Youth Building Innovation through Health Enterprise in Kenya

“When I joined the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), I had very clear goals in mind: get good grades, get my nursing license, get my passport and visa, and go abroad to work as a nurse.”

This incident is not an isolated case for Leah Wanyonyi, a 28-year-old Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) student  who just sat for her Final Qualifying Exams (FQEMany Kenyan students complete their studies in an environment where employment opportunities remain limited. As a result, some choose to explore opportunities abroad in search of meaningful work and professional growth.

After her Final Qualifying Exams (FQEs), Leah heard about the Contemporary Life and Soft Skills, and Health Entrepreneurship training that was being offered at KMTC Machakos Campus.

This course has been developed by the  Africa Health Collaborative (AHC)  program at  Amref Health Africa.

The Africa Health Collaborative is a multi-year partnership working to strengthen primary health care systems across Africa through health workforce development, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The Health Collaborative brings together the Mastercard Foundation, Amref Health Africa, Addis Ababa University, African Leadership University, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ashesi University, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Moi University, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Toronto. 

Together, these partners aim to train 30,000 primary healthcare workers, upskill 60,000 existing healthcare professionals, support 5,000 ventures, and create 20,000 jobs. Addressing Africa’s critical shortage of health workers and unlocking the sector’s economic potential, the initiative contributes to the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy to enable 30 million young people, particularly women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. 

What began as a post-exam opportunity shared by her class coordinator has since reshaped Leah’s vision of her future.

Leah’s lived experience inspired her entrepreneurial concept, New Mum Supporter. As a new mother in nursing school, she struggled to balance infant care, recovery after delivery, and her studies. “I was overwhelmed,” she recalls, an experience that shaped her idea to support other new mothers. Armed with practical knowledge from the course on entrepreneurship, communication, risk management, and digital platforms, Leah’s confidence was ignited. Her venture as a new-mom supporter is a nurse-led, home-based service supporting new mothers physically, emotionally, and practically during the vulnerable postpartum period. 

Leah’s marketing strategy is equally thoughtful and innovative. She plans to partner with maternity departments in nearby hospitals for referrals, build visibility through platforms such as TikTok and WhatsApp, and use digital engagement to reach new mothers directly. To professionalize her service, she also intends to secure the necessary licensing, insurance, and basic equipment. Leah has already mapped out her start-up costs, estimating that KES 200,000 would cover essential equipment, transport, digital tools, and registration requirements. With the right support, Leah sees her enterprise as a pathway to early financial independence, beginning with meeting her graduation expenses by December.

Leah’s story reflects a broader mindset shift among health trainees. Leah’s idea directly addresses real health system gaps: limited post-discharge follow-up for mothers, low awareness of postpartum danger signs, mental health vulnerabilities during early motherhood, and preventable newborn complications.

Her concept demonstrates how empowered graduates can extend the reach of primary health care into homes and communities. What began as a short training opportunity has become a catalyst for transformation, shifting a graduating nurse from job seeker to job creator.

As Leah waits for her results, she is no longer waiting for employment alone. She is building a vision.

And if her journey is any indication, investing in contemporary soft and life skills and health entrepreneurship within medical training institutions may be one of the most sustainable ways to strengthen Kenya’s health system, one bold graduate at a time. So far, the AHC program at Amref Health Africa has reached over 10,000 learners in the country who are benefiting from blended learning methodologies to ensure ease of access and reduced costs to the learners. The Amref program aims to create 100,000 dignified and fulfilling jobs in Kenya, Zambia and Senegal for young people.

By equipping young health professionals like Leah with entrepreneurial skills among other skills, the AHC Programme directly advances Mastercard Foundations’ Young Africa Works strategy which aims to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030,

Key words

Young Africa Works, Health Entrepreneurship, Health innovation in action, transformative education