Press and News Empowering Youth and Transforming Communities through Job Creation and Nutritious Beans in Kenya
The 'Nutritious Bean Products for Decent Employment for Youth in Kenya' project empowers young people - especially young women - by creating jobs in bean production, processing and sales. Led by a consortium including Cherubet Foods, the initiative has created and improved over 600 jobs, promoting economic resilience and youth inclusion in Kenya's agricultural sector.
Kenya imports up to 30% of the beans it consumes annually from neighboring countries such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. This reliance on imports results in a loss of potential job opportunities within Kenya's domestic bean production and value chain. The low adoption of biofortified bean varieties with high levels of iron and zinc (HIB), low yields, and unstructured bean markets make it difficult for processors to access enough grain for processing. Facing this challenge, in 2021 the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT - in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) through Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance - formed a consortium led led by Cherubet Company Ltd1, which included Abosi Top Hill Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd2. This consortium sought to address this gap through the project project titled 'Nutritious Bean Products for Decent Employment for Youth' in Kenya (NBP-DEYK), funded by the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE). The focus was on empowering youth by leveraging the potential of HIB in production, aggregation, sale, processing and consumption of bean products.
Creation and Improvement of Job Opportunities for Women and Youth: Project Goals and Achievements
The rationale of this project is to create new job opportunities and enhance existing ones for youth, particularly young women, across various sectors. 'Created jobs' refers to positions offered for the first time as a direct result of the project's activities. On the other hand, 'improved jobs' refers to existing positions whose working conditions, skills or professional capacities were enhanced through the project's capacity-building efforts.
The project’s goals targeted a combined total of at least 500 job opportunities, including 120 jobs to be created and 380 jobs to be improved. By the end of 2024, the project reports showed that Cherubet Foods alone had created 110 new jobs (86 occupied by young women and 24 by young men), reaching 92% of the target. Additionally, the project supported the improvement of 500 existing jobs directly linked to Cherubet Foods, which included farmers, motorbike riders, aggregation managers, kiosk operators and hawkers. Out of this figure, 434 jobs were held by youth (279 women and 155 men) and 66 jobs by non-youth as shown in Figure 1.
Fig. 1: Created and improved jobs at Cherubet Foods by end of 2024
In addition, the number of farming jobs improved with Abosi Top Hill FCS continued to grow. The corporative has attracted new membership amongst farmers, the majority of whom are interested in bean production. As of February 2025, the number of farmers stood at 624 (up from 269 by end of 2023). Among them, 468 are women and 156 are men. In terms of age distribution, 321 are youth (243 young women) as shown in Figure 2. This interest can be attributed to business growth associated with the production, sale and consumption of the high-iron and zinc beans, which has contributed to the creation and improvement of jobs, and improved livelihoods and resilience, especially amongst women.
Further, disaggregation of jobs created and improved according to age group and gender showed that by end of 2024, the project’s impact on youth employment was significant, with 60% of the jobs created occupied by young women and 29% by young men. Non-youth roles accounted for 11% of all positions, with women occupying 8% of these roles and men 3% as shown in Figure 3.
Fig 2: Abosi Top Hill FCS membership by Feb 2025
Fig. 3: Overall jobs created and improved by gender and age group by 2024
Prospects for the Future
Reflecting on the remarkable achievements of the project, which reached 92% success in job creation and exceeded the target by improving over 100% of jobs, the team is more committed than ever to the journey ahead. These results are not just milestones: they represent the beginning of a broader movement towards youth empowerment and community development. Building on the foundation of these successes, the project leaders envision a future where youth empowerment and inclusive community development are intrinsically linked. By leveraging innovation, technology and inclusive partnerships, the project aims to scale the impact of its initiatives to even greater heights, ensuring that every member of society - particularly youth and women - is given the opportunity to thrive through the creation of decent, sustainable jobs that guarantee a prosperous and secure future.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the Government of Kenya through the County Government of Bomet and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). A big thank you goes to the consortium partners including Cherubet Foods, the bean farmers in Abosi Top Hill FCS, Kaplomboi Rotu FCS, Crop Soko Ltd and Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT who continue to collaborate and invest in and upgrade bean value chain. Finally, special thanks go to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for funding the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) Programme managed by the Palladium Group and which supported “the Nutritious Bean Products for Decent Employment for Youth in Kenya (NBP-DEYK) project”.
The Team
Jean Claude Rubyogo
Leader, Global Bean Program, and Director, Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)
Nchanji Eileen Bogweh
Gender and Social Inclusion Expert
Boaz S. Waswa
Scientist
