The NYOTA Project intensified its countrywide youth empowerment efforts during the just-concluded weekend, with major training activities unfolding in both Makadara Constituency in Nairobi and the remote villages of Lamu West.
On Saturday, 230 beneficiaries from Hamza, Viwandani, Harambee and Makongeni wards gathered at Rabai Road Primary School in Makadara for a four-day classroom-based business training.
The sessions are tailored to help young people identify and actualise business opportunities within their communities.
Upon completing the classroom phase, trainees will begin receiving phased NYOTA start-up grants to launch or expand their enterprises.
They will thereafter participate in a three-day experiential learning programme connecting them with Nairobi’s business ecosystem, experienced entrepreneurs and real market environments.
On Sunday, the programme shifted to Lamu West, where Principal Secretary (PS) for MSMEs Development Susan Mang’eni toured NYOTA training sites in Kiwayu, Ndau, Mkokoni and Kiangwe remote areas deep within the Boni Forest.
Her visit reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to enterprise development for youth regardless of their location.
“Our approach guarantees that youth in both remote and urban areas receive equal opportunities for enterprise development,” PS Mang’eni maintained.
“Whether in Lamu’s isolated villages or Nairobi’s urban wards, the NYOTA initiative provides pathways to value addition, start-up support and entry into priority value chains, including the blue economy,” she added.
Mang’eni was accompanied by Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion Abubakar Hassan, who emphasised that the government aims not only to support young people in starting businesses but also to help them build enterprises that can grow and create jobs.
As well, Basuba Ward MCA Deko Barisa Bwana commended the outreach, noting that structured empowerment programmes had rarely reached villages deep inside the Boni Forest.
Meanwhile, the NYOTA Project Business Support Component has so far mobilised 42,735 trainees across 510 wards in 17 counties, fulfilling the requirement to onboard at least 70 participants per ward.
The activities in Makadara and Lamu underscored the project’s broader goal to deliver equal, practical and impactful entrepreneurship support to youth in both metropolitan hubs and some of Kenya’s most remote communities.
By Naif Rashid
