Charlene Ruto, Isaya Yunge: List of Multi-Million Businesses Owned by First Daughter and Her Husband

Kenya’s First Daughter Charlene Ruto and her Tanzanian fiancé, Isaya Yunge, have built business and organisational interests spanning real estate, hospitality, agriculture, education technology and youth empowerment.

The couple attracted public attention following their Kalenjin traditional engagement ceremony, known as Koito, held at Intonna Heritage Farm in Kilgoris, Narok County, earlier this year.

Their impending wedding has also drawn interest in their professional backgrounds and the ventures they have established independently.

Charlene has interests in four initiatives covering commercial investments, farming, environmental conservation and youth development.

On the other hand Yunge has built his reputation in technology, particularly through an education platform connecting African students to scholarship opportunities.

One of Charlene’s business interests is Matiny Ltd, a company associated with real estate and hospitality investments.

Through the firm, she holds a minority shareholding linked to Weston Hotel, located along Lang’ata Road in Nairobi.

She is also listed as a director of O’sere Flats, a residential development comprising approximately 98 housing units.

Matiny Ltd has additionally been linked to Easton Apartments and previously leased residential units to the National Police Service between 2015 and 2018.

Beyond the property sector, Charlene has developed agricultural interests through a mixed-farming operation in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.

Her farm produces a variety of crops, including mangoes, sunflowers, wheat, capsicum, beans, maize and cabbage. She has also invested in beekeeping, maintaining an apiary as part of her agricultural activities.

Charlene has frequently encouraged young people to consider farming as a business opportunity, positioning agriculture as a potential source of employment and economic empowerment.

Her interests in agriculture and environmental conservation also extend to the Smachs Foundation, an organisation whose name stands for Smart Mechanised Agriculture and Climate Action for Humanity and Sustainability.

The foundation focuses on food security and climate action, with initiatives aimed at improving traditional agricultural practices, modernising beekeeping and encouraging environmental conservation.

Its activities have included tree-planting campaigns aligned with Kenya’s national target of growing 50 billion trees.

In September 2023, Charlene established another initiative, The Young People’s Network International, a youth-led non-governmental organisation intended to create opportunities for young people to connect, develop skills and participate in discussions on issues affecting their communities.

The organisation adds to her involvement in youth empowerment, complementing her commercial and agricultural interests.

Yunge, on the other hand, has concentrated much of his entrepreneurial work in technology, particularly solutions aimed at improving access to education.

He co-founded SomaApps Technologies, the company behind SomaApp, a mobile platform that helps African students discover and apply for scholarship opportunities.

The idea emerged after Yunge and his team identified a gap in scholarship awareness, with many local and international opportunities going unclaimed because eligible students were unaware of their existence.

Through the platform, students can access information about available scholarships and opportunities to pursue higher education.

SomaApp has connected thousands of students across Africa to scholarship opportunities, earning Yunge recognition for his contribution to education technology.

Born in Mwanza, Tanzania, on March 23, 1990, Yunge’s journey into entrepreneurship began against a challenging childhood background.

His parents separated when he was young, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother.

During his early years, he helped with herding goats and cattle and worked around rice plantations before beginning formal education at the age of seven.

After completing secondary school, Yunge enrolled at the Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam, where he pursued Insurance and Risk Management and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree.

He later received training at the Swedish Institute on sustainable business models and pursued studies in leading change at Cambridge.

His interest in technology was driven by the desire to develop digital solutions to problems affecting young people, eventually leading to the creation of SomaApp.

Beyond education technology, Yunge has also developed other technology concepts, including KAYA, an artificial intelligence-powered smart speaker designed to collect Africa-related data, and Somafit, a smartwatch intended to monitor health indicators such as blood pressure and heart rate.

Yunge’s work has earned him recognition both in Africa and internationally.

In 2017, his startup won the GSMA Mobile Money Africa Hackathon award for Best Startup in Africa. He was also featured on Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list.

A year later, he received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from the late Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his use of technology to develop sustainable solutions and strengthen communities.

In 2019, he was named among Tanzania’s 50 most influential young people.

His leadership journey also began early. In 2006, he was elected chairperson of Tanzania’s Junior Council and was selected as a UNICEF Africa Youth Ambassador. He later addressed the 2007 G8 Summit in Berlin.

Although Charlene and Yunge have pursued different professional paths, their ventures reflect shared interests in creating opportunities and addressing challenges affecting young people.