Principal Secretary for the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Fikirini Jacobs, has announced that the government will closely monitor how beneficiaries of the NYOTA grant utilize the funds. Speaking during a TV interview on Tuesday, October 14, PS Fikirini revealed that consultants and youth officers have been deployed across all sub-counties to empower and track the progress of the youth benefiting from the initiative.
“On the government’s side, we are well-prepared. We’ve said we will do things differently from previous projects. Here, we have a strong system for audit, monitoring, and evaluation. We have consultants who will guide the beneficiaries on business matters,” said PS Fikirini.
He noted that youth officers will be stationed in every sub-county to ensure continuous engagement with beneficiaries. However, the PS emphasized that applicants must already have viable business ideas before applying for the funds.
“Even before the government gets involved, young people must ensure that this money is used properly. We are not forcing anyone into business — these are youth who willingly applied, took the Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test (EAT), attended business training, and learned how to save before receiving the grant,” he explained.
Fikirini also addressed the selection criteria, noting that the programme prioritizes youth whose education ended at high school. Applicants with college or higher education qualifications will not be prioritized, as the NYOTA programme primarily targets less-educated, unemployed youth.
To ensure fairness, the government will conduct a randomized selection process from eligible applicants, shortlisting 200,000 individuals to fill in for any dropouts.
The NYOTA programme, a five-year initiative funded by the World Bank, aims to empower young Kenyans by tackling unemployment, income insecurity, and low savings. Each of the 70 beneficiaries per ward across Kenya’s 1,450 wards will receive Ksh50,000 to kickstart their business ventures.
