Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa

What Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa does

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa is the Eastern and Southern Africa regional office of the global Jesuit Refugee Service, a non-profit humanitarian apostolate of the Society of Jesus founded in November 1980 by Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ and registered as a foundation of Vatican City State in March 2000. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the regional office coordinates operations across nine countries — Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda — delivering an integrated portfolio of programmes to forcibly displaced persons: Education (including the Global Education Initiative), Livelihoods, Psychosocial Support, Emergency Assistance, Protection (including GBV response and legal aid), Reconciliation, Health Care, and Advocacy. In 2025, the region reported serving 482,368 people, of whom 57.09% were women and 177,881 were supported through Education and Livelihoods programming. Service delivery occurs through field offices embedded directly in major refugee camps (Kakuma, Dadaab, Dzaleka, Maban, Renk) and urban offices, with a 57-person regional staff and the support of more than 1,100 volunteers globally.

The organization's product surface is human-delivered rather than technology-mediated. Core "products" are programme categories — quality education at early-childhood, primary, secondary, and adult levels; vocational and agricultural livelihoods training including the Digital Inclusion Programme and Mikono Refugee Craft Shop social enterprise; layered mental health and psychosocial support including the TeamUp structured intervention (with War Child Alliance) and Child-Friendly Safe Havens; emergency relief operations; legal and physical protection services; and reconciliation and peacebuilding. The underlying delivery model is community-led, executed through field offices in refugee camps and urban areas in partnership with governments, UN agencies (UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Women), and local organizations.

JRS East Africa's revenue model is non-commercial: services are provided free to beneficiaries, and funding flows from institutional donor grants (UNHCR DAFI scholarships, UNICEF/Education Cannot Wait, ECHO, AECID), individual donations via monthly giving and major gift programs, and volunteer contributions. The Global Education Initiative campaign is targeting USD 35 million in fundraising to include 100,000 additional refugees in education programmes. Go-to-market is through direct field operations and partner-implemented programming rather than any sales motion, with revenue mechanics governed by annual grant cycles and donor relationships rather than recurring commercial contracts.

Name

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa

Legal name

Jesuit Refugee Service

Website

https://ear.jrs.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa is the Nairobi-based regional office of the Vatican's Jesuit Refugee Service, delivering education, livelihoods, psychosocial support, protection, and emergency assistance programmes to forcibly displaced persons across nine Eastern and Southern African countries, serving 482,368 people in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Refugee Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE), Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG), Immigrant & Refugee Workforce Integration Programs (EDAAAOAJ)

Keywords

• Refugee services
• Humanitarian aid
• Education programmes
• Psychosocial support
• Livelihoods training

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Donor Funding: JRS receives funding from institutional donors including governments, UN agencies, and foundations to maintain global operations serving forcibly displaced people.
2. Individual Donations: Monthly giving program for passionate donors, major gifts, and one-time donations from individuals supporting the refugee cause.
3. Volunteer Contributions: Last year more than 1,100 volunteers worked in more than 25 countries contributing their time and skills.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa is a humanitarian non-profit organization that delivers education, livelihoods training, psychosocial support, emergency assistance, protection, reconciliation, health care, and advocacy services to refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons across nine countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Services are provided free of charge through field offices in refugee camps, urban offices, and partner networks, funded by institutional donors and individual contributions. In 2025, the organization served 482,368 people, with 57.09% women beneficiaries and 177,881 supported through Education and Livelihoods.

Product overview

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa operates as a humanitarian organisation delivering a portfolio of integrated service programmes for forcibly displaced people. The core offering comprises seven interconnected programmatic areas: Education (including the Global Education Initiative for quality schooling at all levels), Livelihoods (vocational training, agriculture, and economic inclusion), Psychosocial Support (counselling, safe spaces, and MHPSS), Emergency Assistance (relief operations with essential supplies), Protection (GBV services, legal aid, and advocacy), Reconciliation (peacebuilding and social cohesion), Health Care (primary and specialist medical services), and Advocacy (rights-based policy work). Additional initiatives include the Mikono Refugee Craft Shop for economic empowerment, the Digital Inclusion Programme for digital skills, and Child-Friendly Spaces for vulnerable children. These programmes work collaboratively across eight countries to address the holistic needs of refugees from emergency response through to durable solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Education Initiative: A campaign to include a further 100,000 refugees in JRS's education programmes, and to raise USD 35 million to support them.

