Who Is Isaya Yunge? The Tanzanian Tech Entrepreneur Set to Marry Charlene Ruto

Tanzanian entrepreneur Isaya Yunge has stepped into the Kenyan public spotlight after holding a traditional engagement ceremony with Charlene Ruto, the daughter of President William Ruto.

The couple held their Koito ceremony on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Intonna Heritage Farm in Kilgoris, Narok County, bringing together members of both families as well as senior Kenyan political leaders and other prominent guests.

While his relationship with Charlene has largely remained private, Yunge is not new to the public arena. Long before becoming known in Kenya as the man set to marry the President's daughter, he had built a reputation in Tanzania and beyond as a technology entrepreneur, youth advocate and social-impact innovator.

From Mwanza to the international stage

Yunge was born and raised in Mwanza, northern Tanzania, according to his Ashoka profile.

His childhood was marked by considerable hardship. His parents separated when he was young, and he moved between foster homes before eventually finding his way into education. Ashoka says he spent part of his childhood herding animals and later lived on the streets of Mwanza.

Rather than allowing those experiences to define his future, Yunge became involved in youth and children's rights activism.

At the age of 16, he persuaded Radio Free Africa to create a programme that gave street children an opportunity to tell their stories. The programme attracted UNICEF support and ran for several years.

That work propelled him into international youth leadership.

At 17, Yunge was selected as a UNICEF African Youth Ambassador and represented young people at the 2007 G8-related youth summit in Germany. His profile on Ashoka says he attended the summit after being invited by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

His early leadership also included serving as chairperson of Tanzania's Junior Council.

The entrepreneur behind SomaApp

Yunge's biggest public footprint has been in technology.

He founded SomaApps Technologies, the company behind SomaApp, a platform designed to help African students identify scholarships and other educational opportunities.

The idea grew out of his own experience at university. While studying at Tanzania's Institute of Finance Management, Yunge began collecting information about international conferences and scholarships and sharing the opportunities with fellow students.

He noticed that many young people struggled not because opportunities did not exist, but because they did not know where to find them.

SomaApp was developed to address that gap.

The platform allows students to enter information about their academic qualifications and receive scholarship opportunities that match their profiles. It has also provided resources to help students navigate applications.

By 2019, Ashoka reported that SomaApp had been used by students across several African countries and had helped connect thousands of young people to educational opportunities.

Recognition beyond Tanzania

Yunge's work has attracted international recognition.

In 2018, he was named among Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30, in the technology category, as the founder of SomaApps Technologies. Contemporary reports from the publication's 2018 list identify him as a 28-year-old Tanzanian entrepreneur.

The same year, he received the Queen's Young Leaders Award, recognising young people from across the Commonwealth who were making a positive impact in their communities.

Yunge was one of two Tanzanians listed among the 2018 recipients.

His professional development also took him to the University of Cambridge, where his LinkedIn profile records participation in the Leading Change programme between 2018 and 2019. The programme was designed for recipients of the Queen's Young Leaders recognition.

He has also been described as an alumnus of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program and has undertaken training in sustainable business models through the Swedish Institute.

In 2019, Yunge was elected an Ashoka Fellow, with the organisation highlighting his work to make higher education more accessible to young Africans from low-income backgrounds.

Beyond scholarships

Yunge's interests have extended beyond SomaApp.

He has been involved in technology products focused on African consumers, including smart-home technology.

Recent profiles identify him as founder and CEO of Goodsam Technologies and co-founder of Smart Kaya, a venture developing hands-free smart-speaker technology for African homes.

He has also previously served as CEO of SPEKI Technologies, a Tanzanian technology venture focused on consumer products and innovation.

His career therefore sits at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship and social impact.

A childhood shaped his mission

One of the defining features of Yunge's story is the connection between his childhood experiences and his entrepreneurial work.

Ashoka's account describes a young man who viewed education as his pathway out of poverty. His experience of struggling to access education later influenced his decision to build a platform helping other young Africans find scholarships.

In that sense, SomaApp was not simply a technology project. It was an attempt to solve a problem Yunge had personally experienced.

His public profiles repeatedly describe him as an advocate for creating greater opportunities for young Africans through technology and innovation.

The man now entering Kenya's first family

That background has taken on a new dimension with his relationship with Charlene Ruto.

Charlene and Yunge kept their relationship largely away from the public spotlight before the announcement of their engagement.

Their traditional Koito ceremony in Kilgoris now places Yunge firmly in the Kenyan public eye.

The ceremony brought together senior political figures and prominent personalities, including Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Cabinet Secretaries Aden Duale and Kipchumba Murkomen, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Senator Karen Nyamu and Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris, among others.

A Koito is an important Kalenjin pre-marriage ceremony involving the coming together of the two families and formal discussions surrounding the union.

For Yunge, therefore, the ceremony represents more than a high-profile wedding milestone. It marks the meeting of two public families from Kenya and Tanzania.

A private relationship, a very public future

Yunge now finds himself moving from the world of African technology and youth entrepreneurship into one of East Africa's most closely watched families.

His profile is notable because his public career predates his relationship with Charlene by many years. From youth advocacy in Mwanza to an appearance on the international stage as a teenager, followed by entrepreneurship, technology innovation and education initiatives, he has built a career around creating opportunities for young Africans.

His marriage to Charlene will inevitably bring greater public interest in his businesses, philanthropy, networks and future activities.

For now, the 2026 Koito ceremony introduces Kenyans to a man whose public identity was established long before he became the future son-in-law of President William Ruto.

Editorial note: LiveNow Africa has independently corroborated Yunge's technology, youth leadership, awards and education background through Ashoka, contemporary Forbes Africa list reports, Cambridge/LinkedIn information and other institutional profiles. The 36-year-old age description comes from today's Kenyan media reports and has not been independently verified from an official biographical record.

About the Author

Maureen Onyango is a journalist passionate about storytelling, life coaching and spiritual lessons. She studied at the Kenya Institute of Management and enjoys telling stories that inform, inspire and empower communities.