KENYA - Biashara Pawa dialogue event #3 - Eldoret

On September 25, 2025, Eldohub officially launched the Biashara Pawa Dialogue Series in Eldoret, marking a milestone in promoting inclusive entrepreneurship in Uasin Gishu County. Themed “Women and Youth in Nation Building - From Ideas to Impact,” the event brought together entrepreneurs, policymakers, financiers, and ecosystem actors to explore how women and young people can drive Kenya’s socio-economic transformation.

A Collective Effort to Build Inclusive Entrepreneurship

The initiative forms part of IYBA-SEED Kenya and is implemented by Responsible Business Consulting and Kaizen Consultancy.
Biashara Pawa focuses on empowering women and youth entrepreneurs in typically male-dominated sectors such as manufacturing, agribusiness, the green economy, technology, financial services, and infrastructure development.

Spotlighting Innovation and Local Role Models

The event opened with a showcase of 25 inspiring women and youth entrepreneurs, followed by opening remarks from Charles Sakari, Eldohub’s Resource Mobilisation Lead. He emphasized the importance of innovation, collaboration, and capacity building to foster inclusive growth.
Nduta Ndirangu of SNV Kenya urged the ecosystem to create opportunities for women and youth, describing inclusive entrepreneurship as both a matter of fairness and a driver of sustainable national development.

Insights from the Panel: Turning Ideas into Impact

A lively panel discussion, moderated by Susan Njoroge of RBC, featured leading voices from across the ecosystem:

• CPA Victorine Kapkiai, Chief Officer, Youth Affairs and Sports, Uasin Gishu County.

• Brian Rono, Micro and Small Enterprise Authority (MSEA).

• Caroline Watwati, Founder of Cee Natural.

• Everlyn Kemboi, Branch Manager, Cooperative Bank.

• Lavender Mutenyo Simiyu, Founder of Agrifield Solutions.

The panelists shared their entrepreneurial journeys and discussed the key challenges and opportunities for women and youth in business. Caroline and Lavender reflected on their own experiences, highlighting persistence, market understanding, and the need to close knowledge gaps.
Everlyn addressed the trust gap between entrepreneurs and financial institutions, noting new inclusive products and capacity-building programs that make lending more accessible. Victorine reaffirmed the county’s support through training and policy, while Brian emphasized MSEA’s work in formalizing and financing small enterprises.

Interactive Dialogue and Breakout Sessions

Audience participation added valuable insights, calling for an enabling regulatory environment, fair taxation, better access to finance, and stronger mentorship networks.
In the afternoon, participants joined sector-based breakout sessions across eight industries to identify pressing challenges, propose solutions, and recommend ecosystem actions.

Common barriers included limited funding, inadequate networks, and persistent gender or age bias. However, participants proposed innovative, community-driven strategies such as peer-to-peer mentorship, digital tools for market access, and cooperative savings models to strengthen local entrepreneurship.

Action Points and the Road Ahead

Each group presented its findings, three major challenges, three solutions, and two or three ecosystem recommendations, forming a collective roadmap for strengthening entrepreneurship in Uasin Gishu and beyond.
The event concluded with reflections emphasizing resilience, discipline, collaboration, and the importance of leveraging existing support systems. Over 80% of attendees reported gaining a deeper understanding of inclusive entrepreneurship and new strategies to apply in their ventures.

Eldohub’s Continued Commitment

Looking ahead, Eldohub will host two more Biashara Pawa events in 2026, and actively continue recognize women and youth role models in under-represented sector. 

The imperative to raise awareness, foster the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and unlock opportunities for women and youth entrepreneurs to fully participate in socio-economic development for their county and the nation at large; remains at the heart of Eldohub’s engagement in the Biashara Pawa campaign.