Kenya: Supporting refugees to trade through digital agents model
Overview
Summary
The Digital Agents pilot brings together different partners from the Smart Communities Coalition to launch a program that facilitates the sale of solar home solutions in Turkana County (including Kakuma Camp, Kakuma Town, and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement) through supply chain linkages and entrepreneurship development. The pilot seeks to connect private actors to Kakuma’s energy market by developing linkages with local wholesalers, that will act as the entry points to the market and engaging micro entrepreneurs as local sales agents.
The pilot will select and train local refugees and members of the host community, with special attention paid to youth, to become micro-entrepreneurs by selling energy products and providing maintenance services. Refugee and host community members who receive the training will be known as Digital Agents.
The pilot will select and strengthen the capacity of local businesses, such as small and medium sized retailing shops, to serve as key distribution points for products. Existing small businesses (e.g. shops, wholesalers, warehousers) will function as intermediaries between the Digital Agents and the private sector suppliers.
Private sector suppliers, Total Access to Energy and BioLite Energy, will provide and distribute products to Kakuma and Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion - Nairobi will supply the technology and support pilot operations.