The ICT, innovation and youth ministry and the World Bank have unveiled a Sh120 million fund aimed at creating employment for vulnerable and under-served youth.
Dubbed the Future Bora, the initiative will assist orphans, persons with disability, youth and marginalised communities to boost their income and reduce unemployment.
The initiative aims to expand economic opportunities for the most vulnerable and under-served Kenyan youth by supporting interventions tailored to their local and specific needs.
“This is one of the products under the five-year KYEOP project which is funded with a credit of Sh15billion from the World Bank and targets to benefit over 280,000 youth,” said the ministry's Chief Administrative Secretary Nadia Ahmed Abdalla.
Youth unemployment rate in Kenya doubled this year to 10.4 percent as companies shut operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Global Disability Rights Now Kenya.
“Unemployment challenges adversely affect the vulnerable and under-served youth therefore our goal is to empower them through developing favourable policies, job creation and increasing expenditure in development projects” said Nadia
Three organisations with high potential interventions tailored to the specific needs of the most vulnerable youth and creating income generation opportunities will receive grant funding of up to Sh40 million each.
To ensure transparency, an independent managing firm, Intellecap Advisory Services, and an independent judging panel will manage the selection process.
Call for applications opened on Mashujaa Day and closes on December 15, 2020.
Shortlisted organisations will later get invited to present and pitch their proposed interventions to the jury panel.
“Youth are the backbone of the Kenyan economy yet they have outpaced by the country’s capacity to absorb them into the job market," said Abla Safir, Senior Economist, World Bank Group
He said it is for this reason that the Kenyan government and development partners have pooled their resources to initiate programs that create sufficient jobs.
