6 Kenyans Who Made Breakthroughs in 2022

2022 was a year filled with many events, and inside them, some Kenyans made remarkable breakthroughs in their lives.

These are ordinary citizens who through their creativity, hard work, selfless deeds and innovation, were rewarded handsomely. 

Nairobileo.co.ke looks at six of those Kenyans who made tremendous breakthroughs.

Nelly Cheboi
She is the latest Kenyan to have a major breakthrough after she quit her software job to create tech labs for Kenyan school kids.

The 29-year-old clinched the CNN Hero of the Year Award on Sunday, December 11, which saw her pocket Sh74 million cash prize.

Cheboi is a software engineer who turned out to be a philanthropist and she has been using her hard-earned income to purchase computers for Kenyan schools.

The fete by CNN saw her being recognized by President William Ruto during his Jamhuri Day speech as he congratulated her for the selfless work she was doing for kids.

Four St. Paul University students

On Tuesday, September 20, four St. Paul University students were awarded $1 million (Sh120 million) Hult Prize in the United State for their business innovation dubbed Eco-Bana.

The four, Lennox Omondi, Keylie Muthoni, Dullah Shiltone, and Brian Ndung’u, founded Eco-Bana in 2020 with an objective to address the challenges faced by thousands of women in accessing sanitary towels.  

They have worked together since then with other young entrepreneurs to produce biodegradable, eco-friendly and hygienic sanitary towels made from banana fibers.

President Ruto congratulated the students following their win their venture was the ‘hustler spirit’ his government was keen to support.

Ivy Chelimo
She is the young lady who nicknamed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua ‘Riggy G’.

On October 17, while marking World Food Day in Kajiado County, the DP offered Ivy a job at his Harambee office, Nairobi.

Gachagua said that young people were very resourceful and had a lot of creativity as he detailed how Ivy came up with his nickname.
‘Riggy G’ previously took social media by storm making Ivy an overnight celebrity.

Dickson Loyerer

The NYS officer attracted mixed reactions on social media when he was captured cleaning Sports CS Ababu Namwamba’s shoes.

However, little did anyone know that the humble act was Loyerer stepping stone to greatness. Namwamba met the NYS officer on November 8 at his office where he gave him an offer to join his staff.

After Nwamwamba’s offer, Loyerer was then promoted to Corporal by the NYS which lauded him for his act of kindness towards the CS.

Charlot Magayi

The little-known Kenyan lady was the 2022 Earth shot Prize winner through her enterprise that focuses on producing cooking stoves.

Magayi is the founder and CEO of Mukuru Clean Stoves. The 29-year-old’s enterprise scooped a £1 million (Sh150 million) prize in the award ceremony held at Boston, Massachusetts.

The Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William and the Royal Foundation and Magayi was rewarded for her idea of championing for clean energy.

George Nene
He is one of the few young upcoming politicians who got elected into office in the August 9 general elections.

From borrowing a public address system to campaigning on a cart pulled by a borrowed donkey, Nene beat all odds to clinch the Elementaita Ward MCA seat in Gilgil Constituency, Nakuru County.

The 22-year-old Egerton university graduate, who lived in a tiny mud-walled house, won the seat a Safina Party ticket.
He attributed his win to patience maintaining that his victory was a hope to Kenyan youth.