerships, demonstrating that when refugees and host communities collaborate, they create sustainable businesses that benefit entire regions whilst showcasing extraordinary entrepreneurial resilience.
The Power of Partnership: From Struggle to Success
Before their collaboration began in May 2025, both Nancy Akai and Rodger Mugaragu faced significant business challenges that limited their growth potential [1]. Nancy, who started her beadwork business in 2018 in Turkana County, northern Kenya, struggled with fundamental business calculations, finding it difficult to determine material costs or set profitable pricing structures [1]. Meanwhile, Rodger, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had been sewing clothes and bags in Kakuma Refugee Camp for six years prior to May 2025, operated a small enterprise with limited market reach due to poor visibility [1]. The turning point came during the International Trade Centre’s business training programme in Turkana County in May 2025, followed by their pivotal meeting at the Bizarre Bazaar in Nairobi, where they decided to join forces [1]. Their collaboration immediately demonstrated the potential of combining complementary skills, with Nancy’s intricate beadwork transforming Rodger’s functional bags into premium products that commanded significantly higher prices in the marketplace.
Financial Transformation Through Creative Collaboration
The financial impact of their partnership has been remarkable, with concrete figures illustrating the power of value-added collaboration in refugee entrepreneurship. Without beads, Rodger’s bags sold for 800 Kenyan shillings (£4.60), but with Nancy’s decorative beadwork, the same products now command approximately 1,250 Kenyan shillings (£7.60), representing a 56.25 per cent increase in value [1]. This substantial price premium demonstrates how combining traditional craftsmanship with modern market demands can create competitive advantages even in challenging environments. The partnership’s initial success became evident during their first collaborative venture, when Rodger produced 26 bags that Nancy decorated and sold at the Turkana Cultural Festival, known locally as Kakuma Got Talent [1]. “People really liked the bags… The demand was very good,” Nancy reported, reflecting the positive market response to their combined efforts [1]. This early success laid the foundation for scaling their operations and building a sustainable business model.
Scaling Production and Creating Employment
The partnership’s success has necessitated significant operational expansion, transforming from a small-scale collaboration into a growing enterprise that creates additional employment opportunities. Rodger’s production capacity has increased dramatically from making approximately 10 bags every two weeks initially to producing 30 to 40 bags monthly by 2026 [1]. This threefold increase in output reflects not only growing market demand but also improved operational efficiency through their collaborative approach. “Before, I worked alone… Now I have trained two or three other people to help with production because the orders are increasing,” Rodger explained, highlighting how successful partnerships can create ripple effects of employment and skills transfer within refugee communities [1]. The expansion demonstrates that refugee entrepreneurship, when properly supported and strategically developed, can become a significant source of economic activity and job creation within camp environments.
Institutional Support and Future Implications
The success of Nancy and Rodger’s partnership exemplifies the broader objectives of international development programmes designed to foster sustainable livelihoods in refugee settings. The THRIVE project, implemented by the International Trade Centre with funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), specifically supports refugees and host communities in Turkana County through capacity building and market access initiatives [1]. “When artisans from different backgrounds collaborate, they are able to combine skills, create more competitive products, and access larger markets… This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurship we aim to support where refugees and host communities work together to build sustainable livelihoods,” explained ITC Programme Manager Ludmila Azo [1]. This institutional framework provides crucial support infrastructure that enables partnerships like Nancy and Rodger’s to flourish, whilst the International Trade Centre’s broader Ethical Fashion Initiative continues to connect microentrepreneurs to international and regional value chains, targeting 2,500 direct beneficiaries, 65% of whom are women and youth from marginalised communities [2]. Such programmes demonstrate that strategic investment in refugee entrepreneurship can yield substantial returns in terms of economic empowerment, community integration, and sustainable development.