Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has underscored the role of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme in equipping vulnerable youth with capital and skills to create employment opportunities.
Speaking during the second disbursement exercise of the NYOTA Start-Up Capital Programme at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kakamega County, Mudavadi said the initiative will support 820,000 youth aged between 18 and 29 years, as well as persons with disabilities aged up to 35 years.
The Prime CS, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, interacted with beneficiaries from Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia and Vihiga counties, who shared how the first tranche of the Sh22,000 payment had transformed their businesses and livelihoods.
The programme targets vulnerable and marginalised youth who have not advanced beyond secondary school, providing them with seed capital to invest in income-generating activities across all 1,450 wards in the country.
Mudavadi noted that the global labour market is expected to face a growing employment gap, with more than 1.6 billion youth in developing countries, including Kenya, projected to seek jobs in the next 10 to 15 years, compared to about 400 million jobs expected to be created.
He described the challenge as a development, economic and security concern, noting that the government has placed youth empowerment at the centre of its Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
The Prime CS outlined that NYOTA delivers support through two pathways — enhancing youth employability through skills development, recognition of prior learning, on-the-job experience and stronger employment systems, while encouraging a savings culture.
The programme also expands youth entrepreneurship opportunities through business training, start-up capital, mentorship and market access initiatives, including training under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme.
