Name

Heshima Kenya

Legal name

Heshima Kenya, Inc.

Website

https://heshimakenya.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Protection and Humanitarian Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Safeguarding) (BPADAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG), Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH)

Keywords

• Refugee protection services
• Girls education programs
• Vocational training
• Artisan social enterprise
• Child protection services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization relying on charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Donations support shelter, education, and protection programs for refugee women and girls.
2. Maisha Collective Social Enterprise Sales: 100% of revenue from hand-dyed scarf and textile sales reinvested into Heshima Kenya programs and artisan savings. Products sold through e-commerce, wholesale to retailers, and Scarf Social parties.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Heshima Kenya operates a holistic protection and empowerment model for unaccompanied refugee women and girls in Kenya, delivering 24-hour safe shelter through a registered Children's Charitable Institution, alternative education via the Girls' Empowerment Project, vocational training in tailoring and hand-dyeing textile production through the wholly-owned Maisha Collective social enterprise, UNHCR-aligned child protection case management, and community outreach addressing gender-based violence. Revenue flows from charitable donations, foundation and UN grants, and 100%-reinvested retail and wholesale sales of hand-dyed scarves, jewelry, and textiles.

Product overview

Heshima Kenya is a non-profit organization offering a holistic model of protection and empowerment services for refugee women, girls, and children in Kenya. The organization's primary product portfolio centers on the Maisha Collective social enterprise—a artisan collective producing hand-dyed scarves and textiles—alongside the Girls' Empowerment Project (GEP) providing education, life-skills, and vocational training. Core services include a Safe House shelter program, Child Protection services (as UNHCR implementing partner), Case Management, Community Outreach, and Advocacy & Research initiatives. The Early Childhood Development Center provides childcare for mothers in the program. The Maisha Collective serves as an economic empowerment pathway, with 100% of revenue reinvested into programs and artisan savings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Maisha Collective: Heshima Kenya's social enterprise where refugee artisan women design and hand-dye scarves and textiles. An economic springboard helping program graduates become skilled artisans. 100% of revenue is reinvested into Heshima Kenya's programs.

Products and services

• Maisha Collective Social Enterprise Social enterprise selling hand-dyed scarves and textiles made by refugee artisans, with 100% of revenue reinvested into Heshima Kenya programs and artisan savings. Distributed via e-commerce, wholesale to retailers, and Scarf Social parties for ethically minded consumers worldwide.
• Girls' Empowerment Project (GEP) Alternative education program delivering literacy, basic math, English and Swahili courses, life skills, vocational training, and income generation opportunities to over 230 refugee young women and their children, aligned with the Kenyan Department of Education's Non-Formal Adult Education Guidelines and preparing participants for KCPE certification.
• Safe House Program The first and only transitional shelter in Kenya providing 24-hour protection and recovery to unaccompanied and separated refugee girls under 18 years old and their children, registered as a Children's Charitable Institution (CCI) under the Kenyan Children's Department.
• Child Protection Program (UNHCR Implementing Partner) UNHCR Child Protection implementing-partner program providing protection for approximately 23,000 unaccompanied refugee children in urban areas and throughout Kenya, including Best Interests Determinations, family tracing, birth registration, and community-based support.
• Case Management Services Comprehensive case management providing medical referrals, legal support, mental health counseling, home assessments, and material support for refugee girls transitioning to independent living under Heshima Kenya's care.
• Early Childhood Development Center On-site childcare program supporting over 70 infants and toddlers of young mothers enrolled in Heshima Kenya programs, including children with disabilities, enabling mothers to attend education courses while caring for their children.
• Community Outreach and SGBV Prevention Community mobilization and outreach program running women's groups, refugee registration information campaigns, and the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Working Group established in 2009 to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Nairobi's refugee communities.
• Advocacy and Research Advocacy and research initiatives focusing on refugee protection, child protection, and women's rights, including education about documentation processes, community education on SGBV, and international awareness raising.
• Maisha Collective Vocational Training Seven-month vocational training course teaching hand and machine stitching, fabric measuring and cutting, and stitch techniques; graduates can join the Maisha Collective artisan social enterprise and receive a stipend.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 230 young women and children served in Girls' Empowerment Project
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2015, Heshima Kenya has served as a Child Protection Implementing partner to UNHCR under the mandate of identifying and protecting unaccompanied refugee minors. The partnership covers protection for approximately 23,000 unaccompanied refugee children in urban areas and throughout Kenya. In 2015, direct services were provided to over 1,100 children with indirect services to over 8,500.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner supporting programs for refugee women and girls. Listed on funding partners page alongside other major international organizations.
• Urban Refugee Protection NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner in protection network for urban refugees in Kenya.
• Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner for refugee rights and protection services in Kenya.
• Danish Refugee CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational humanitarian organization partner in refugee protection.
• Jesuit Refugee ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO partner providing refugee support services.
• HogsaltminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of 2017 Fashion Challenge event.
• Ten Thousand VillagesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFair trade retailer carrying Maisha Collective products at multiple US locations (Champaign, Evanston, Glen Ellyn).
• TO THE MARKETminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCreative partner and retailer carrying Maisha Collective products.
• Piece & CominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative partner supporting artisan enterprise.
• liftUPliftminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline retailer carrying Maisha Collective products.
• Lagi NadeauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign collaboration partner creating Lagi Nadeau for Heshima jewelry line.
• Taproot FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono service program supporting nonprofit capacity building.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Refuge Artisan Initiative: US-based nonprofit employing refugee and immigrant women artisans to create handcrafted goods—an analogous social-enterprise-plus-protection model targeting the same refugee women population in the United States.
• Refugepoint: Boston-based NGO serving urban refugees in Nairobi—same geography and beneficiary profile (refugee women and unaccompanied minors)—with a comparable case-management and protection model.

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): One of the largest global refugee/humanitarian INGOs; operates women's protection and empowerment, education, and economic recovery programs that overlap directly with Heshima's holistic model.
• Jesuit Refugee Service: International humanitarian organization and listed Heshima partner; provides overlapping education, psychosocial, and protection services to urban refugees in East Africa.
• Danish Refugee Council: International humanitarian organization and a listed strategic partner of Heshima, operating overlapping child protection and refugee services in Kenya and the region.
• HIAS: Established international refugee protection and resettlement organization; one of Heshima's prior partners shares Child Protection Coordinator staff, and HIAS operates overlapping protection and resettlement programs globally.
• Women for Women International: Global nonprofit investing in socially and economically marginalized women survivors of conflict—overlapping holistic model of training, economic empowerment, and rights awareness referenced by Heshima board affiliations.

Regional players

• Kakenya's Dream: Kenya-based nonprofit that uses education and community leadership to empower at-risk Maasai girls; operates in the same geography and similar girl-centered empowerment framework as Heshima Kenya.

Emerging players

• Made in Freedom: Fair-trade e-commerce brand producing apparel and accessories made by women survivors of trafficking and conflict—directly comparable artisan-based impact-commerce model to Maisha Collective.
• Polished (reskilling nonprofit): US-based nonprofit employing refugee and immigrant women to provide corporate services—analogous social-enterprise model targeting similar economically-empowered refugee women beneficiaries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Heshima_Kenya
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiDcgWJ2pQgjxA7oUCCO9ig
• Facebookfacebook.com/heshimakenya
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wearerefushe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heshima Kenya