Garissa County

What Garissa County does

Garissa County is a devolved county government in northeastern Kenya, established in 2013 under the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as one of 47 counties. It provides public services to its residents across six sub-counties and three municipalities (Garissa, Dadaab, and Masalani), with a stated population of over 200,000 in Garissa Municipality and approximately 100,000 in the Dadaab area, which includes refugees primarily from Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. The county operates through functional departments covering Health, Education & ICT, Agriculture & Livestock & Pastoral Economy, Trade & Investment & Enterprise Development, Roads & Transport & Public Works, Water & Environment & Natural Resources, and Finance & Economics. It is led by Governor Nathif Jama, with a Deputy Governor, County Secretary, and County Executive Committee Members constituting the executive leadership.

The county's digital infrastructure includes a GIS Portal for spatial data management and planning, an E-Services portal for monitoring and evaluation, and a Projects Monitoring and Tracking System for development project oversight. Major programs include KDSPII (Kenya Devolution Support Programme) and FLLoCA (Frontier Counties Leadership in Climate Adaptation), the latter supported by World Bank funding. The county maintains strategic partnerships with the World Food Programme (aligned with WFP's 2023-2027 Country Strategic Plan), KIRDI for technology transfer and value addition, Islamic Relief Kenya for vocational training, and various human rights and gender equality bodies.

Garissa County does not generate commercial revenue in the traditional sense. Its funding is derived from three sources: (1) the national government equitable share allocation through the National Treasury, (2) Own-Source Revenue (OSR) from local taxes, fees, business permits, and property rates, and (3) conditional development grants from partners such as the World Bank. The county is headquartered in Garissa town and serves a population that is largely pastoralist, with significant cross-border trade activity near the Somalia border.

Name

Garissa County

Legal name

County Government of Garissa

Website

https://garissa.go.ke

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Garissa County is a devolved county government in northeastern Kenya providing public services including healthcare, education, water, roads, and trade development to over 200,000 residents across six sub-counties and three municipalities, funded through national allocation, local revenue, and development grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Administration

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Public Finance Activities (92113), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

District Administration & Central Office (EDAJAAAA), School District Central Administration (Superintendent & Cabinet Offices) (EDADABAF), Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Public service delivery
• County government administration
• Healthcare services
• Infrastructure development
• Education and vocational training

Headquarters

HQ city

Garissa

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. County Revenue Collection: Collection of local taxes, fees, and charges including property rates, business permits, and other county-specific levies. Revenue is mobilized through the OSR (Own Source Revenue) mobilization strategy.
2. National Government Allocation: Annual allocation from the national government of Kenya through the equitable share formula
3. Development Grants: World Bank FLLoCA and KDSPII grants for county development projects

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Garissa County Government is a devolved county administration in northeastern Kenya that delivers public services to residents through multiple departments including Health, Education & ICT, Agriculture & Livestock, Trade & Investment, Roads & Transport, Water & Environment, and Finance & Economics. It operates municipalities in Garissa, Masalani, and Dadaab, and provides digital services such as a GIS Portal and a Projects Monitoring & Tracking System. The county administers public finance, manages development programs (FLLoCA, KDSPII), and coordinates partnerships with development agencies for service delivery.

Product overview

Garissa County Government operates as a devolved county administration in northeastern Kenya, providing citizen-facing public services through multiple departments. The county offers a unified portfolio of government services rather than a software product platform. Services span Health, Education & ICT, Agriculture & Livestock, Trade & Investment, Roads & Transport, Water & Environment, and Finance & Economics. Digital services include a GIS Portal, Projects Monitoring System, and various e-government initiatives. The county also runs development programs including FLLoCA (climate adaptation) and KDSPII (devolution support).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Services Healthcare delivery services including hospital construction projects, maternal care units, laboratory reagents supply, vaccine distribution, and health facility improvements across Garissa County, provided to residents through hospitals, health centers, and dispensaries.
• Education & ICT Services Educational services and ICT infrastructure including bursary applications, vocational training center support, and technology transfer programs for local entrepreneurs, serving students, trainees, and youth across the county.
• Agriculture, Livestock & Pastoral Economy Services Agricultural development services including livestock management, pastoral economy support, technology training partnerships with KIRDI for value addition in honey, leather, camel milk, and other local products, serving pastoralist communities and farmers.
• Trade, Investment & Enterprise Development Services Business development services supporting local entrepreneurs through trade promotion, enterprise growth initiatives, business licensing, and investment promotion, targeting small and medium enterprises in Garissa County.
• Roads, Transport & Public Works Infrastructure development including road construction, maintenance, upgrading to bitumen standards, and public works projects across all sub-counties of Garissa County.
• Water, Environment & Natural Resources Services Water supply, irrigation, environmental management, and natural resource conservation including borehole drilling, water pan construction, solarization projects, and rehabilitation of water schemes across Garissa County.
• Public Finance Management Public finance management including budget preparation, fiscal strategy papers, audit reports, revenue administration, and County Finance Bills for Garissa County Government.
• Garissa Municipality Services Municipal administration and local services for the Garissa town area serving a population of over 200,000 people as the capital and main economic center of Garissa County.
• Dadaab Municipality Services Municipal administration and services for the Dadaab area serving approximately 100,000 people including refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, located in the northeastern part of the county.
• Masalani Municipality Services Municipal administration and services for Masalani town, a major trading center in northeastern Garissa County that serves cross-border trade with Somalia.

