Nairobi, June 17 -- In Mbooni, Makueni County, the scenic hills conceal a difficult reality. Nearly four in 10 residents live in poverty, while about a third experience food poverty.

A few years ago, Mercy was among the 85,000 people in the county living in extreme poverty, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2022 Poverty Report. Today, she is a budding entrepreneur, demonstrating how enterprise can help families escape poverty.

Mercy's journey began after she lost her job at a textile factory in Nairobi due to a serious health condition. Returning to her home in Mbooni, she found her husband was the family's sole breadwinner, earning barely enough to survive.

The family often skipped meals and struggled to pay ...