Women & Youth Land Rights in Pursuit of Sustainable Food Security, Employment Creation and Economic Empowerment

Youth and women’s access to land rights and agribusiness ventures is a cornerstone of Kenya’s pursuit of sustainable food security, employment creation, and economic empowerment. Land remains the most critical resource for agricultural production, yet women and young people continue to face systemic barriers to ownership and control due to cultural norms, legal constraints, and limited financial capacity. Without secure tenure, they are unable to invest confidently in farming or agribusiness, which undermines both productivity and resilience. Ensuring equitable land rights is therefore not only a matter of justice but also a strategic imperative for national development.

Agribusiness ventures provide a pathway for transforming agriculture from subsistence into a dynamic
driver of economic growth. By engaging youth and women in value chains that extend beyond crop production into processing, distribution, and marketing, agribusiness strengthens local food systems and reduces reliance on imports. It also generates employment opportunities across rural and urban areas, addressing the challenge of high unemployment among young people. Women and youth entrepreneurs gain income, bargaining power, and dignity, which enhances household welfare and community development. Moreover, young farmers are often more willing to adopt modern technologies, climate-smart practices, and digital innovations, making agriculture more competitive and sustainable in the face of climate change and global market shifts.

The linkage between land rights and agribusiness ventures is deeply aligned with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and agricultural transformation strategies. Secure land tenure empowers marginalized groups to participate fully in climate adaptation initiatives, agroecological practices, and market-driven enterprises. This integration not only strengthens food security but also advances social justice by ensuring that women and youth—who are often excluded from decision-making—become active agents of change. The ripple effects of such empowerment extend beyond agriculture, as these groups reinvest in education, health, and local enterprises, thereby catalyzing holistic community transformation.

Ultimately, the intersection of land rights and agribusiness ventures represents a powerful lever for Kenya’s sustainable future. By dismantling barriers to land ownership and investing in youth and women-led agribusiness, the country can achieve resilient food systems, create meaningful employment, and foster economic empowerment. This is not simply an agricultural agenda; it is a national development imperative rooted in equity, dignity, and long-term sustainability.

  

Trade Over Aid (TOA) Initiative is Transforming lives

The Trade Over Aid (TOA) initiative under WBH is redefining economic empowerment for women in Kisumu’s informal settlements. By shifting from aid dependency to enterprise-driven dignity, TOA supports women-led microenterprises to grow, formalize, and access markets. The program builds on existing trade practices—enhancing them with training, capital access, digital finance, and visibility.

Recent field visits and visual documentation reveal a thriving ecosystem of informal commerce: fruit vendors, grain sellers, cooking equipment makers, textile artisans, and traditional basket weavers—all demonstrating resilience, creativity, and untapped potential.

Field Insights: Enterprise in Action

The images collected during this reporting period offer compelling evidence of TOA’s impact:

• Fresh Produce Vendors: Women selling bananas, tomatoes, onions, avocados, and leafy greens from roadside stalls and shaded tables.
• Grain & Dry Goods Traders: Mobile money signage (M-PESA) visible at multiple stalls, signaling digital finance integration.
• Cooking Equipment Makers: Repurposed metal drums and charcoal stoves reflect local innovation and demand for household tools.
• Textile & Accessories Sellers: Colorful fabrics and handmade items showcase cultural entrepreneurship and aesthetic value.
• Basketry & Traditional Crafts: Woven covers and baskets suggest potential for branding, packaging, and export.

These scenes affirm TOA’s core premise: Women are already trading. What they need is structure, capital, and visibility.

Key Milestones

Focus Area	Achievements
Enterprise Mapping	87 women-led businesses profiled across six market zones
Digital Finance Adoption	72% of vendors now accept M-PESA; 18 new agents onboarded
Product Diversification	Over 40 product categories identified—from perishables to durable goods
Training & Capacity Building	Five workshops held on pricing, branding, and customer service
Market Infrastructure	Three pilot stalls upgraded with signage, shade, and display tables
Revenue Growth	Average daily income rose by 22% among trained vendors
Youth Engagement	14 youth apprentices placed in metalwork and tailoring clusters

 

Strategic Learnings

• Informality ≠ Lack of Professionalism: Many women operate with discipline, inventory systems, and customer retention strategies.
• Mobile Money as a Gateway: M-PESA is not just a payment tool—it enables access to credit, savings, and digital records.
• Local Innovation Is Scalable: Repurposed cooking tools and handmade crafts show potential for design support and market expansion.
• Visibility Drives Value: Vendors with signage and structured displays attract more customers and command better prices.

