As Kenya navigates complex agricultural, climate, and employment challenges, a youth-powered initiative is rising to meet the moment Kuza One. At the halfway point of 2025, the organization is not only gaining traction but reshaping national policy, field operations and investment priorities for rural transformation and entrepreneurship.
“Kuza One was founded on a simple but powerful belief: ‘rural youth can power a smarter, greener, and demand-led food system’,” writes Co-Founder and Chief Mentor Sriram Bharatam in a mid-year update. That belief, once aspirational, has rapidly evolved into a national movement and a case study in inclusive business innovation.
From Grassroots to Government: Youth Agripreneurs Take Center Stage
The most compelling sign of Kuza’s ascent? Presidential endorsement. On Madaraka Day, President William Ruto pledged to deploy 18,000 youth agripreneurs across Kenya, aiming to support over 6 million smallholder farmers. The “Youth Agripreneur” model once a local pilot has become a state-backed blueprint.
“This year, that belief is being validated not just in data, but in national policy, community response, and growing interest from partners across the ecosystem,” Bharatam affirms.
Systems Thinking, Not Just Scaling
After joining the Scalers Program with the Centre for Exponential Change (C4EC), Kuza pivoted its model to embrace systems thinking.
“We began building a network of solvers from tech partners, input providers to schools, governments, and market offtakers,” Bharatam notes.
This collaborative ecosystem known as Kenya OneNetwork is positioned as an “open network where every player can plug in, co-create and transact.” By embedding agripreneur-led regenerative farms in 256 public schools with support from UNICEF, Kuza has reached:
- 100,000 farmers
- 12,000 young learners
- 512 youth agripreneurs
“This model touches three generations, builds climate resilience and promotes regenerative, nutrition-sensitive practices in the places that need them most,” Bharatam explains.
Data-Driven Sustainability and Impact
With donor funding tightening globally, Kuza is leaning on its performance data to show why its model works. Key outcomes include:
- 64% of Kuza farmers are women (compared to 27% global average)
- 50% report productivity gains
- 86% of agripreneurs increased income post Kuza Leadership Academy
- 63% started new businesses
- Net Promoter Score: 65 (well above global average of 41)
Yet, Kuza is not resting. “We’re flipping the model starting with the market,” says Bharatam. Through a partnership with Unilever and FCDO’s TRANSFORM programme, they are piloting a demand-led production strategy to reduce waste and increase incomes.
“This is not just training it’s coordination. Less waste. Higher incomes. Better supply chain outcomes for everyone involved.”
Tech That Amplifies, Not Replaces
Kuza’s commitment to digital transformation is equally strong. Bharatam reveals that AI is being used not to replace people, but “to catalyze a measurable mindset shift from ‘just farming’ to ‘running an agribusiness’.” New real-time feedback tools Farmer Voices and Agripreneur Voices will allow for ongoing community-informed iteration.
As Kuza moves into the latter half of the year, its focus sharpens on four fronts:
- Scaling school-based agriculture to support school feeding and nutrition.
- Accelerating market-first strategies with offtaker partnerships.
- Embedding community voice in all stages of development.
- Growing an ecosystem of like-minded mission-aligned partners.
Bharatam concludes. “Let’s keep building, not for scale alone, but for systems that work for everyone.”
In a region where entrepreneurship often remains disconnected from systemic development, Kuza One is flipping the narrative. By blending youth innovation, data, public-private collaboration and regenerative principles, the organization offers more than hope it offers a blueprint for African entrepreneurship rooted in resilience, agency and bold execution.
