Why NYOTA programme is a sure bet for the underprivileged youth

For many a youth in Kenya, the journey of employment does not begin in boardrooms, but in small rented stalls, crowded workshops and houses turned into offices.

It is a path marked by ambition and limited resources. With over 75 per cent of the country’s population being under the age of 35 years, the nation's economic strength remains with this young generation despite their weak bargaining power.

This population’s demography needs to be supported to tap into their energy and unleash their entrepreneurial potential, a virtue that the government has realised and ambitiously tapped into by rolling out an empowerment program dubbed National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA).

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The programme gives the youth an opportunity to grow, lead and be a generation that is well-oriented.

Tailored along four pillars, the program seeks to intervene into improving youth employment, expanding employment opportunities, supporting youth savings and building their capacity building them to transact with the government.

The pillar for improving youth employability focuses on the provision of apprenticeship and employment opportunities for youth across various trades. It works with master craftsmen and employers to ensure that participants gain the technical skills they need to secure sustainable employment.

NYOTA focuses on the youth aged between 18 and 29 years with those with disabilities enjoying a leeway of 35 years.

The beneficiaries must be form four leavers or below from across counties, including refugees in Garissa and Turkana Counties.

In addition, this component offers opportunities for the young people to become certified in skills achieved through a range of experiences in the informal and non-formal settings, such as employer-provided training or experience, under a process known as Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL).

The RPL is an assessment process that evaluates skills, knowledge and competencies gained through work experience, informal training or life experience and translates non-formal learning into formal qualifications, allowing an individual to gain credits, exemptions or full certification without repeating training.

This takes into account, identification of potential candidates and their competencies involving awareness creation, counselling and facilitation, documentation of the candidates’ key competencies, guidance on how to prepare a portfolio of evidence and assessment as well as certification reviewing the counsellor's report.

The intervention on the expansion of employment opportunities aims to strengthen the young people’s employability by enhancing their entrepreneurial capacity and supporting the growth of sustainable youth-led enterprises.

This is achieved through business development training, provision of business capital, mentorship and market linkages to help the youth transform their ideas into successful businesses.

Towards this end, NYOTA has so far, successfully implemented Business Development Services (BDS) training across 46 counties, equipping thousands of young people with foundational business skills, financial literacy and enterprise management knowledge.

The Western Kenya cluster exemplifies this success being the first region to benefit as the project reached a major milestone with the first disbursement of business start-up capital totaling KShs.267 million having been disbursed to 12,155 youth from Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia and Vihiga counties.

The beneficiaries had successfully completed the BDS training and qualified for financial provision under the support entrepreneurship intervention.

They represented the first cohort of young entrepreneurs to access business capital under the Project’s national rollout which has since covered almost all the counties.

As a follow up on the disbursements, beneficiaries are receiving business mentorship from qualified business development experts to help them establish, strengthen and grow their enterprises.

This support helps them refine business models, strengthen operations and navigate early-stage challenges.

The Project provides financial support to help youth launch viable business ventures, including grants and other forms of seed capital tailored to the enterprise’s nature and growth potential.

It has in extension, teamed up with NSSF to enable building a secure financial future by way of promoting a culture of saving under the Fund’s Haba Haba Savings Scheme, a simple, flexible and youth-friendly way to start savings for the future.

NYOTA has so far distributed Sh2.856 billion to 44 counties, reaching 114,240 young people with business start-up capital support of Sh50, 000 with the remaining three counties of Garissa, Mandera and Wajir slated to benefit between Wednesay February 11, and Thursday, February 12, 2026.

After the successful roll-out and disbursement of business start-up capital support the Government is soon onboarding 90,000 young people to the second pillar of the NYOTA programme, the On-the-Job Experience (OJE) initiative.

Youths benefiting under the OJE pillar will be attached to master craftsmen for six months to acquire and sharpen practical skills in various sectors. Their training, assessment and certification costs and a monthly stipend of Kshs.6, 000 will be covered by the Government.

This goes beyond just being a chance for the young Kenyans to make a living, but they also give back by making the economy better.

The future of the nation will also be more inclusive with the youth carrying out their ideal businesses, as President William Ruto makes youth empowerment his main focus in alignment with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

The president aims to reach 820,000 youths from the port hubs of the coast to the agricultural heartlands of the Rift valley all being about reaching the last mile youth in marginalised communities who have historically been left out of the National economic conversations in terms of economic inclusion.

The NYOTA program will lead to a new generation of entrepreneurs and artisans, proving that when opportunity meets ambition the entire nation shines.

OGS: Hilda Mariam Ngetich works at the Office of Government Spokesperson.