肯尼亚少女致富之路

Pathways to prosperityfor adolescent girls inKenya Kenya stands out among African countries with adistinctive profile: high educational achievementbut untapped economic potential for its youth,particularly adolescent girls. As a lower middle-income country, Kenya exemplifies both progressand persistent challenges in advancing genderequality and economic opportunity. However,significant disparities exist across multipledimensions: geographic (with stark county-level differences), gender (with boys and girlsexperiencing different pathways), rural-urban(showing distinct patterns of opportunity andparticipation), and socioeconomic status (withhousehold wealth strongly influencing outcomes).These multifaceted disparities reveal both theprogress made and the persistent challengesin ensuring all adolescent girls can access1. Kenya at a GlanceA. Country contextFigure 1: Cross-country differences in Adolescent girls’ experiences in AfricaNote: Data for adolescent girls aged 15-19.Source: Original figure for this publication, based on data from USAID’s latest Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), https://www.dhsprogram.com pathways to prosperity regardless of where theylive, their family background, or their economiccircumstances.Investing in adolescent girls’ empowerment inKenya could yield substantial returns throughincreased productivity, innovation, and economicgrowth. Estimates suggest that investing inadolescent girls in Kenya between now and 2040could generate more than $150 billion in additionalincome for a cost of around $13 billion. At thescale of the continent, the “Pathways to Prosperityfor Adolescent girls in Africa1report” estimatesthat similar investments across Africa couldgenerate more than an estimated $2.4 trillion inadditional income for a cost of around $200 billion(Ajayi and Koussoubé, 2024).2Low marriage/childbearing,moderate to high schoolingHigh schooling, low workparticipationHigh work participation,low schoolingHigh marriage/childbearing,low schoolingModerate levels across allindicators →School enrollment: 84.7%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) are in school(76.9% are exclusively in school). This is significantly higher than the Africaaverage of 51.5%.→Marriage and childbearing: 87.4%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) areunmarried without children, significantly higher than the Africa average of73.4%.→Economic engagement: 12.2%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) are workingfor pay (7.8% combining school and work, 4.4% exclusively working), lowerthan the Africa average of 22.3%.→Legal framework:Kenya scores70 out of 100on the World Bank’s WomenBusiness and the Law (WBL) 2024 legal frameworks index, above the Africaaverage of 57.4. However, the supportive frameworks score of 45 out of 100suggests implementation gaps between legal rights and practice.→Internet usage: 25.5%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) have used theinternet versus 39.1% of adolescent boys (ages 15-19).→Mobile financial transactions: 32.3%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) usemobile phones for financial transactions versus 42.9% of adolescent boys(ages 15-19).→Smartphone ownership: 30.2%of adolescent girls (ages 15-19) havesmartphones versus 44.3% of adolescent boys (ages 15-19).To leverage Kenya’s educational achievements and unlock economic opportunities,priorities should be:→Supporting school to work transitions→Leveraging strong digital infrastructure→Strengthening implementation of legal frameworksThis context sets the stage for targeted interventions that can help Kenyamaximize its investment in girls’ education through improved economicopportunities and stronger implementation of existing legal frameworks.B. Key development indicators:C. Key policy opportunities: 3 2. Understanding Adolescent Girls’PathwaysA. Different pathways to empowermentData reveal how adolescent girls (ages 15-19) in Kenya follow different pathwaysto empowerment, aligning with five key profiles identified in the Pathways toProsperity Report framework (see Ajayi and Koussoubé, 2024).→Grace’s path(In School, Not Working, Not Married, No Child): This representsthe largest group in most counties, especially in Central Kenya (Murang’a:88.6%). However, this pathway becomes significantly less common in northerncounties (Samburu: 32.3%, Turkana: 42.3%).→Imani’s path(In School and Working, Not Married, No Child): This combinationshows notable regional variation, with some counties having significantproportions of girls balancing education and work (Kericho: 17.9%, Nyamira:17.4%), while the pathway is virtually absent in others (Murang’a, Taita Taveta:both 0%).→Mariam’s path(Not in School, Not Working, Not Married, No Child): Thisvulnerable pathway is concentrated in certain regions (Garissa: 29.5%, Turkana:30.1%), often signaling risk of early marriage and requiring targeted policyattention.→Chantal’s path(Not in School but Working, Not Married, No Child): Economicactivity without schooling is most common in Turkana (7.0%) and Nairobi(5.2%), representing bot