As part of its employee support initiatives, a Kericho-based multinational tea company has awarded Sh3 million in scholarships to 20 bright and needy children of its employees joining senior secondary school.
For the 2026-2028 academic cycle, Browns Plantations Kenya Limited has granted each of the beneficiaries who sat the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) Sh50,000 to cover their three years of schooling.
In a press release, Browns Plantations Kenya Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dushanth Ratwatte emphasized that the scholarship is an investment in community growth, empowering students while uplifting their families and shaping future generations.
“Education changes families, communities and futures. Through this scholarship, we are investing not just in individual students but in entire communities. Opportunity starts here.” Ratwatte said.
The programme, established in 1989 under the 8-4-4 system and originally called the Secondary School Scholarship Program, has to date supported 606 students, backed by an investment of Sh56.5 million from Browns Plantation Kenya Limited.
According to the press release, the administration and funding of the scholarship programme are managed through a community trust that is jointly financed by Browns Plantations Kenya Limited (80 per cent) and Finlays (20 per cent).
The programme is exclusively reserved for the dependents of Browns Plantations Kenya Limited and Finlays Tea Extracts employees, ensuring it directly supports the welfare and educational advancement of staff families.
The company operating over 5,000 hectares of tea and 2,000 hectares of forestry has four tea factories, nine estates and a sawmill.
Browns Plantations Kenya Limited, part of the Browns Group under Sri Lanka’s LOLC Holdings PLC, one of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations, is co-owned by the local community through a 15 percent stake held by the Kipsigis Highlands Multipurpose Co-operative Society.
By Sarah Njagi
