Review of Government-Sponsored Youth Empowerment Programmes in Kenya Bosire Eric Mokwaro Nduvi Stephen Nyamu Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis KIPPRA Discussion Paper No. 211 2018 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya KIPPRA in Brief The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) is an autonomous institute whose primary mission is to conduct public policy research leading to policy advice. KIPPRA’s mission is to produce consistently high-quality analysis of key issues of public policy and to contribute to the achievement of national long-term development objectives by positively influencing the decision-making process. These goals are met through effective dissemination of recommendations resulting from analysis and by training policy analysts in the public sector. KIPPRA therefore produces a body of well-researched and documented information on public policy, and in the process assists in formulating long-term strategic perspectives. KIPPRA serves as a centralized source from which the Government and the private sector may obtain information and advice on public policy issues. Published 2018 © Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis Bishops Garden Towers, Bishops Road PO Box 56445-00200 Nairobi, Kenya tel: +254 20 2719933/4; fax: +254 20 2719951 email: admin@kippra.or.ke website: http://www.kippra.org ISBN 9966 058 98 0 The Discussion Paper Series disseminates results and reflections from ongoing research activities of the Institute’s programmes. The papers are internally refereed and are disseminated to inform and invoke debate on policy issues. Opinions expressed in the papers are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute. This paper is produced under the KIPPRA Young Professionals (YPs) programme. The programme targets young scholars from the public and private sector, who undertake an intensive one-year course on public policy research and analysis, and during which they write a research paper on a selected public policy issue, with supervision from senior researchers at the Institute. KIPPRA acknowledges generous support from the Government of Kenya and the Think Tank Initiative of IDRC. ii Abstract As the world embraces inclusive growth agenda where everyone’s contribution to economic growth and development is emphasized, the contribution of the youth cannot be ignored. However, over the years, the Kenyan youth has been disadvantaged due to low demand for labour amidst a bulging supply of labour. This necessitated the government to shift its focus on youth by tailoring programmes that support the youth in enhancing entrepreneurship, improving employability and moulding their life skills. The entrepreneurship programmes, including the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund, disbursed a total of about Ksh 28.9 billion to almost 3 million beneficiaries by end of December 2017. While the agencies have well established outreach at county level, there is disparity on the amounts disbursed across the counties which generally reflects the type and levels of economic activity and the population size. Youth employability programmes managed to get 1,439 youth into public service internships and a further 13,305 through the Kenya Youth Empowerment programme (KYEP). KYEP has now mutated into the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Programme which is in its first cycle of implementation. In supporting the programmes to continue delivering on their mandate, there is need to formulate a national youth entrepreneurship strategy and expedite the implementation of the Kenya Youth Agribusiness Strategy. Enhanced collaboration with the private sector and development partners is important as the government cannot address youth unemployment alone. Furthermore, additional budgetary allocation to support the internship programme is important. Also, the agencies need to have in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework to enhance their performance. iii Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Abbreviations and Acronyms ERSW Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross Domestic Product ICT I nformation Communication Technology ILO International Labour Organization KEPSA Kenya Private Sector Alliance KIHBS K enya Integrated Household Budget Survey KIPPRA K enya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis KNBS K enya National Bureau of Statistics KYEOP Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project KYEP Kenya Youth Employment Project LPO Local Purchasing Order MSMEs Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises NYS N ational Youth Service SME Small and Micro Enterprises TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNDP United Nations Development Programme UN United Nations USAID United States Agency for International Development WB W orld Bank WEF Women Enterprise Fund YEDF Youth Enterprise and Development Fund iv Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................................iv 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 2. Policy Framework for Youth Employment in Kenya .....................................................4 3. Government-Sponsored Youth Entrepreneurship Programmes.................................. 8 3.1 Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) ........................................................................... 8 3.2 Youth Enterprise Development Fund ...................................................................11 3.3 Uwezo Fund ..........................................................................................................14 4. Government Sponsored Youth Employability Programmes ...................................... 20 4.1 Government Internship Programme ................................................................... 20 4.2 Kenya Youth Empowerment Program (KYEP) ....................................................22 5. Government Sponsored Youth Life Skills and Employment Programmes .................24 5.1 National Youth Service (NYS) ..............................................................................24 5.2 Kazi kwa Vijana .....................................................................................................25 6. Beneficiaries of the Various Initiatives ........................................................................26 6.1 Characteristics of the Beneficiaries ......................................................................26 6.2 Training Received by Beneficiaries ..................................................................... 