Quantifiable outcome

• 482,368 people served in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• UNHCRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary implementing partner for refugee protection and assistance programs. JRS works under UNHCR funding through programs like the DAFI scholarship initiative supporting refugee education.
• War Child AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on dissemination of TeamUp psychosocial intervention approach based on movement, sports, games, and breathing exercises for children aged 6 to 17 in Burundi.
• Give InternetmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing 15 laptops, 15 internet routers, and six months of data bundles to support Digital Inclusion Programme for refugee youth in Dzaleka, Malawi.
• EntreculturasmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting education programs in Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, including school infrastructure and community engagement initiatives.
• HELPageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in joint delegation with governments and UNHCR visiting refugee camps to discuss voluntary repatriation.
• IRC (International Rescue Committee)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in joint delegation with governments and UNHCR visiting refugee camps to discuss voluntary repatriation.
• Government of BurundicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial handover of school infrastructure including 30 classrooms for basic education, 33 preschool classrooms, and rehabilitation of 155 classrooms to Ministry of Education.
• UN WomenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProviding essential production equipment for development of income-generating activities for refugee women including soap making, sewing, agriculture, and eco-friendly briquettes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HIAS: HIAS is a faith-rooted INGO delivering protection, legal aid, livelihoods, and mental-health services to refugees across the East Africa and global refugee corridor. Comparable by refugee-rights mission and integrated program model.
• International Rescue Committee: IRC delivers integrated humanitarian programs (health, education, protection, livelihoods) to refugees and displaced persons globally and is an explicit JRS East Africa partner on joint delegations with UNHCR. Most direct comparable peer by mission, beneficiary type, and operating geography in East Africa.
• Danish Refugee Council: DRC runs protection, durable-solutions, and humanitarian programming in East Africa (Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan). Comparable mandate on refugee rights, protection, and livelihoods; similar donor base across ECHO and other European institutional funders.
• Norwegian Refugee Council: NRC operates large-scale refugee response programs across East Africa (Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, DRC), with comparable portfolios in education, protection, shelter, and livelihoods. Closest mission-aligned peer to JRS by geography and program mix.
• Catholic Relief Services: CRS is a major Catholic humanitarian agency delivering education, livelihoods, health, and emergency assistance in overlapping countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burundi). Closest faith-based peer to JRS by values, mission, and field footprint.
• Jesuit Refugee Service (Global): JRS International serves 640,000 forcibly displaced people across 58 countries through the same accompaniment model. The global entity directly oversees and coordinates JRS East Africa, making it the closest organizational comparator for scale and program design.
• War Child Alliance: War Child Alliance is an explicit JRS East Africa partner, co-delivering the TeamUp psychosocial intervention in Burundi. Operates comparable child-focused education and protection programs in fragile and displacement-affected contexts.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is a large, diversified humanitarian INGO operating in East and Southern Africa with overlapping portfolios in livelihoods, education, and youth economic inclusion. Comparable in delivering integrated programs at scale but operates far more broadly beyond refugees.
• CARITAS Internationalis: Caritas is the global Catholic humanitarian confederation with national member agencies delivering refugee assistance, livelihoods, and emergency relief in JRS East Africa countries. Comparable values base and programming, but with a much broader social-services footprint beyond refugees.
• International Organization for Migration: IOM is a UN agency operating humanitarian assistance, protection, and durable-solutions programs for migrants and displaced populations in East Africa. Comparable mandate and geography, but operates at far larger scale across the entire migration ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCF9knh-GAS5tZ6y50ndbwLQ?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/JesuitRefugeeServiceEAR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jesuit-refugee-service-jrs-east-africa
• Instagraminstagram.com/jrs_eastafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) East Africa