- Browns Plantations Kenya and Finlays have awarded Ksh 22 million in undergraduate scholarships to 28 students from Bomet and Kericho.
- The Trust has provided each scholar with full tuition support and a laptop to support their studies.
- The company has now supported 1,243 students in total, including 484 undergraduate scholarship beneficiaries, and has invested over Ksh 350 million in education infrastructure.
Twenty-eight students from Bomet and Kericho counties have received a combined Ksh 22 million in undergraduate scholarships, courtesy of Browns Plantations Kenya Limited and its partner Finlays, through the Browns and Finlays Community Trust.
The award package covers full university tuition for each beneficiary and includes a laptop pre-installed with Windows and antivirus software, giving the students both financial backing and the digital tools required for research, coursework and online learning throughout their studies.
Director of Corporate Affairs Sammy Kirui said the 2026 cohort is made up of 22 scholars drawn from the 11 constituencies spanning Bomet and Kericho, with one top-performing boy and one top-performing girl selected from each constituency based on academic merit and demonstrated financial need. A further six scholarships were reserved for dependants of employees at Browns Plantations Kenya and Finlays Tea Extracts Kenya.
“Each scholar will receive comprehensive tuition support throughout their undergraduate programme at a recognised Kenyan university. In addition, every scholarship recipient has been provided with a laptop pre-installed with Windows and antivirus software to support research, online learning, coursework and access to digital academic resources, ensuring they have the essential tools needed to succeed in today’s technology-driven learning environment,” Kirui said.
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The scholarships land at a time when Kenya is pushing reforms aimed at making university financing fairer and more responsive to student needs. Even so, officials note that students from financially constrained backgrounds often face additional obstacles beyond tuition costs, among them limited access to computers, internet connectivity and other digital learning resources — gaps this programme is designed to help close.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Kericho, Finance Director Darren Edwards, who represented Browns Plantations Kenya CEO and Trust Patron Dushanth Ratwatte, said securing university admission should not be the end point for a student’s ambitions. “Students need the resources to participate fully, succeed academically and prepare themselves for the world of work. By combining tuition support with a laptop, we are addressing both the financial and digital barriers that can affect a student’s ability to make the most of their university education,” he said.
Edwards added that the Trust’s priority remains identifying academically gifted young people whose circumstances might otherwise limit their prospects. “Our focus is on identifying talented young people who have demonstrated academic potential but whose circumstances could limit their opportunities. Supporting them through university is an investment not only in individual students, but also in the human capital and future leadership of the communities where we operate,” he said.
Chief Guest at the ceremony, consultant neurosurgeon and Tophill Brain and Spine Hospital founder Dr Florentius Koech, urged the scholars to seize the opportunity and put their education to positive use. Reflecting on his own path from a rural primary school in Cheborge to local and international medical institutions, Koech said sustained access to education can be transformative. “Academic potential is not defined by privilege; it is unlocked through discipline, perseverance and the right support at the right time… this programme is helping remove barriers that can stand between talent and opportunity and preparing a new generation of professionals and leaders who can contribute to Kenya’s future,” he said.
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The university awards follow closely on the heels of Ksh 8.3 million in vocational scholarships handed out late last month to 39 trainees at Belgut and Konoin Technical Training Institutes. Six graduates from the 2024 TVET cohort also received professional start-up toolkits worth up to Ksh 50,000 each, meant to help them launch income-generating ventures using their newly acquired skills.
With this latest cohort, Browns Plantations Kenya has now supported 1,243 students across various levels of education, among them 484 undergraduate scholarship beneficiaries. The company has additionally poured more than Ksh 350 million into 81 education infrastructure projects across the region, part of a wider community investment strategy focused on expanding access to education, building technical and employable skills, and creating opportunities for young people in its host communities.
By Benedict Ng’etich
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