28 6.3 Financing ..............................................................................................................32 6.4 Creating Jobs ........................................................................................................32 6.5 Challenges to Youth Empowerment Programmes in Kenya ...............................34 7. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations ................................................................ 38 7.1 Conclusion............................................................................................................ 38 7.2 Policy Recommendations .................................................................................... 38 References .............................................................................................................................41 Appendices............................................................................................................................44 Appendix 1: Women Enterprise Development Fund Disbursement by County .........42 Appendix 2: Youth Development Fund Disbursements by County ............................42 Appendix 3: Uwezo Fund Disbursements by County ..................................................44 v Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya List of Tables Table 3.1: Top 10 and bottom 10 counties in disbursements (WEF) ...................................11 Table 3.2: Top 10 and bottom 10 counties in disbursements (YEDF) ................................ 13 Table 3.3: Top 10 and bottom 10 counties in disbursements (Uwezo) ............................... 16 Table 3.4: Summary of funds disbursements ..................................................................... 17 Table 4.1: Number of interns in the public service ..............................................................21 Table 4.2: KYEP target verses achievements .......................................................................22 Table 5.1: NYS targets verses achievements ........................................................................24 Table 6.1: Basic information on youth-owned businesses...................................................27 Table 6.2: Entrepreneurship trainings ............................................................................... 28 vi List of Figures Figure 1.1: Distribution of population by cohorts (millions) ................................................. 1 Figure 1. 2: Distribution of working age population by employment, 2016 (000) ...............2 Figure 1.3: Unemployment rates over age cohorts ................................................................2 Figure 3.1: Loan disbursements and number of beneficiaries ..............................................9 Figure 3.2: Number of trainees and incubation sensitization .............................................10 Figure 3.3: Loan products ....................................................................................................12 Figure 3.4: Beneficiaries and groups .................................................................................... 15 Figure 3.5: Total disbursements per county ........................................................................18 Figure 3.6: Total population and number of MSMEs in counties ....................................... 19 Figure 6.1: Effectiveness of trainings ...................................................................................29 Figure 6.2: Market for youth-owned businesses .................................................................29 Figure 6.3: Business incubation .......................................................................................... 30 Figure 6.4: Monitoring and evaluation framework .............................................................31 Figure 6.5: Frequency of monitoring ...................................................................................31 Figure 6.6: Fairness and equity of funds, ease of access of funds .......................................32 Figure 6.7: Helpfulness in enhancing entrepreneurship and reducing unemployment.....33 Figure 6.8: Number of self employment and informal sector employment .......................33 Figure 6.9: Unemployment and underemployment rates ...................................................34 Figure 6.10: Factors hindering youth from entrepreneurship. ...........................................35 Figure 6.11: Factors hindering implementing institutions ..................................................36 vii 1. Introduction Kenya has a youthful population with persons aged 15-35 years (Figure 1.1) accounting for more than 76 per cent of the total population (KNBS, 2018). Of this, the male gender constitutes 7.7 million and the female gender 8.1 million. Given that the youth are at their prime age of productivity, their engagement in economic activities is critical in achievement of the national development agenda. In this regard, deliberate efforts are required to investment on the youth to tap into their potential. Figure 1.1: Distribution of population by cohorts (millions) Male = 7,747.0 Female = 8,067.7 15,814.7 Source: KNBS (2018) Over 50 per cent of the youth were employed as at 2016 (Figure 1.2). Of the 9.4 million employed youth, 4.9 million were males and 4.5 million females. As such, the males dominated in youth participating labour force, despite the female dominating the youth population. There were differences in level of employment across the various cohorts with only 27.6 per cent and 57.1 per cent of the youth between 15 and 19 years and 20 and 24 years, respectively. In addition, majority of the employed youth were in the informal sector. Furthermore, 55 per cent of the employed youth between the ages of 15 and 19 are under-employed while 24 per cent of those between 20 and 24 years are employed in unproductive jobs. In total, 47.7 per cent of the youth between 15 and 35 years are experiencing unemployment as indicated in Figure 1.3. 1 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Figure 1. 2: Distribution of working age population by employment, 2016 (000) Male = 4,900.6 Female = 4,544.1 9,444.7 Employed Source: KNBS (2018) Figure 1.3: Unemployment rates over age cohorts 47.7% Source: KIHBS (2018) With high population growth rate (estimated at 2.6% by the World Bank, 2012) compounded with low rates of job creation, the total dependency rate was estimated at 81.6 per cent in 2016. The dependency ratio is higher in rural areas at 97 per cent compared to urban areas at 60 per cent (KNBS, 2018). High dependency adversely affects the rate of household savings as income from the few in employment ends up in consumption while supporting the majority who are dependents. Consequently, a low savings culture undermines domestic investments which is the bedrock for job creation, and therefore poverty levels continue to be unfavourable. 