Directorate of Socio-Economic Empowerment

The Directorate is mandated to spearhead initiatives and strategies that foster economic empowerment with the goal of enhancing opportunities and capacity of women and other vulnerable groups to participate in national development.

Grace Wasike

Director Social Economic Empowerment

Functions

The functions of the Directorate are as follows:

1.    Development and implementation of Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) policies and strategies 
2.    Coordinates implementation of socio-economic empowerment programmes;
3.    Promotes and monitors capacity building programmes on entrepreneurship development, including Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO), affirmative funds, inter and cross border trade, digital markets and the blue economy initiatives.
4.    Maintains database of entrepreneurs and organizations dealing with WEE;
5.    Coordinates partnerships on WEE; 
 

Planned Activities/Programmes
  1. Develop Women Economic Empowerment Strategy 2020-2025
  2. Develop National care Policy
  3. Development of National Policy on Women Economic Empowerment
  4. Develop an Action Plan for the National Care Policy
  5. Training women entrepreneurs on inter-county and cross border trade which involves creating awareness on the existing policies and procedures, simplified trade regimes and other trade requirements
  6. Train women on climate-smart agricultural practices and accessing productive resources.
  7. Convene 4 quarterly meetings of the Gender Sector Working Group on Socio-Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion
  8. Train women on AGPO, digital platforms, online trade and marketing
  9. Develop a mentorship and coaching manual and guidelines for young women entrepreneurs developed
  10. Train field officers as ToTs on mentorship and coaching in entrepreneurship
  11. Develop an action plan for the National Policy on Women Economic Empowerment
  12. Commemorate international widows’ day
Achievements
  1. Developed Women Economic Empowerment Strategy
  2. Developed a draft National Care Policy
  3. Developed National Policy on Women Economic Empowerment
  4. Developed a draft Action plan for the National Care Policy
  5. Train Women entrepreneurs on inter-county and cross border trade in the following counties: Taita Taveta, Busia, Marsabit, Kajiado and Kwale
  6. Trained Women on climate-smart agricultural practices and accessing productive resources in in the following counties: Kitui, Laikipia, West Pokot, Makueni, Embu and Nyeri among others
  7. Four (4) Gender Sector Working Group on Socio-Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion meetings convened in FY 2024/2025
  8. Trained women on digital platforms, online trade and marketing in the following Counties; Garissa, Narok and Bungoma
Strategies

It will achieve this through the following strategies:

Strengthening policy and legal framework on affirmative action
Enhancing the capacity of affirmative action groups for financial inclusion
Sensitize women on inter county cross border trade, Intra EAC Trade, African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) opportunities and regulations