Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR)

What Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR) does

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR) is a refugee-led Community-Based Organization (CBO) registered in Kenya and headquartered in Kakuma, Turkana County, operating programs in the Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement. Founded in 2016 by refugees for refugees, SIR delivers an integrated four-pillar model spanning Digital Skills & Livelihood (training in coding, design, freelancing, and remote work through programs like the K-Node Engineering Residency and LEAP), Entrepreneurship & Finance (a 24-month Poverty Graduation Model, Village Savings & Loan Associations, the Mastercard Foundation-backed Digital Chama Network, and Artisan Market Connect), Early Childhood Education (play-based learning for children aged 3-6 plus Social Emotional Learning), and Advocacy & Capacity Sharing (refugee diplomacy, RLO capacity building, and policy engagement with partners including Independent Diplomat).

The organization's technology stack centers on the Opengates Marketplace (opengates.app), which connects trained refugee graduates to global remote gigs, internships, and permanent employment, complemented by the K-Node Triple-Stack engineering curriculum (Frontend, Backend, AI), Digital Chama platforms that digitize traditional savings groups, and a Starter Kit model that distributes hardware (laptops and modems) with on-site childcare to remove participation barriers. Over 90% of staff are refugees, with a headcount of 39 and a 20+ core program staff.

SIR's revenue model is a hybrid nonprofit stack combining institutional grant funding (Mastercard Foundation, UNHCR, Danish Refugee Council/DANIDA, WUSC/Global Affairs Canada, KOICA, Porticus, Cohere), individual donations and corporate sponsorship (via Equity Bank Kenya transfers, M-PESA, and online channels), and social enterprise revenue generated by sustainable ventures such as the Family Recreation Centre in Kakuma and the Opengates Marketplace. Programs are provided free of charge to refugee beneficiaries and host community members, including ultra-poor women, refugee youth, children aged 3-6, and peer Refugee-Led Organizations. Quantified outcomes since 2016 include 5,000+ learners trained, 65% graduate employment rate, KES 3 million in micro-loans deployed, 900+ children reached through ECD and SEL, and 200+ women trained in business and financial literacy.

Name

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR)

Legal name

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees CBO

Website

https://sirafrica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR) is a refugee-led Kenyan Community-Based Organization headquartered in Kakuma that delivers integrated Digital Skills, Entrepreneurship, Early Childhood Education, and Advocacy programs to refugees and the host community in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, free of charge to beneficiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee humanitarian and livelihoods services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Refugee education programs
• Digital skills training
• Livelihoods and entrepreneurship
• Early childhood development
• Refugee-led humanitarian services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kakuma

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorship: Individual and institutional donations supporting programs including Digital Skills, Livelihoods, Education, and Emergency Response.
2. Grant Funding: Grant funding from institutional partners including UNHCR, Mastercard Foundation, Danish Refugee Council, WUSC, and others to fuel growth and expand reach.
3. Social Enterprise Revenue: Sustainable ventures including the Family Recreation Centre and Opengates that generate unrestricted revenue for programs while creating dignified employment.
4. Bank Transfers and M-PESA: Direct donations via bank transfer (Equity Bank Kenya) and mobile money (M-PESA) using designated account numbers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SIR delivers integrated, free-of-charge programs to refugees and host community members in Kakuma and Kalobeyei across four pillars: Digital Skills & Livelihood (including the K-Node Engineering Residency, Digital Skills & Mentorship, Opengates Marketplace, SANARA Animation, and LEAP), Entrepreneurship & Finance (Poverty Graduation model, VSLAs, Digital Chama Network, Artisan Market Connect), Early Childhood Education (community-led play-based ECD centers), and Advocacy & Capacity Sharing (RLO mentorship and refugee diplomacy). Programs are funded through grants, donations, and social enterprise revenue and operate through direct in-camp delivery supported by proprietary digital platforms.

