Nairobi: The Government of Kenya and the World Bank Group have initiated a partnership to support Kenyan youth through the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (Nyota) Project. This collaborative effort aims to create employment opportunities, boost earnings, and foster a savings culture among young people.
According to Kenya News Agency, a meeting was held at State House Nairobi where President Dr. William Ruto, along with all principal secretaries, discussed the rollout of the Nyota Project. Principal Secretaries Susan Mang'eni and Fikirini Jacobs briefed their colleagues on the project's progress ahead of county-level consultative forums. The President has directed the principal secretaries to engage in leadership sensitizations and validation forums scheduled for October 6th and 17th, 2025. This initiative is aimed at ensuring public participation and maximizing the project's benefits for the youth.
The Principal Secretary for the State Department for Science Research and Innovation, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, praised President Ruto for providing a sustainable solution to the challenges faced by vulnerable youth. The Nyota Project is an extension of the Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project, designed to uplift vulnerable youth through a nationwide multi-agency implementation approach.
The project interventions focus on enhancing youth employability, expanding employment opportunities, promoting youth saving, and strengthening employment systems and project management. Additional support includes training youth entrepreneurs in digital procurement and e-commerce, aiming for sustainable and scalable business practices.
The project targets 820,000 vulnerable youth across Kenya, including refugees in Garissa and Turkana camps. The demographic focus is on unemployed youth aged 18-29 years, and up to 35 years for persons with disabilities, with a Form 4 level education or below, from all genders.
The Nyota Project components are designed to improve employability through socio-emotional skills development, skills transfer, and apprenticeship programs. It also aims to expand employment opportunities by supporting entrepreneurship with start-up capital and partnerships with social enterprises. Furthermore, the project supports youth saving through incentives and enhances national systems like the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The initiative aims to build capacity within national and county governments to invest in youth employment and improve digital skills among youth, ensuring efficient project management and coordination.