NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 5 – NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 5 – World Bank Country Director Qimiao Fan has described the Kenya’s National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement(NYOTA) program as one of the key solutions to addressing youth unemployment in Kenya.
Speaking when he joined President William Ruto during the disbursement exercise to NYOTA beneficiaries covering Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu counties, Fan said the program is aligned with Vision 2030 and supports the Bottom-Up Economic model, which seeks to expand opportunities for young people at the grassroots level.
“The success of NYOTA will be measured by how much employable the beneficiaries become and how many individuals are able to create businesses to not only employ themselves but employ millions of others.”
“Ultimately, its success is defined by how many decent jobs can be created within the country, a journey in which the World Bank will continue to provide support,” said the World Bank Country Director.
Fan reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting youth employment initiatives.
“The World Bank does only three things in Kenya and that is jobs, jobs and jobs. In addition to partnering and supporting you in implementing NYOTA, our entire programme is squarely focused on supporting Kenya to create more, better and more inclusive jobs.”
“From supporting your policy reforms to make doing business easier, to investing in energy, roads, digital technology and to skills and to specific sectors like agriculture. The sole objective is to support Kenya to create more and better jobs and we’ll continue to do so,” the World Bank chief said.
Over 13,000 successful youth beneficiaries each received KSh. 25,000 as the first tranche of business grants after completing a four-day Business Development Services (BDS) Training.
Under the first phase of the NYOTA Start-Up Capital program, Sh22,000 is credited directly to a Pochi la Biashara account to support immediate business operations and Sh3,000 deposited into a Haba na Haba savings account managed by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The second phase of the program will see an additional Sh25,000 disbursed, bringing the total support to Sh50,000 per beneficiary.
The second disbursement, to be made after mentorship and enterprise evaluation sessions, will bring the total support to KSh. 50,000 per youth.
This rollout marks the start of the nationwide implementation, targeting 84 youth per ward across all 1,450 wards.
NYOTA is a World Bank – financed Government of Kenya project that aims to enhance youth employability and enterprise development while support youth savings.
It targets unemployed youth aged 18–29 years, and up to 35 years for Persons with Disabilities. Implemented through a multiagency approach, the project is coordinated by State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy.
The other agencies include State Department for Labour and Skills Development, State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, National Industrial Training Authority, National Employment Authority, Micro and Small Enterprises Authority and National Social Security Fund.
The project is focuses on four key interventions; Skills and Certification, Business Support, Youth savings and strengthening employment systems.