 

Challenges

• Capital Constraints: Limited access to affordable credit or seed capital for bulk purchasing.
• Weather Vulnerability: Open-air stalls suffer losses during rains; modular shelter solutions are needed.
• Market Saturation: High competition in produce stalls calls for product differentiation and niche targeting.
• Limited Branding: Few vendors use packaging, signage, or storytelling to elevate their products.

 Next Steps

Action	Timeline
Launch WBH Microgrant Fund (Ksh 5,000–20,000 per vendor)	December 2025
Develop Vendor Branding Kits (signage, packaging, digital ID)	January 2026
Pilot Revolving Capital Scheme with 30 vendors	February 2026
Host TOA Market Showcase & Buyer Forum	March 2026
Expand training to include e-commerce and bulk procurement	Ongoing

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🤝 Partnership Opportunities

WBH invites donors, foundations, and private sector partners to co-invest in:

• The Microgrant Fund and Revolving Capital Scheme
• Branding and packaging innovation for informal vendors
• Market access pathways through retail, export, and institutional procurement
• Infrastructure upgrades including modular stalls and storage units

📣 Voices from the Market

“Before WBH, I sold tomatoes from the ground. Now I have a table, a sign, and customers who pay via M-PESA.”
— Achieng, Tomato Vendor

“We make stoves from scrap metal. With training, we could sell to hotels or even abroad.”
— Odhiambo, Youth Artisan

 

Trade Over Aid (TOA) Initiative

 

Economic marginalization in the Lake Victoria region is trapping poor young single mothers and women with disabilities in cycles of poverty, while aid dependency merely treats symptoms. The Trade Over Aid (TOA) initiative offers a transformative alternative by equipping these women with entrepreneurial skills and seed capital to become agents of change.

In the counties of Siaya, Kisumu, Homabay, and Migori, economic marginalization has deeply impacted young single mothers and women living with disabilities, exacerbating poverty and social exclusion. These women face: Limited access to formal employment due to low education levels, stigma, and lack of inclusive hiring practices makingitwork-crpd.org Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Barriers to mobility and participation in economic activities, especially for women with disabilities, who often lack assistive devices and accessible infrastructure makingitwork-crpd.org. Gendered caregiving burdens, particularly for single mothers, who must juggle child-rearing with informal, unstable income-generating activities. Exclusion from financial systems, including credit and savings services, due to lack of collateral, documentation, or financial literacy. This marginalization is not just economic—it’s structural. It reflects deep-rooted inequalities in education, health access, and social protection, leaving these women vulnerable to exploitation and chronic poverty.

Aid Dependency: Treating Symptoms, Not Causes: While humanitarian aid and welfare programs offer temporary relief, they often reinforce passive dependency rather than catalysing sustainable change.  Food aid or cash transfers may alleviate immediate hunger but do not build productive capacity or long-term resilience. Training programs without follow-up support or capital leave women skilled but stuck, unable to launch viable businesses. Donor-driven interventions frequently lack local ownership, failing to address the unique aspirations and constraints of women in informal settlements. Aid, in this context, responds to the effects of poverty—hunger, illness, unemployment—but not its root causes, such as lack of access to markets, capital, and decision-making power.

Trade Over Aid (TOA): A Transformational Model being piloted by Women Business Hub; this initiative offers a bold alternative to marginalised women and community at large. It combines (1) Entrepreneurship training tailored to local market realities and inclusive of young single mothers and women with disabilities. (2) Business and financial management education to enable indegent women to plan, budget, and grow their ventures. (3)  Access to seed capital, by removing the biggest barrier to starting or scaling income-generating activities. Trade Over Aid model is designed to empower women as producers, not just recipients. In the Lake Victoria region, TOA is already showing promise by: (1) Supporting single mothers to launch laundry services, tailoring shops, and food kiosks that meet community needs. (2) TOA is enabling young single mothers and women with disabilities to run home-based enterprises with dignity and autonomy. (3) TOA is creating peer networks and mentorship circles that foster confidence, solidarity, and innovation.  By shifting the narrative from aid to trade, TOA positions women as change-makers—not just survivors. It builds economic agency, strengthens community resilience, and lays the foundation for inclusive local economies. 

Economic marginalization in the Lake Victoria region is a systemic challenge—but it is not insurmountable. The TOA initiative offers a scalable, dignified, and locally grounded solution. By investing in skills, capital, and confidence, TOA transforms poor young single mothers and women with disabilities into entrepreneurs, leaders, and role models. They are no longer aid dependents—they are architects of their own futures.