Henry Rithaa: Championing Partnerships That Turn Youth Potential Into Opportunity

MSEA Director General Mr. Henry Rithaa is emerging as a strong champion of partnerships designed to expand economic opportunities for young Kenyans and strengthen the country’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem.

Under his leadership, the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) continues to explore innovative collaborations that can connect vulnerable young people with entrepreneurship, vocational training, apprenticeships, internships and sustainable livelihoods.

This commitment was demonstrated when Mr. Rithaa hosted a delegation from Twins International ETS, an Italian non-governmental organisation led by Sergio Fumagalli.

Twins International runs Alice for Children, a programme supporting orphaned and vulnerable children and young people from informal settlements through education, vocational training and provision of tools to facilitate job creation.

The engagement provided an important platform for exploring how MSEA’s extensive understanding of Kenya’s MSME sector and its existing entrepreneurship support programmes can be leveraged to create more sustainable opportunities for young people.

At the heart of the discussions was the potential to promote livelihoods through trade in services while establishing stronger linkages between young people and internship and apprenticeship opportunities within the MSME ecosystem.

For Mr. Rithaa, such partnerships demonstrate a practical and forward-looking approach to youth empowerment.

Rather than viewing young people solely as beneficiaries of programmes, the approach seeks to equip them with skills, tools, experience and market linkages that can enable them to become entrepreneurs, skilled professionals and creators of employment.

This is particularly important for young people from vulnerable backgrounds who often face significant barriers to education, vocational training and access to employment opportunities.

By opening pathways into the MSME ecosystem, MSEA can help bridge the gap between skills development and actual economic participation.

Mr. Rithaa’s engagement with Twins International also highlights his appreciation of the role that strategic partnerships can play in expanding the reach and impact of public institutions.

International organisations, government agencies and MSMEs each bring different expertise and resources to the table. Bringing these strengths together can create more comprehensive support systems for young people seeking to build sustainable livelihoods.

The discussions around apprenticeships and internships are particularly significant because practical experience can give young people an opportunity to translate classroom and vocational training into real-world skills.

Within Kenya’s vast MSME sector, such opportunities can provide an important bridge between training and employment while also helping enterprises access a pool of emerging talent.

Rithaa’s leadership is therefore helping position MSEA as not just a regulator or support institution, but as an important connector within Kenya’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

His emphasis on collaboration reflects an understanding that empowering young people requires more than providing training. It also requires access to tools, mentorship, work experience, markets, finance and networks.

The partnership discussions with Twins International are a reflection of this broader vision.

At a time when Kenya is seeking to harness its youthful population as a driver of economic growth, initiatives that connect vulnerable youth to practical economic opportunities are increasingly important.

Through his leadership at MSEA, Henry Rithaa continues to demonstrate an energetic commitment to building partnerships that can unlock the potential of young people while strengthening the MSME sector.

His approach is centred on a simple but powerful principle: when young people are equipped with the right skills and connected to genuine opportunities, they can transform their own lives, support their families and contribute meaningfully to Kenya’s economy.

The engagement with Twins International is therefore more than a meeting between two organisations. It is an important step towards building stronger bridges between youth, skills development and the MSME economy.

For Mr. Rithaa, the mission is clear—strengthen partnerships, expand opportunities and ensure that Kenya’s young people have the tools and platforms they need to turn their potential into sustainable livelihoods.

That is the kind of practical, inclusive and partnership-driven leadership that can make a lasting difference in the lives of young Kenyans.