At a high-profile forum during the Dutch Royal Visit, Kenyan entrepreneurs and youth advocates made a compelling case for why investing in young talent isn’t charity — it’s the smartest business move around.

In a pavilion at the edge of Nairobi’s Karura Forest, amid the buzz of diplomatic entourages, a different kind of power took centre stage. It wasn’t political or royal, but it was energised, and ready to work.

The Netherlands–Kenya Business Forum, held in March in Nairobi, coincided with a state visit from President William Ruto’s guests: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, accompanied by Dutch ministers Reinette Klever (Trade and Development) and Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs). Their presence underscored the long-standing economic and strategic ties between the two countries.

Against this diplomatic backdrop, the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) hosted a panel titled The Power of Work – The Business of Building Bright Futures. But the session’s true message resonated beyond formalities: Kenya’s youth are not a problem to be solved — they’re a solution waiting to be unleashed.

What followed was more than a panel discussion. It was a call to rally for the future.

Uber for Nurses: Innovation Where It Hurts

Renee Ngamau, the charismatic Co-Founder and President of  CheckUps, didn’t mince words. “Kenyans are only one major disease away from a crisis,” she said.

Her startup is flipping that reality on its head, one home visit at a time. Dubbed “Uber for nurses,” CheckUps has delivered doorstep healthcare to more than 56,000 families, eliminating the impossible trade-off between earning a day’s wage and getting medical care. It's a model that simultaneously improves health outcomes and creates jobs for young people — as nurses, logistics coordinators, customer service agents, and tech support.

The real innovation, Ngamau insists, isn’t just in the app or the logistics. It’s in the hiring philosophy: “Curiosity and a desire to work are more important than a perfect resume.”

It’s a powerful reframing in a country where unemployment among educated youth remains stubbornly high. Instead of waiting for job-ready candidates to emerge from a flawed system, CheckUps trains and elevates those who show up hungry to learn.

“Employers can keep blaming the education system,” Ngamau added. “Or they can start building with the talent and drive that’s already there.”

Firewalls for the Future: Cybersecurity as a New Frontier

While Ngamau brought a message of urgency and opportunity from healthtech, Keith Muciri of Cyber Shujaa issued a different kind of warning — one measured in risk and loss in a digitally-enabled world.

“Kenya experienced over 86 million cybersecurity incidents last year alone,” he said. “And yet, most youth don’t even know cybersecurity is a career.”

Cyber Shujaa is changing that, turning digital curiosity into career opportunity through bootcamps, mentorships, and hands-on training in ethical hacking, network administration, and digital forensics. Their graduates are landing jobs in banks, telecoms, and government agencies — sectors that not only need cybersecurity, but depend on it.

Muciri’s challenge to the audience was clear: “If we want to protect our digital future, we need to invest in the people who will defend it.”

The Youth Perspective: “Stop Waiting for Ready-Made Talent”

Alphaxard Gitau, a member of Kenya’s Dutch Embassy Youth Advisory Council, rounded out the panel with a dose of hard truth — and practical solutions.

“The gap between youth and employers isn’t just about skills,” he said. “It’s about mindset and systems. Businesses need to design better onramps: internships, apprenticeships, and growth pathways that don’t rely on five years of experience for entry-level roles.”

Gitau called on companies to design real onramps — internships, apprenticeships, and training programs that don’t just fill gaps but build ladders. And he wasn’t just speaking to the private sector.

“Government needs to incentivise those who invest in youth. Not just talk about it — reward it.”

His remarks reflected a broader frustration among young Kenyans: not with work itself, but with how hard it is to get in the door.

A Royal Spotlight, But a Local Story

The session — moderated by Palladium’s George Mbithi — took place just steps from where the Dutch royal delegation, Kenyan officials, and business leaders from Africa and the EU were discussing the future of trade, growth, and sustainability. And so, it was in the CFYE panel, where they were wrestling with difficult but essential questions about the future for young people, and of the systems and how they might scale to be there for the next generation of workers.

With over 34,000 jobs already created through CFYE in Kenya, this wasn’t abstract policy talk. It was proof of concept.

And the closing message, repeated in various forms by all three speakers, was both sobering and electric: We don’t need to wait. The tools, people, and ideas are already here.