The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) seeking to support youth entrepreneurship through enhanced access to affordable financing and business development services within Kericho County.
The Youth Fund which is domiciled under the State Department for Youth Affairs and creative economy is tasked with promoting enterprise development as a critical strategy for increasing economic opportunities and youth participation in nation-building.
The agreement, signed by the Fund’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Josiah Moriasi and Kericho County Governor Dr. Erick Mutai, aims to remove the financial and structural barriers that prevent young people from turning their business ideas into sustainable ventures.
Speaking during the signing of the MOU, Youth Fund CEO said that the partnership with the County Government underscores a shared commitment to addressing youth unemployment and supporting young entrepreneurs.
Mr. Moriasi said under the terms of the agreement, both YEDF and the Kericho County Government will work together to facilitate and promote youth-focused initiatives that align with both local and national economic priorities, including financial inclusion and labor export.
The Youth fund CEO further pointed out that the youth in the county will benefit from the Fund’s labor migration program, which provides loans to help cover pre-embarkation costs for young people securing employment abroad.
“This will open up pathways to international job markets for our youth by removing the financial barriers that previously limited these opportunities, therefore the areas of collaboration with the county including Trainings and Sensitizations as well as Tenders will greatly uplift the lives of the youth in Kericho” Moriasi said.
Mr. Moriasi was impressed that this financial year between July to October a total of 15 youth groups had benefitted from Youth Fund totaling to Ksh. 2.1 million saying a majority of the groups engaged in Table Banking, Poultry and Dairy farming.
Meanwhile Kericho county governor Dr. Eric Mutai expressed optimism about the impact of the partnership on Kericho’s youth and the county’s overall economic growth adding that the youth make up the largest percentage of the county’s population and have significant potential to drive economic growth.
“Unfortunately, limited access to capital and entrepreneurial skills have hindered their ability to start, grow, and sustain businesses. This partnership is a step toward addressing those gaps and empowering our young people to become successful entrepreneurs.” Said Dr. Mutai
The Governor assured the youth of linkages and support to access affordable credit, for innovative trade and labor export, to curb the soaring unemployment in the face of high credit interest rates.
Dr. Mutai further promised that the collaboration with Youth Fund will be transformative and will enable eligible Youth, access Local Purchase Order (LPO) financing, Asset Finance, MSME development, and labor export financing.
Also present at the ceremony were the ICT CECM Kipruto Malel, his Public Service Counterpart Beatrice Kaptich and Chaik Ward MCA Mathew Korir.
By Kibe Mburu
