From Struggle to Strength: Young Entrepreneurs Build Pathways to Peace in Kenya
Learn how young entrepreneurs in Kenya are gaining peace through prosperity with support from TechnoServe.
Editor’s note: Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect the participants’ identities due to the sensitive nature of violent extremism in the region.
On the northern coast of Kenya, Lamu County is experiencing a quiet transformation. At the center of this shift are young entrepreneurs who are gaining business and personal skills through the BlueBiz program.
This pioneering initiative, implemented by TechnoServe and funded by the Mastercard Foundation, not only supports young people in creating their own businesses and incomes but also offers training on Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE). Vulnerable young men and women from communities previously exposed to violent extremism are reshaping their lives through a combination of enterprise development, mental health awareness, and peacebuilding.
Violent extremism remains a persistent threat in Kenya’s coastal region, driven by socio-economic marginalization, historical land injustices, and porous borders that facilitate cross-border militant activities. Lamu County, in particular, has emerged as a hotspot for extremist violence due to its strategic location and complex ethnic dynamics.
According to the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS), Kenya experienced 77 terror-related attacks in 2022, a 26% increase from 2021, resulting in 116 fatalities, 42 of whom were civilians and 35 were security officers. Lamu County accounted for 21 of these incidents, making it the second-most affected county after Mandera. In 2023, violent extremism remained high, with Al-Shabaab responsible for 70 deaths across Kenya, the highest toll since 2019, including 26 fatalities in Lamu alone, up from 16 the previous year.
These figures underscore the urgent need for community-led interventions, improved governance, and integrated development to counter the spread of violent extremism in the region.
Reclaiming Identity Through Enterprise: Meet “Asha” and “Salim”
“Asha” is a 23-year-old single parent from Witu who leads a coconut oil business. She also coordinates a savings group of 17 young women who have benefited from training under the BlueBiz program. Her confidence today is a sea change from the despair she faced in supporting herself after escaping recruitment by the extremist group Al-Shabaab.
“The program gave me more than skills; it gave me a voice,” she explained, proudly displaying a bottle of her branded Mavuno coconut oil. “I have learned how to turn pain into purpose, and for the first time, I feel safe and heard.”
“Salim” is a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Amu Island who carved a new path with BlueBiz. This young entrepreneur was once isolated and angry—and vulnerable to radicalization—after two of his cousins joined militia groups. After joining the program, he found economic empowerment and healing through the mental health education offered by the program.
“We were taught how to manage anger,” he explained. “Talking about our mental health issues freed us. Now I mentor boys in my village.”
Today, Salim sells raw coconuts, earning approximately Ksh 300 per day or Ksh 10,000 per month, enough to support his family and strengthen the long-term sustainability of his business. This marks a significant income uplift of Ksh 7,000 per month, demonstrating improved livelihood and economic resilience thanks to the BlueBiz program.
Similarly, Asha produces and sells coconut, coconut oil, and coconut yogurt, a value-added product she innovated during the BlueBiz training, earning approximately Ksh 800 per day or Ksh 25,000 per month. Her increased income has enabled her to support her family, grow her business, and maintain a more stable and improved livelihood, made possible by the skills, market access, and leadership training she gained through the BlueBiz program.
Beyond Business: The Mental Health Thread
What sets BlueBiz apart is its intentional focus on the whole entrepreneur, not just equipping youth with business skills, but also supporting their emotional well-being. Recognizing that many young people in Kenya’s coastal counties face complex personal, social, and economic challenges, the program has embedded mental health and psychosocial support as a core component of its training model.
Under the guidance of psychologist Nasrin Hassan, BlueBiz integrates trauma-informed group therapy sessions, individual check-ins, and the creation of gender-sensitive safe spaces where participants, especially young women, can express themselves freely, process difficult experiences, and receive structured emotional support.
These safe spaces are designed to be confidential, judgment-free environments that foster healing, self-confidence, and peer solidarity. For many participants, this is the first time they have engaged in guided conversations about stress, gender-based violence, social pressure, and self-worth within a professional support framework.
By embedding these mental wellness tools within the entrepreneurship curriculum, BlueBiz ensures that its participants are not only economically empowered but also psychologically resilient. The program acknowledges that true transformation happens when young people feel seen, heard, and supported emotionally, socially, and professionally.
This holistic approach has already shown tangible results: improved participation rates among young women, stronger team dynamics, greater confidence in pitching businesses, and more sustained engagement across value chains. It is a powerful testament to the fact that economic inclusion must go hand-in-hand with emotional safety and gender-responsive design.
“We don’t just build businesses, we also build people. Stable businesses require stable individuals,” said Nasrin Hassan. “Mental wellness is the quiet engine of transformation.”
Strategic Integration: Preventing Violent Extremism
Action Life, a community-based organization working in Lamu County, has been collaborating with the program to tackle violent extremism. By recognizing the connections between unemployment, trauma, and radicalization, Action Life has integrated its Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) expertise into its entrepreneurship training for the program’s participants.
“This is more than a livelihood project, it is our first line of defense against extremism,” said Mathenge Ndung’u, the program manager at Action Life.
Participants now receive training in entrepreneurship, peace messaging, civic engagement, and counter-extremism resilience. Youth-led cooperatives formed under the program are evolving into local peace and peer-support hubs.
A Scalable Model
Noor Daher Ali, the executive director of Action Life, views BlueBiz as a replicable model for preventing violent extremism in other fragile regions of the country.
“We have integrated the economy, mental health, and peace into one model,” he explained. “The BlueBiz program proves that when young people are treated as assets, they are able to thrive. This model can work in counties like Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, and even across the border in Somalia.”
A replication framework by the government is underway, aimed at expanding the impact to other high-risk counties, with the help of partners like TechnoServe and local governments.
Peace Through Prosperity for Youth Entrepreneurs
The BlueBiz program is not just about business training. It’s also about restoring futures, mending communities, and dismantling harmful ideologies. In Lamu, once viewed as a hotspot for radicalization, young people are now defining peace as opportunity, support, and purpose.
No longer just participants, Lamu’s youth are builders, protectors, and agents of change.
“Let the BlueBiz program be more than a project, let it become a movement,” said Noor Daher Ali. “[It can be] a blueprint for national development through youth.”
