Qualification requirements: Inside Kenyatta Trust's economic empowerment program

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

- The Kenyatta Trust runs the Inuka Economic Empowerment Program targeting mothers and female guardians of its scholarship beneficiaries

- Inuka operates across 21 counties, bringing women together in self-help and table banking groups supported by seed capital and business training

- Eligibility for the program is tied to being a parent or guardian of a current Kenyatta Trust scholarship recipient

The Kenyatta Trust is running an economic empowerment initiative aimed at stabilising the households of students on its scholarship programme, targeting mothers and female guardians across 21 Kenyan counties.

How does Kenyatta Trust's empowerment program work?

Known as the Inuka Economic Empowerment Program, the initiative organises women into self-led table banking and self-help groups, providing seed capital alongside structured training in financial literacy, business management, entrepreneurship, record-keeping, and group governance.

The objective is to help participants launch or grow their own enterprises, ranging from agro-businesses and small retail operations to craft-based ventures, enabling families to build a reliable source of income.

The Kenyatta Trust was established in 2010 by the Kenyatta family, with former President Uhuru Kenyatta serving as patron. Nyokabi Kenyatta Muthama serves as a director and Ngina Kenyatta as executive director.

The Trust's core mandate centres on academic scholarships for high-performing students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds drawn from all 47 counties.

Inuka extends that mandate into the home. Women account for roughly 70% of group members in the programme. The Trust's position is that stabilising a family's finances directly protects a scholar's ability to remain focused on school, operating on the principle that empowering a mother safeguards a student's education.

Seed capital provided through the programme is structured as interest-free or repayable grants rather than unconditional handouts, reflecting an emphasis on building self-reliance over long-term dependency.

Who qualifies for Kenyatta Trust’s empowerment program?

Inuka is not open to the general public.

Eligibility is restricted to parents and guardians, particularly mothers and female caregivers, of students who are active Kenyatta Trust scholarship beneficiaries.

Scholars themselves are admitted to the Trust's programme based on strong academic performance, with results around 370 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education cited as a common benchmark, combined with demonstrated financial need.

Once a student is enrolled, their household becomes eligible to participate in Inuka through the organised county groups.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.