Kenya’s Informal Workforce Set for Major Digital and Savings Revolution

By Michael Nyamai -

Nairobi, Kenya, September 2 2026 -The government is set to roll out three flagship interventions on Monday, 7 September, in a major push to formalise Kenya’s informal workforce, recognise acquired skills and expand access to social security and employment opportunities.

Principal Secretary for Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime (centre), NSSF Managing Trustee and CEO David Koross (Right), and NITA Director General Dr Rukia Atikiya (left) during a press briefing in Nairobi ahead of the Monday, 7 September rollout of three flagship initiatives targeting Kenya’s informal workforce.

The initiatives, backed by the World Bank through the NYOTA programme, will bring together the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme, Fundi Locator digital platform and HABAHABA savings programme, targeting millions of Kenyans working in the informal sector.

Principal Secretary for the State Department for Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime said the interventions were designed to ensure Kenyans who have acquired skills through years of experience are not disadvantaged by lack of formal certification.

The Monday rollout will see 3,727 Kenyans graduate under the Recognition of Prior Learning programme, after undergoing assessment and certification of skills acquired through practical experience.

“The advantage of having a certificate is that these young people can then access jobs not only in our local economy but also in the international labour market,” Mwadime said.

Mwadime said the government was working with the World Bank and the Canadian Government to facilitate 100 graduates of the RPL programme to access the Canadian labour market, describing the initiative as a pilot that could demonstrate the opportunities available to skilled Kenyan workers globally.

The government is targeting the certification of 20,000 informal workers within the next one to two years, as it moves to address the skills recognition gap affecting millions of workers.

Mwadime said Kenya has about 18 million people working in the informal sector, underscoring the scale of the task facing the government.

“It is a big responsibility for the government to ensure nobody falls through our fingers,” he said.

The rollout will also introduce the Fundi Locator app, which is intended to connect skilled and verified technicians with customers looking for their services.

Mwadime urged technicians to register on the platform, saying it would help workers who struggle to find customers while giving consumers greater confidence in the people they hire.

“We are also going to launch an app we are calling it the Fundi Locator app for a number of these young people who are unable to get customers. They can then be able to get them easily through this app,” he said.

At the same time, NSSF Managing Trustee and CEO David Koross said the Fund was seeking to expand retirement savings among informal sector workers through the HABAHABA digital savings platform.

Koross said NSSF was targeting a savings threshold of Sh1 trillion by the end of the 2026/27 financial year, while seeking to bring more informal workers into the retirement savings system.

“We need to cover and bring into the bracket of savings for retirement, even the informal sector,” Koross said.

HABAHABA will offer Kenyans a mobile application and USSD platform through which they can save conveniently. NSSF is targeting an additional three million members within a year, with the programme already recording more than 300,000 members during its pilot phase.

NITA Director General Dr Rukia Atikiya said the RPL beneficiaries are drawn from all 47 counties and 48 trades, with 2,165 male and 1,566 female candidates.

She urged skilled young people without formal certification to approach NITA for assessment and certification.

“We want to call upon all the skilled youth out there across the different trades to liaise with NITA so that then we can come to your service in terms of making sure that you're taken through the process of recognition for prior learning and necessary assessments done and the certificates awarded,” Atikiya said.

The three interventions will be officially rolled out on Monday, 7 September, at the National Industrial Training Authority River Campus, marking a major step in the government’s efforts to bring Kenya’s informal workforce closer to formal employment, markets and retirement security.