President William Ruto has announced that the government will on Friday launch the second disbursement of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (Nyota) business support programme, releasing Sh3 billion to 122,000 young entrepreneurs across the country.
In a statement shared on his X account on Monday, the President said each beneficiary will receive Sh25,000 under the second tranche of the programme, bringing the total amount received by every beneficiary to Sh50,000 after an earlier disbursement made this year.
Ruto said the beneficiaries had already completed a business development skills programme ahead of receiving the second round of funding.
"With the launch of the Sh3 billion second tranche of the business support component for the 122,000 beneficiaries, each beneficiary will receive Sh25,000. In addition to a similar amount they had received earlier in the year, each beneficiary will have received a total of Sh50,000," the President said.
He said the nationwide launch would take place simultaneously at 18 venues across the country, bringing together beneficiaries drawn from all the 47 counties.
The President disclosed the plans after receiving a briefing at State House, Nairobi, on the progress of the government's Nyota business support component ahead of Friday's launch.
The Nyota programme is one of the government's flagship youth empowerment initiatives aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs with start-up capital, business training and employment opportunities.
The latest disbursement follows the rollout of the programme earlier this year whenSh250 million was released to 9,500 young entrepreneurs from six North Rift counties.
During that launch, beneficiaries from Turkana, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties received funds directly through their mobile phones under the Nyota Business Start-Up Capital component.
The programme provides each beneficiary with Sh50,000 in business support, with the funds released in phases. Beneficiaries are also required to undergo business development training before accessing the full amount.
The NYOTA initiative is jointly funded by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank and is designed to expand economic opportunities for young people through enterprise development, skills training and employment.
When unveiling the programme in January, President Ruto said it had an overall budget of Sh5 billion and targets 100,000 young people across the country, with at least 70 beneficiaries selected from each of Kenya's 1,450 wards.
"This programme involves a high level of accountability and transparency because it is about an individual's effort to initiate a project that can transform their life," Ruto said during the launch.
Besides providing start-up capital, the programme also includes on-the-job training for 90,000 young people, recognition of prior learning to certify 20,000 youths, and business training to enable 600,000 young people to access government procurement opportunities.
Under the on-the-job training component, beneficiaries are attached to master craftsmen and women for six months, receive a monthly stipend of Sh6,000 and undergo skills certification, with the government meeting the training costs.
The President has previously urged beneficiaries to invest the funds in viable businesses, saying prudent use of the money would determine eligibility for future support under the programme.
