President William Ruto has pledged billions in funding within the 2026/27 fiscal budget to empower youth and women. The National Treasury proposes Sh12 billion for youth and women groups, including education bursaries and training programs.
President William Ruto is targeting youth and women through the 2026/27 fiscal budget, as outlined in the Budget Policy Statement. The National Treasury has promised Sh12 billion for 16,850 groups of women and youth, along with bursaries for 178,500 students from poor families.
For girls, the government aims to keep 11.1 million in school by providing sanitary towels and supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Additionally, Sh9.6 billion will support 660,000 businesswomen, including training to eliminate gender-based violence and resolve domestic disputes.
Furthermore, Sh3.3 billion is allocated for groups of persons with disabilities and women to boost their businesses and implement recommendations from the Gender-Based Violence Committee. In previous years, the government disbursed Sh3.33 billion to 10,785 groups and bursaries for 155,580 students via the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). Through the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), Sh3.12 billion reached 261,681 women, with training for 361,481.
Some 90,000 youth will receive self-employment and asset-building training, while 43,000 others get business opportunity training. In the arts sector, 16,300 licenses will be issued to filmmakers and financial aid provided to musicians. “The government aims to ensure many youth have business skills, self-employment abilities, and become pillars of national economic growth,” states the policy statement.
This appears to revisit Ruto's 2022 campaign promises on jobs that helped his election. Projects like NYOTA, the Hustler Fund, and online jobs have been launched to benefit youth.
