Egerton University Announces Second Cohort of TAGDev 2.0 Program Scholars for the 2025/26 Academic Year

Egerton University  is excited to announce the selection of its second cohort of students under the TAGDev 2.0 program – a transformative initiative in partnership with the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture and Mastercard Foundation.

Egerton University places inclusion at the heart of its mission, recognizing that true transformation in higher education must embrace diversity in all its forms. Through the TAGDev 2.0 Program, the University has deliberately created opportunities for young women and men who are often marginalized, including refugees and differently-abled persons, alongside those from disadvantaged communities.

By ensuring that such students access quality education, the university is not only breaking down barriers to learning but also affirming the dignity, potential, and leadership of every young person. The program does more than providing scholarships, it offers mentorship, psychosocial support, entrepreneurship training, and opportunities for community engagement. These elements are crucial in nurturing academic success but also leadership, innovation, and a strong sense of social responsibility. In this way, Egerton University is cultivating a diverse and empowered generation of graduates who will drive inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable development across Africa.

Selection process

The recruitment is usually a 5-step structured process involving publication of the call, selection for admission, shortlisting for home validation, verification of information provided in application forms through home validation and selection for the award of scholarship. A total of 672 applications for the scholarship were made. Out of a total of 672 applications received, 35% were incomplete having submission of either scholarship form or admission application form. The complete applications (i.e., with both application for university admission and application for the scholarship) were 438 out of which 286 (198 males and 88 females) were considered admissible and were forwarded to RUFORUM for shortlisting. Egerton University received from RUFORUM a shortlist of 143 applicants out of the 286 that were admissible to compete for the 50 slots available. TAGDev program engaged the Program Implementation Committee (PIC) and TAGDev secretariat to conduct home validation between 9th June and 19th June 2025. Egerton University conducted home validation for 130 candidates who are Kenyans or refugees residing in Kenya. The international applicants (13) were verified by RUFORUM and Gulu University. The home validation report was then shared with RUFORUM. After the final selection process coordinated by RUFORUM, 29 outstanding candidates were awarded Bachelor’s scholarships and 20 were awarded Masters scholarships. Consideration was given to gender, refugee status and people abled -differently to align with the program’s equity and inclusion objectives of recruiting 70% women, 25% refugees and 10% people with disabilities.

Below is a listing of the 2025 Awardees for the Undergraduate programmes

Below is a listing of the 2025 Awardees for the Master's programmes

About RUFORUM and TAGDev
RUFORUM, established in 2004, is a network of 175 universities across 40 African countries which collaborates globally with other university networks, development partners, policymakers, and leaders to leverage synergies and work towards shared objectives in delivering science solutions for development, human capital development, and institutional reform in the African Higher Agricultural Education (HAE) system. RUFORUM recognize’ s youth as the driving force behind change and are leading the charge for a better Africa. Launched in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the TAGDev 2.0 (Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s Growth and Development), which scale up from TAGDev 1.0 is a 10 year (2023–2033) program implemented in 12 African universities, namely;

1.    African University (Zimbabwe
2.    Egerton University (Kenya)
3.    Gulu University (Uganda)
4.    Malawi University of Science and Technology (Malawi)
5.    Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (Morocco)
6.    National University of Agriculture Benin
7.    Uganda Martyrs University (Uganda)
8.    University of Bamenda (Cameroon)
9.    University of Eldoret (Kenya)
10.    University of Cape Coast (Ghana)
11.    University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria)
12.    University of Free State (South Africa) 

TAGDev 2.0 is designed to;
•    Expand equal work opportunities for young women and men in the agricultural sector
•    Improve climate adaptive agricultural production and productivity with a focus on value chains
•    Strengthening the quality of higher agricultural education outcomes in training, research and innovation.

Why it matters
TAGDev 2.0 is more than just a scholarship. It is a transformative platform reshaping Africa’s higher education and development landscape. The program seeks to unlock the potential of young people who are too often excluded from quality education and economic opportunity due to poverty, gender inequality, displacement, or disability. By promoting equity, inclusion, innovation, and leadership. It goes beyond financing tuition to address the structural barriers that limit youth participation in agriculture and development. The program provides a holistic model of support that includes academic scholarships, mentorship and psychosocial support, entrepreneurship and business incubation training, and community engagement opportunities. This is aimed at producing graduates who not only excel academically but have the practical skills, resilience, and networks needed to thrive in today’s dynamic world of work.