Rachel Ruto hails Waiguru for championing women’s economic empowerment

Speaking during a Joyful Women Organization empowerment forum in Kirinyaga on Thursday, Rachel said women had long played a central role in supporting families and driving the local economy.

“There is great power in women who choose each other. Kirinyaga was among the first counties to elect a woman governor, showing what is possible when women are given an opportunity to lead,” she said.

Rachel said the government was seeking to increase women’s participation in the economy and leadership, urging them to pursue entrepreneurship, investment and leadership opportunities.

“Women shall not remain sidelined. They must be entrepreneurs, investors and leaders in our country’s transformation,” she said.

She also pointed to Kirinyaga’s agricultural and industrial potential, citing rice, coffee, tea, avocado and poultry production, as well as the Sagana Industrial Park, as areas where women could expand their economic activities.

Rachel cited the Kaitheri Apparel Centre, where women produce hospital linen and school uniforms, as an example of women turning skills into businesses.

Waiguru, in welcoming the First Lady, said her administration had focused on empowerment programmes targeting women, youth and persons with disabilities, with an emphasis on income generation rather than handouts.

The governor said more than 35,000 residents had benefited from various county empowerment programmes over the past nine years. The support has included tents, chairs, car-washing machines, catering equipment and Meko gas cookers.

The county has also distributed more than 5,000 assistive devices, including wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids and prosthetics.

Waiguru said the Kirinyaga County Empowerment and Development Fund had so far received Ksh.90 million to support women, youth and persons with disabilities through access to capital, training and innovation financing.

“When you uplift a woman, you uplift the family and transform the community,” she said.

Rachel said national programmes were also providing women with access to financing, citing the Women Enterprise Fund, which she said had disbursed more than Ksh.28 billion to over 2.28 million beneficiaries.

She added that the Hustler Fund had disbursed Ksh.90 billion to 28 million borrowers, and urged women to form groups to improve their access to economic opportunities.

During the forum, Rachel distributed support to families, farmers and small-scale traders, including 260 bags of beans, 300 bags of rice, 1,005 blankets, 1,000 mosquito nets, 40 boxes of soap and 100 mattresses.

Farmers received 5,000 coffee seedlings, 5,000 Hass avocado seedlings and milk cans, while 100 market shade umbrellas were provided to traders.

Women beneficiaries also shared their experiences with the Joyful Women programme.

Eva Mwangi, a member of Joyful Group and owner of Beyond Limit Group in Mwea, said she started her business with Ksh.2,000 in 2016 and later accessed loans through the organisation.

“Through Joyful, I have also been able to access loans. As a group we have a turnover of Sh1.9 million, almost able to acquire a lorry. We now have a catering business and can now cater for 3,000 people and above,” she said.

Susan Wanjiku Maina, a Joyful Women member from Kiamugumo, said she had used opportunities accessed through the organisation to expand her horticulture and dairy farming activities and support her family, including financing her child’s university education.

Joyful Women CEO Elizabeth Koskei said the organisation had 3,058 members organised into 326 groups after 17 years of operations.

She said the organisation was expanding its grassroots training programmes, including equipping women-owned businesses with skills in artificial intelligence, digital marketing and financial management.

The forum was attended by national and county government officials, elected leaders, Joyful Women officials and women from across Kirinyaga.