Quantifiable outcome

• Healthcare infrastructure including ICU, maternity units, and renal unit construction projects underway
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWFP collaborates with Garissa County Government on resilience livelihoods, market access, nutrition, school feeding program, emergency preparedness response, and disaster risk management. The partnership aims to incorporate county priorities in WFP's Country Strategic Plan 2023-2027 and help graduate more people into self-sustaining livelihoods.
• Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKIRDI partners with Garissa County to conduct technology transfer and capacity building for local SMEs, women, and youth. A rapid feasibility study is being conducted on resources for value addition including mathenge tree for animal feeds, nyirinyiri meat, leather processing, honey, gums and resin production, and camel milk products.
• Islamic Relief KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIslamic Relief Kenya partners with Garissa County Government to support vocational training students. The organization sponsors students at Garissa Vocational Training Center and donates startup kits to graduates to enable them establish businesses in their acquired skill areas.
• Kenya National Human Rights CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommission represented by Commissioner Sara Bonaya participated in International Women's Day 2023 celebrations organized by Garissa County in partnership with the gender technical working group.
• UNICEF KenyaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF Kenya representative Zeinab Ahmed participated in International Women's Day celebrations at Iftin Girls High School, demonstrating collaboration on gender equality initiatives.
• National Gender and Equality CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coordinator Abdiwahab Ibrahim attended International Women's Day 2023 event, indicating collaboration on gender equality and empowerment programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wajir County Government: Neighboring devolved county in Kenya's former North Eastern Province with an analogous arid, pastoralist economy, refugee-hosting footprint, and heavy reliance on national transfers and donor funding.
• Tana River County Government: Devolved county with comparable climate-vulnerability, pastoralist and riverine livelihoods, and World Bank FLLoCA participation — making it a direct programmatic peer.
• Mandera County Government: Frontier county sharing Garissa's border-with-Somalia security and trade profile, with similar pastoralist economy, donor dependency, and constitutional devolved-government structure.
• Isiolo County Government: Frontier county with a similar mix of pastoralist communities, refugee presence, and reliance on climate-adaptation and devolution-support donor programs.
• Turkana County Government: Arid devolved county in northern Kenya with analogous humanitarian and climate-adaptation programming, donor ecosystem (WFP/UNICEF/World Bank), and pastoral economy.
• Marsabit County Government: Neighboring northern Kenyan county sharing Garissa's arid-zone profile, cross-border dynamics, and dependency on national and donor funding streams.

Others

• Council of Governors (Kenya): Statutory body coordinating Kenya's 47 county governments; comparable because it channels intergovernmental fiscal transfers, donor coordination, and shared service-delivery standards that directly affect Garissa County's operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• Mombasa County Government: Another Kenyan devolved county government with a substantially larger revenue base and urban service-delivery mandate; relevant as a benchmark for what mature county digital and fiscal systems look like in Kenya.
• Nairobi City County Government: Kenya's largest devolved county and primary benchmark for urban service delivery, OSR performance, and digital government at scale — useful as a high-end peer for capacity and capability comparison.

Regional players

• Kakamega County Government: Devolved county in western Kenya operating under the same constitutional framework but in a markedly different agro-ecological and economic context; useful as a regional counterpoint for fiscal and service-delivery benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GarissaGov
• Facebookfacebook.com/GarissaCountyKE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/garissa-county

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Garissa County