The government has announced that beneficiaries of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project will receive the second tranche of business start-up grants by June 30, 2026, following delays caused by budgetary adjustments.
Speaking on the progress of the World Bank-supported initiative, Principal Secretary for the State Department for MSMEs Development Susan Mang’eni said the project has so far reached 122,147 young people drawn from all 1,450 wards across the country.
The NYOTA Project, a five-year job creation programme launched in March 2025, aims to empower vulnerable and marginalized youth through skills training, business mentorship, apprenticeship opportunities, start-up grants, savings promotion, and market access support.
The project also targets youth living in the refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab, as well as members of the surrounding host communities.
Implemented through a multi-agency approach involving the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the project works through agencies including the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), National Employment Authority (NEA), and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
According to the government, the Business Support Component attracted nearly two million applicants, highlighting strong entrepreneurial interest among Kenya’s youth.
The overwhelming response prompted a redesign of the programme, allowing the intake to be conducted as a one-off nationwide exercise instead of the initially planned phased implementation.Beneficiaries who successfully completed the Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test (EAT) received business development support through classroom training, mentorship, and an initial grant of KSh25,000, with KSh3,000 retained as savings under the NSSF Haba Haba Scheme.
Mang’eni noted that monitoring results from mentorship sessions and business development training indicate that more than 99 percent of beneficiaries who received the first grant have already established businesses.”The outcome demonstrates the strong entrepreneurial spirit among Kenyan youth and the effectiveness of the training and mentorship programme,” she said.
The project has also created employment opportunities by engaging 46 business development firms, more than 3,600 trainers, and over 5,500 mentors across the country, many of whom are graduate-level youth.
The government acknowledged concerns raised by beneficiaries regarding delays in the second grant disbursement, attributing the setback to budgetary pressures resulting from the accelerated nationwide rollout of the programme.
Mang’eni said the National Treasury is working to address the fiscal constraints and facilitate the necessary budget adjustments to ensure smooth implementation of the project.
She confirmed that all eligible beneficiaries will receive the second tranche simultaneously by June 30, unlike the first disbursement, which was conducted in phases.
The government thanked beneficiaries for their patience and urged both participants and the public to remain vigilant against misinformation and rely only on official communication channels for updates regarding the programme.