Research briefing on businesses and local economic development. This research brief was produced by UN-Habitat in partnership with the County Government of Turkana for the two-year project title “Sustainable Economic Development Along Turkana West Development Corridor Through Enhanced Connectivity” as part of the Cities Alliance Global Programme on Cities and Migration financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.’ This project aims to support the development of policy and programmatic interventions needed to accelerate socio-economic development of the area. It generates new knowledge about businesses, local industries and the local economic development (LED) context. Previously, studies have mainly focused on household surveys, with limited research into the nature of the local economy and its relationship with external linkages.