Product overview

SIR operates as a refugee-led organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs organized around four core pillars: Digital Skills & Livelihood, Entrepreneurship & Finance, Early Childhood Education, and Advocacy & Capacity Sharing. The Digital Skills & Mentorship Program serves as the flagship offering, featuring the K-Node Engineering Residency (an elite Triple-Stack software engineering program) and Opengates Marketplace for market placement. The Entrepreneurship program delivers a 24-month graduation model with VSLAs and Digital Chama networks. Supporting services include Emergency Response, Social Enterprises (Family Recreation Centre), and Early Childhood Development. All programs are designed around SIR's Chaos Theory of Change, integrating financial tools with childcare and digital training to create decentralized resilience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-Node Engineering Residency An elite Triple-Stack software engineering residency preparing refugee residents for high-value careers in DevOps and AI-integrated product development through intense technical sprints, professional mentorship, and market placement support.
• Digital Skills & Mentorship Program Comprehensive digital skills training program connecting refugee youth to global income opportunities through advanced technical training, professional mentorship, equipment provision (laptops and modems), on-site childcare, and market placement via Opengates Marketplace and agency partnerships.
• Opengates Marketplace A marketplace platform operated by SIR that links digital skills graduates directly to remote gigs, internships, and permanent employment opportunities on global platforms.
• Entrepreneurship & Financial Inclusion Program (Poverty Graduation Model) A 24-month graduation model providing ultra-poor refugees with seed capital ($250 non-repayable), business training, Village Savings & Loan Associations access, financial literacy, and strategic market linkages to launch and sustain businesses.
• Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs) Community-led saving groups that allow members to access credit, build collective capital, and insure against emergencies, driving financial inclusion for refugees.
• Digital Chama Network Modernization of traditional savings groups through digital platforms, allowing transparent tracking and easier access to revolving multi-funds, supported by Mastercard Foundation.
• Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program Community-led ECD services including play-based learning centers for children aged 3-6, parenting programs, teacher training, and connected learning pathways for older youth.
• Advocacy & Capacity Sharing Program Diplomatic engagement and policy advocacy, organizational development for Refugee-Led Organizations, and inclusive systems change through multi-stakeholder dialogues and policy roundtables.
• Sustainable Model Program Partnership with Danish Refugee Council with DANIDA funding to enhance organizational resilience through financial management systems, 5-year strategic planning, and MEAL frameworks.
• Emergency Response Program Rapid community-driven crisis response providing essential kits (food, household items), cash for recovery grants, water access solutions including solar-powered boreholes, and service continuity support.
• Family Recreation Centre A community hub in Kakuma offering separate recreational spaces for women and families, swimming pool access, and event hosting that promotes social cohesion, mental well-being, and safe play while generating local revenue.
• Artisan Market Connect A specialized initiative linking women artisans in Kakuma to high-value international fashion and home-goods markets through partnership with ITC/Ethical Fashion Initiative.
• SANARA Whiteboard Animation Training Specialized creative arts program equipping refugees with technical 2D animation and storytelling skills for global creative industries, supported by Buni Media and Mastercard Foundation.
• Learning through Education and Access to Employment Pathways (LEAP) Holistic digital skills program combining technical upskilling with mentorship, life skills, and community engagement to create sustainable employment pathways, supported by WUSC and Global Affairs Canada.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,000+ learners trained in digital and life skills since 2016
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Source Humanitarian NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner collaborating on program design, implementation, and scaling of core initiatives. Partner in the K-Node Engineering Residency program for software engineering training.
• UNHCRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for the Poverty Graduation Program, providing oversight and support for livelihood interventions targeting ultra-poor refugees.
• World University Service of Canada (WUSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the LEAP (Learning through Education and Access to Employment Pathways) program combining technical upskilling with mentorship, life skills, and community engagement. Also provided founding support in 2016.
• Independent DiplomatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to build practical diplomacy pathway so refugee leaders can influence policy and drive durable solutions grounded in the Refugee Act (2021) and the Shirika Plan.
• CohereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting meaningful refugee participation in education, empowering parents' groups and RLOs to co-shape SEL and ECD practices from the design phase.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Sustainable Model Program enhancing SIR's organizational resilience and financial management through organizational capacity development and financial systems strengthening, with funding support from DANIDA.
• International Trade Centre (ITC) / Ethical Fashion InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for Artisan Market Connect, linking women artisans in Kakuma to high-value international fashion and home-goods markets.
• Buni MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in SANARA Whiteboard Animation Training equipping refugees with technical 2D animation and storytelling skills for global creative industries.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): NRC delivers education, livelihoods, shelter, and legal aid for refugees in East Africa and globally. Its education-in-emergencies and ICLA/livelihoods portfolios overlap with SIR's ECD and Entrepreneurship pillars, and NRC is a likely competing grant applicant in the same donor pools.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC): DRC is a frontline refugee NGO that is both a funder/strategic partner of SIR (Sustainable Model Program) and a structural peer providing livelihoods, education, and protection services across displacement contexts; comparable in operating model though far larger.
• Andela: Andela operates a global marketplace training and placing African software engineers with international companies. Its talent-development, technical training, and remote-placement model closely resembles K-Node and Opengates, though Andela is broader (continent-wide, for-profit) rather than refugee-focused.
• Alight: Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee) delivers programs across health, education, economic inclusion, and digital livelihoods in displacement contexts. Its direct-service footprint and livelihoods focus are directly comparable to SIR's integrated four-pillar model.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): The IRC is a major international NGO delivering education, economic recovery, and protection programming in refugee settings. Its education-in-emergencies and livelihoods portfolios overlap structurally with SIR's pillar model and ECD/programs, though at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Talent Beyond Boundaries: Talent Beyond Boundaries is a nonprofit that matches skilled refugees with international employers and skilled migration pathways. It is the closest direct peer to SIR's Opengates Marketplace and K-Node engineering tracks, since both aim to convert displacement into global remote employment.
• Inkomoko: Inkomoko is an East African social enterprise providing business training, capital, and mentorship to refugee and host-community entrepreneurs in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Uganda. It directly parallels SIR's Entrepreneurship & Finance pillar and Poverty Graduation approach in the same geographic footprint.
• Na'amal: Na'amal is a refugee-led organization working with women and young refugees in East Africa to build digital livelihoods via online work, freelancing training, and employer matching. It mirrors SIR's Digital Skills & Livelihoods pillar and refugee-led delivery model.

Emerging players

• Kiron: Kiron is a German nonprofit providing blended-learning higher-education and digital-skills programs for refugees and displaced learners. It overlaps with SIR's Digital Skills & Mentorship and ECD/learning-pathways programs, especially on the educational-tech delivery layer.

Others

• Buni Media: Buni Media is a creative-tech training and storytelling company that is a named SIR delivery partner on the SANARA Whiteboard Animation program. It is comparable as an enabling tech-training provider for refugee youth in the African creative economy but does not deliver direct refugee services itself.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solidarity-initiative-for-refugees-sir

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Solidarity Initiative for Refugees (SIR)