Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has revealed that the government plans to help at least two million young people with the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme as part of a package of measures to curb unemployment and stimulate entrepreneurship.
In his remarks at a session in Nairobi with Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and heads of agencies convened to reflect on the implementation status of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) and the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) programmes, the Deputy President indicated that the initial phase of NYOTA had been successfully rolled out.
He explained that one million beneficiaries will be able to take advantage of the project’s multiple strands during the current phase, while the ultimate objective is to cater for two million youth all over the country.
The programme, which is at the moment being rolled out with the World Bank as a partner, aims to equip young people with the necessary means for financial support and also skills development. Kindiki gave a guarantee that after the World Bank, backed period is over, the government will look for ways to keep financing the initiative so that there is uninterrupted assistance for as many youth as possible.
During the first phase, beneficiaries selected from each ward throughout the country were given KSh 22, 000 to be used as working capital to develop their micro and small businesses. After a review of their business growth, they can qualify for another KSh 22, 000.
