Mwaura: Kenya shifts from recovery to growth as reforms create jobs

In a statement on the state of the economy, Mwaura said recent reforms and targeted investments are beginning to deliver results, signalling a clear transition from economic recovery to long-term, inclusive growth.

He explained that Kenya’s economic strategy, anchored in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), prioritizes productivity, enterprise development, and broader participation in the formal economy.

The agenda aims to dismantle long-standing barriers that have excluded millions of Kenyans from access to capital, markets, skills, and modern systems, while redirecting public investment toward production rather than consumption.

“The government has so far created more than two million jobs across various sectors, firmly shifting the economy from recovery to sustained growth. Kenya is deliberately transitioning from a Third World economy defined by exclusion to a First World economy anchored in economic freedom, productivity, and shared opportunity,” Mwaura said.

He noted that macroeconomic indicators point to growing stability, with inflation falling sharply from 9.6 per cent to 4.6 per cent. The Kenya Shilling has also stabilized against the US dollar, supported by strong export performance and record diaspora remittances, which reached KSh 660 billion in the last financial year.

At the microeconomic level, Mwaura said reforms targeting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are transforming livelihoods. The Hustler Fund has disbursed more than KSh 80 billion to over seven million Kenyans, enabling many to be cleared from negative credit listings, while an additional three million MSMEs have been formally banked.

He added that the Fund has mobilized more than Ksh 5B in savings, with about 800,000 entrepreneurs now able to access credit of up to Ksh 150,000 without collateral.

On youth empowerment, Mwaura said 820,000 young people are set to benefit from the NYOTA Programme through apprenticeships, certification, grants, savings, and access to government procurement opportunities.

“Taken together, these measures reflect a coordinated effort to stabilize Kenya’s economy while ensuring that growth translates into tangible opportunities for young people,” Mwaura said.