24-year-old Bilha Wanjira Kirera was born and raised in the village of Difatha, just ten kilometers west of Embu, an important economic and cultural center in the Eastern Province of Kenya. The town of Embu is nestled in the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya, and the area is renowned for its rolling hills and fertile valleys. Bilha grew up with her parents, smallholder farmers who farmed avocado, fruit, and fish. They sparked her passion for sustainable agriculture and taught her how to run their farming business during her visits home from boarding school. While she always looked forward to these trips to reconnect with her family and support their business, Bilha wanted to do more to help her family and her community.
Motivated by this desire, Bilha searched for opportunities that would put her agribusiness degree into action. Bilha attended the nearby University of Embu, where she earned a bachelor's degree and graduated with honors in 2021. She discovered Root Capital’s Talent Partnership program soon after graduating.
Bilha knew right away that she’d found the perfect program to further her career and make a difference in her community. Root Capital’s Talent Partnership program places skilled young people into paid year-long internships, which are funded by Root Capital. It connects our agricultural business clients with skilled young workers and provides employment opportunities for recent college graduates. As part of the Talent Partnership program, Root Capital advisors also lead crucial training sessions for interns, who are grouped into a network of cohorts to continue to support and learn from one another.
At the age of 22, Bilha eagerly accepted an internship with Limbua Group Limited (known as Limbua). Limbua, a Root Capital client since 2018, is an agricultural enterprise in Embu that processes macadamia nuts, avocados, and mangos. Bilha was originally hired as a Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Intern at Limbua from 2021-2022. During her internship, she assessed climate change risks at the grassroots level, offering training and resources to Limbua staff whenever possible to curb the effects of those risks.
Limbua was so impressed with Bilha that after the year-long internship concluded, they hired her on as a full-time Field Administrator. In this role, Bilha is in charge of bridging the gap between the farmers, their management, and Limbua. She continues to provide training to the farmer members of Limbua, teaching them climate-smart agricultural practices like tree pruning and how to plant shade trees.
While Bilha has found success working in agriculture, she realizes many young people in her community do not share her passion. Farming is often viewed as hands-on, dirty work with little room for growth or mentorship. Bilha says that “you find that most of the young people… in Kenya prefer… white collar jobs,” and often flock to cities to find office jobs. This leaves a dearth of young workers available in the agricultural sector, one that the Talent Partnership program aims to fill.
These perceptions of agricultural work are exacerbated by the challenges faced by recent college graduates who struggle to find employment and lack access to sufficient land for farming. Family land is usually inherited, and according to Bilha, “it's quite hard to subdivide the farm to all the siblings equally” so that each sibling has a viable amount of farming land. This means families need to work together, combining their plots, which leaves young people with little opportunity to make an independent start. Inputs (like seeds) are also expensive, making it difficult for young farmers to self-fund their early-stage businesses.
Bilha is aware of the preconceptions toward young professionals; she notes that employers often “underestimate you, since you are young.” Many farmers have dedicated their lives to their craft and may find it challenging to accept guidance from newcomers in the field. However, as our Talent Partners infuse their energy and education into the practices of smallholder farmers, they also glean valuable insights from their experiences working directly with farmers. In fact, when asked about her most valuable experience as a Talent Partner, Bilha immediately responded: “I got to interact with the small scale farmers in Embu and Kirinyaga regions, covering things to do with climate change and mitigation and adaptation.”
Bilha plans to continue her career in agriculture and hopes to show her peers that agriculture can be an impactful and profitable path in Kenya. Looking ahead, she aims to complete a master's degree in agriculture and climate change studies, and eventually transition into either commercial agriculture or consultancy roles, with a specific emphasis on organic farming practices.
To date, Root Capital has successfully launched more than 230 Talent Partnerships—a pillar of our Next Generation Jobs impact pathway. We believe Talent Partnerships are a win/win for the business and the intern: Youth serve as indispensable local talent that—when given the proper tools and support—bring much needed capacity and fresh ideas to agricultural enterprises with aging workforces. And investing in young people sets them on a prosperous career path and gives them hands-on experience in the workplace. Bilha is a prime example of what Root Capital hopes to achieve with this program and she is certainly a young woman to watch in the years ahead.
About the Author
Tess Fisher is the Content Development Associate at Root Capital.
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