Ruto Orders Local Manufacturers to Make Shoes for 14 Million Kenyan Schoolchildren

President William Ruto has directed local footwear manufacturers to produce leather shoes for all 14 million school-going children in Kenya, scaling up a domestic sourcing policy previously applied to the country's security agencies.

Speaking at the Innovation Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Wednesday, President Ruto said the move aims to create guaranteed demand for the local leather industry while creating jobs for the youth.

The strategy follows a similar directive issued in June that banned the importation of footwear for security officers. By October, President Ruto confirmed during a town hall at Jamhuri Park that all military and police boots were being produced locally.

To support the expansion beyond military supplies, the government is decentralized manufacturing across counties. A key hub for this initiative is the Ksh5.8 billion Kenya Leather Industrial Park in Kenani, Machakos, which was officially unveiled by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on September 2 to provide modern processing and manufacturing facilities.

The directive seeks to address a long-standing gap between Kenya's vast livestock resources and its low finished-leather exports. According to data from the World Bank and the Kenya Leather Development Council, Kenya holds Africa’s third-largest livestock population and ranks 11th globally with approximately 80 million animals.

Despite this resource base, the country ranks 87th out of 208 nations in leather apparel exports, generating Ksh68 million ($527,000). Meanwhile, it spends Ksh285 million ($2.2 million) annually on leather imports, ranking 101st among 223 importing nations.