122,000 Young Kenyans to Benefit as Government Releases Ksh3.06 Billion Through NYOTA
2 min read
The government, together with the World Bank, will release Ksh3.06 billion to support 122,203 young entrepreneurs under the second phase of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
Unlike the first phase, which mainly helped young people start businesses, the new funding will focus on helping existing businesses grow and expand.
Out of the beneficiaries, 33,269 are new applicants who will receive their first business grants, while 88,934 entrepreneurs who benefited earlier will receive a second round of funding to strengthen their businesses.
During the first phase of the programme, the government invested more than Ksh2.28 billion in youth-owned businesses after receiving over 2.5 million applications from across the country.
The government selected 121,800 young entrepreneurs from all the country’s wards to take part in the programme. Before receiving the money, many beneficiaries underwent business and financial management training as well as mentorship to help them run successful businesses.
According to the government, most of the beneficiaries have already established businesses, including grocery shops, salons, food kiosks, fishing businesses, mechanical workshops and boda boda businesses.
The second phase will provide more funding to help these businesses expand while also bringing in new beneficiaries.
The rollout will begin in the North Eastern region before moving to other parts of the country, including Western Kenya, the Rift Valley and the Coast.
The government also plans to make it easier for young entrepreneurs to access support by reducing some business permit and licensing challenges. In addition, NYOTA beneficiaries will be linked to other government funding programmes such as the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Uwezo Fund and Kenya Industrial Estates.
Officials believe the expanded programme could create between 150,000 and 250,000 new jobs as more youth-owned businesses continue to grow.
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