Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during an empowerment event in Kiawara village, Kieni West constituency, Nyeri County/DPCSDeputy President Kithure Kindiki has reiterated the government’s pledge to uplift Kenya’s low-income earners, emphasising Kenya Kwanza’s dedication to its “bottom-up” economic transformation agenda.
Speaking during an empowerment drive in Kiawara village, Kieni West constituency, Kindiki outlined a series of structured interventions aimed at supporting small-scale traders and boda boda operators.
“When we campaigned, we promised a bottom-up approach to economic transformation—this is it,” said the Deputy President, as he oversaw the distribution of a financial support package to local entrepreneurs.
The initiative is part of a broader, constituency-level rollout of empowerment programmes designed to reach workers at the base of Kenya’s economic pyramid.
Unlike short-lived campaign-era handouts, such as reflector jackets and aprons, Kindiki affirmed that these interventions are built for lasting impact.
“We are here to fulfil pledges beyond elections. Our goal is to build structures that enable hustlers to thrive long-term,” he told the crowd, reinforcing the administration’s intent to address systemic inequality through meaningful support.
The Kieni West event is among a series of grassroots engagements under a public-private partnership model intended to complement formal government programmes.
These efforts are anchored in larger national strategies that seek to empower the informal sector, where more than 15 million Kenyans earn their livelihoods.
Among the flagship initiatives highlighted by the Deputy President was the NYOTA Programme, which provides Sh50,000 grants to 70 small businesses per ward.
Targeting sectors like agribusiness, tailoring, and retail, the grants are accompanied by financial literacy training, aiming to enhance business resilience and create employment.
The government is also pushing forward with structural economic reforms, including higher coffee prices to support farmers and rural economies; Affordable Housing Programme; and revitalisation of local markets.
Additionally, Kindiki spotlighted expanded social protections such as Taifa Care, which now extends medical coverage to informal sector workers.
“A healthy, housed, and financially secure population is the foundation of a productive economy,” he noted.
