In the early hours of the morning, before the village stirs fully to life, a group of young people gather at the edge of the local trading centre. The dew is still on the grass, and the sun is yet to climb past the acacia trees, but already, their energy is palpable. They’re not waiting for a matatu to town or lining up for casual jobs. They are here for something different. Something new. They have come to create.
Inside the converted community hall, the hum of a laptop fills the air. A young woman adjusts the mic on a wooden desk. Her friend checks the camera’s focus, while the other scrolls through a script on a phone cracked at the corner. They are recording a podcast raw, real, and deeply rooted in the stories of their village. A year ago, none of them would have believed this was possible. But now, things have changed.
Across Kenya’s rural heartland, from Kisii to Kitui, from Vihiga to Voi, something is shifting. Villages once silenced by distance and disconnection are coming alive not through brick and mortar, but through light, sound, and signal. The arrival of Studio Mashinani and public Wi-Fi has opened a window into a world that had for too long seemed just out of reach.
Where there were once idle afternoons and dreams spoken in whispers, there are now songs being recorded, skits being filmed, and online gigs being submitted before sunset. Young people who once stood in the shade of kiosks wondering what the future held for them now gather in available spaces to create and tell stories in their own angles, own voices and learning how to edit, narrate, publish, and earn.
Studio Mashinani, a government initiative designed to decentralise creative infrastructure has brought with it a quiet revolution. With basic equipment, training, and a space to work, these studios have become catalysts for confidence and self-trust. They have not only provided rural youth with tools but have also reawakened their belief that their voices matter. And then came the connection.
The spread of public Wi-Fi into rural Kenya is perhaps less visible than a new road or dispensary, but its impact is profound. According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, by 2024, over 50% of rural public institutions including schools and libraries had access to free or affordable Wi-Fi.
For the first time, young people in villages can access the internet freely. No longer reliant on expensive mobile data or long walks to cybercafés, they now sit under trees or beside shops, uploading content, attending virtual workshops, or pitching for digital jobs through Ajira Digital a government-backed online work portal that links skilled Kenyans to the global gig economy.
This shift is not accidental. It is part of the government’s broader vision under the BETA Programme, a national strategy built on four pillars: Business, Education, Technology, and Arts. Through BETA, rural youth are being targeted intentionally, their unique challenges considered, their creativity recognised as not just cultural but economic capital.
At the forefront of this transformation is Stephen Isaboke, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications. With a deep commitment to leveraging technology for inclusive growth, he has championed the rollout of Studio Mashinani and public Wi-Fi as tools to empower young Kenyans in every corner of the country.
Under his leadership, the government has prioritized not only the infrastructure but also mentorship and digital skills training ensuring the youth have the knowledge and platforms to translate creativity into opportunity.
Stephen understands what it means to have potential without access to ideas that remain locked inside for lack of the simplest tools. He believes that no youth should have to leave their home to chase job opportunities. The opportunity, he insists, must come to them.
Each day, more young people are turning their creativity into careers. Some record music; others design graphics, run blogs, edit wedding videos, or work remotely for clients they’ve never met in countries they’ve never seen and earn nice incomes. Their work is being monetised, their content shared, their skills refined not in studios in Nairobi or Mombasa, but in rooms with cracked floors and handwritten signs, powered by vision and free Wi-Fi.
The numbers give weight to this movement. Every year, over 800,000 young Kenyans graduate and enter a job market that can only absorb a fraction of them. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, at around 22.3% nationally, with rural youth facing even fewer opportunities. Formal employment remains elusive for many, especially in rural areas where options are few and far between.
But through digital platforms like Ajira Digital and support programs like KYEOP (Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project), which has already impacted over 155,000 youth and helped create more than 125,000 jobs, young people are beginning to forge their own paths. The upcoming NYOTA Project, targeting 800,000 more youth, promises to deepen this impact and widen digital access further.
Where there was once a lingering sense of being left behind, there is now pride. A boy in Siaya no longer has to explain why he’s still in the village; he simply shows the music video he shot, edited, and shared with the world.
A girl in Baringo, once mocked for staying home after Form Four, now tutors global students online in maths and earns more than her older siblings in town. These stories are becoming more common. They are no longer exceptions. They are signs of a system beginning to work not perfectly, but with purpose.
In a village in Western Kenya, the sun is beginning to set. A small group of youths is wrapping up a shoot outside the local shopping centre. They laugh as they review footage, adjusting lighting, critiquing sound, debating whether to reshoot a scene. Around them, curious villagers watch. Some don’t fully understand what’s happening, but they see the spark. They see the energy.
And as the evening calls of birds replace the buzz of equipment, one thing is clear: something is growing here. Something new, something digital, something daring. The village is no longer waiting for the world to notice. The village has gone live.
By Hassan Adan Ali
