The pastoral livestock trade in the Horn of Africa is highly dynamic. Animals are traded and moved within countries, across national borders and beyond the region for export – principally to the Middle East. The livestock trade is fluid, with changes in the direction of market flows. It is subject to movement or export bans, a shifting policy environment, and risks associated with droughts, diseases and conflicts. I aim to highlight most recent activities in the region’s pastoral livestock sector pertaining to livestock exports, particularly focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland. While livestock export activities in Ethiopia and Somaliland receive national attention, these initiatives are being nurtured at the newly-created county administrative levels in Kenya’s northern pastoral areas where they are perceived as pathways for demarginalization.