Winny Chepkemoi

It was a pleasure to meet H.E. @WilliamsRuto, President of the Republic of #Kenya, in Rome today. Our discussion reaffirmed Kenya’s longstanding partnership with @IFAD and its continued commitment to the organization. Over more than four decades, IFAD’s partnership with Kenya has supported rural transformation through integrated investments in productivity, resilience, markets, and finance. This includes 21 projects totalling US$1.25 billion, with US$582 million in direct IFAD financing, reaching 4.2 million rural people. A central focus of this partnership is investing in young women and men. More than 200,000 youth have been engaged as entrepreneurs, workers, and value chain actors. Through initiatives such as agribusiness hubs, climate-resilient value chains, and innovative rural finance under the RK-FINFA programme, IFAD is helping transform agri-food systems into engines of jobs, enterprise creation, and inclusive growth, aligned with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. As we advance towards #IFAD14, Kenya’s leadership will be critical. It signals African-led ambition in financing agri-food system transformation and helps shape the future of rural development financing across the continent. I look forward to continuing this dialogue with the President in #Nairobi at the #AfricaForward Summit next month, where IFAD sees a key opportunity to position agriculture, youth employment, and rural finance at the centre of the Africa–France partnership and the broader global agenda. #FinancingTheFirstMile

@koske_felix They left a lasting legacy in Embu, even after the conclusion of the Upper Tana Catchment Natural Resource Management Project. Kudos @IFAD

EMPLOYMENT FOR RURAL YOUTH Mariatu Kamara - IFAD Country Director: The Agribusiness Hub Programme is being implemented in nine African countries, not just in Kenya. This is a collaborative effort with partners and together, we are supporting youth with business training, facilitating linkages to markets, and promoting innovative solutions such as converting agricultural waste into fertilizer. @IFAD remains committed to scaling up these efforts. #KBCniYetu ^JM