Jaoko Oburu Crafts Strategic Plans to Drive BETA Agenda

By Kepher Otieno - Reporter

Kenya, 17 January 2026 - The Office of the Special Advisor on Economic Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods, under the leadership of Jaoko Oburu, has positioned itself as a central driver of Kenya’s economic transformation agenda, with a deliberate focus on empowering the common citizen and lifting vulnerable communities out of persistent economic hardship.

Anchored in the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), the office has unveiled a 2025–2027 Strategic Plan that seeks to translate policy promises into tangible livelihoods, decent work and sustainable income opportunities for ordinary Kenyans.

At the core of the strategy is the recognition that while Kenya’s economy is supported by a resilient services sector and a strong agricultural base, millions of citizens—especially the youth, women and marginalised groups—remain excluded from opportunity due to unemployment, limited access to capital, climate shocks and structural inefficiencies. Jaoko Oburu’s office was established in March 2025 precisely to confront these gaps, not as another silo within government, but as a cross-cutting catalytic platform that aligns national priorities with grassroots realities.

Speaking on the vision of the office, Oburu underscores that economic empowerment is about restoring dignity and agency to the people.

His office, he notes, is designed to ensure that the “common mwananchi is not a spectator in economic growth, but a participant and beneficiary.”

This philosophy informs a strategy built on integrated policy alignment, targeted programmatic interventions, data-driven monitoring and strong collaboration with state and non-state actors.

The office serves as a strategic bridge between the Presidency, line ministries, county governments, the private sector and development partners, ensuring that economic empowerment initiatives are coherent, scalable and impactful.

Through policy audits, legislative reviews and close engagement with the National Treasury and the Presidential Economic Transformation Secretariat, the office works to remove barriers that lock small enterprises, informal workers and innovators out of the economy.

The emphasis is on harmonising fiscal, monetary and sectoral policies so that they work in favour of the ordinary Kenyan seeking to start a business, acquire skills or access markets.

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Operationally, the strategy prioritises direct interventions that touch lives.

These include expanding access to capital and skills for micro, small and medium enterprises, promoting digital livelihoods and gig economy participation for young people, monetising talent in sports and creative arts, and advancing climate-resilient agriculture and blue economy opportunities. Special flagship projects—ranging from bodaboda sector empowerment to equitable blood collection systems and targeted support for minorities—are designed to address everyday livelihood challenges while creating pathways to long-term economic stability.

Execution is driven by a lean but highly specialised Delivery Secretariat that functions as the engine of the agenda.

Each directorate has a clearly defined role, from youth engagement and marginalized community inclusion to resource mobilisation, trade, agriculture, environment and the creative economy.

This structure allows the office to move beyond advisory work into real-time problem solving, coordination and impact tracking, ensuring that interventions are not only well-intentioned but results-oriented.

Central to the approach is accountability. A robust monitoring and evaluation framework tracks jobs created, incomes improved and opportunities unlocked, with evidence-based reports feeding directly to the President for timely decision-making. Citizen engagement forums and digital platforms further ensure that feedback from the grassroots informs policy adjustments, keeping the agenda firmly rooted in lived realities.

Ultimately, Jaoko Oburu’s office frames economic transformation as a people-centred mission. It seeks to unlock opportunity where it has long been absent, connect talent to markets, and ensure that growth is felt at the household level. In doing so, the strategy redefines economic progress not by macroeconomic indicators alone, but by the improved dignity, productivity and resilience of the common Kenyan.