Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto has announced the long-awaited rollout of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (Nyota) programme, a Sh5 billion initiative aimed at supporting 100,000 young people with start-up capital, training, and mentorship.
The programme, unveiled in August during the International Youth Day celebrations in Kakamega County, had been scheduled to start in September.
On Friday, after convening a high-level meeting with Principal Secretaries at State House, Nairobi, Ruto confirmed that the long-promised scheme would now begin.
“We are investing in our youth, unlocking opportunities, and driving enterprise and innovation across Kenya. This programme has taken time to align properly, but it is now ready to go,” Ruto said.
Launched in partnership with the World Bank, the fund will provide Sh50,000 grants to 70 youth in each of the country’s 1,450 wards, enabling them to start business ventures.
Principal Secretaries will be dispatched to all 47 counties on Monday, October 6, to meet governors, MPs, MCAs, and grassroots leaders in a sensitisation exercise to ensure smooth implementation.
The President stressed that the inclusion of leaders from the Executive, Legislature, and county governments would make the process transparent and fair.
“Every young person deserves a fair chance. By engaging leaders at every level, we are ensuring that this process is transparent and that no one is left behind,” he said.
Ruto first introduced the Nyota programme on August 12, declaring that phase one would benefit 54,000 youth with start-up capital before they embarked on skills training the same month.
“This will pave the way for their skills training to commence in the same month,” he told the Kakamega gathering then.
In addition to financial support, Nyota will provide mentorship, training, and access to business infrastructure to help scale small enterprises and create sustainable jobs.
Ruto said the programme will also involve 90,000 youth who will be trained to gain job experience, 20,000 on recognition of prior learning, and another 600,000 who will be trained on Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO).
The President also noted that beneficiaries would be enrolled in the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), giving them a platform to save as they grow their businesses.
“We are not just creating jobs; we are building future employers and long-term wealth creators for our nation,” he said.
With the programme now finally underway, the government says it expects the Sh5 billion fund to inject new life into youth enterprise, strengthen grassroots economies, and address rising unemployment across the country.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) PS Susan Mang’eni, under whose State Department the Nyota is placed, said the project is designed to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable youth.
She pointed out that the project is aimed at improving youth employability, expansion of job opportunities, support for a youth savings culture, and enhancement of youth entrepreneurs’ access to markets.
“We target to benefit young people in all wards. It is gender-inclusive, with emphasis on 50-50 gender parity,” she said.
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