2 Introduction Over time, the government has put in place initiatives to promote youth employment. For example, in the context of the Kenya Vision 2030 which acknowledges the place of youth in the society and promises them programmes and interventions, the government has come up with various initiatives to assist in tapping on the youth potential. Among them are programmes that seek to foster the entrepreneurial culture not only among the youth in Kenya but also women and people with disabilities who are largely marginalized groups. These programmes include; Uwezo Fund, Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Enterprise Development Fund, and Access to 30 per cent Government Procurement Opportunities. There are also those who seek to improve youth employability by providing them with a link between training and institutions of higher learning and work environment. This is mainly by providing internship opportunities, work experience and mentorship to youth who are fresh from colleges and universities. Such programmes include the Government Internship Programme run by the Public Service Commission of Kenya, Kenya Youth Empowerment Project run by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, the Presidential Digital Talent Programme by the ICT Authority, and the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Project by the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs. Further, there are programmes that seek to provide youth with life skills and engage them in direct employment through community projects, thus enabling them to sustain themselves and reduce dependency levels. This notwithstanding, the targets set for employment creation in implementing the Kenya Vision 2030, through the Medium-Term Plan I and II were not achieved. For example, MTP I projected a 6 per cent annual growth rate in employment translating to about 740,000 new jobs annually but managed about 511,000 jobs. The Medium-Term Plan II, promised 1 million new jobs annually with a key focus on youth training and skills development, but the target that was not achieved. It is against this background that this paper reviews the status of youth empowerment programmes in Kenya to provide policy guidelines in promoting youth employment. To achieve this, the study looks at performance of these programmes, using secondary data derived from specific institutions charged with responsibilities of implementing youth empowerment programmes in Kenya. In addition, a survey was conducted with beneficiaries in selected counties to capture their experiences with the programmes. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 investigates the existing policy framework supporting youth employment in Kenya. Sections 3 through 6 present the findings of the study and section 7 brings out the conclusion and policy recommendations. 3 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 2. Policy Framework for Youth Employment in Kenya The Kenya Vision 2030 acknowledges the role of youth in the development agenda and puts in place a number of strategies to address challenges facing them, including trainings on vocational, technical, technological, entrepreneurial and life skills; revising education and training curriculums and refocusing them towards industrial and demand-driven skills; supporting the development of creative sectors of the economy; and tailor-making programmes to enhance employment opportunities and enable the youth to fully participate in leadership. The Kenya Vision 2030 was enacted in 2007 and is being implemented through five-year medium-term plans. The first Medium-Term Plan 2008-2012 had projected a 6 per cent annual growth rate in employment with a total of 3.7 million new jobs, equivalent to about 740,000 new jobs annually but only an average of 511,000 jobs were achieved, 80 per cent of which came from the informal sector which is characterized by low productivity and under-employment. The second Medium Term Plan 2013-2017 came with a commitment from government to create 1 million new jobs annually and address challenges with youth training and skill improvement. Formal employment was to be given priority with an aim of improving the country’s share of modern sector employment from 12 per cent in 2012 to 40 per cent in 2017. Some of the strategies identified by the plan include; initiation of labour-intensive public works, supporting SMEs to expand and create more jobs, facilitating the establishment of industrial parks and special economic zones, and exploitation of green employment opportunities. Article 41 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 appreciates the significance of employment and stresses on the right to fair labour practices which includes; fair pay for work done, conducive working environment, joining and participating in trade union activities, and the right to go on strike. Article 43 further explains on economic and social fundamentals which give Kenyans the right to social security. Article 55 gives the state a duty of ensuring the youth have adequate access to employment and Article 56 also gives the state a responsibility of ensuring marginalized groups have access to special opportunities and employment. Youth are classified as a marginalized group. The National Youth Policy was enacted in 2002 and later revised in 2006 to promote youth involvement in governance and economic growth. The policy was to identify the challenges hindering the youth from achieving their potential, promote principles of hard work and productivity and propose ways that willing youth can use to access employment. The policy was also to put in place strategies aimed at enhancing education and training that fosters entrepreneurship and job 4 Policy framework for youth employment in Kenya creation among the youth. The National Youth Council was created by the policy to coordinate youth organizations and come up with a well thought out national youth development plan. The East African Community Youth Policy 2013 was enacted with a view to mainstreaming youth issues at a community level, sensitizing both the regional and States on the identification and mainstreaming of youth issues and empowering the youth to develop their potential. The policy envisages a situation where the youth are involved in both the democratic and decision-making processes within the community. One of the key rights appreciated by the policy is the right to freely choose a lawful employment, receive equal pay for equal work and work under equitable and satisfactory environment. The youth shall not be exploited and shall not be prevented from gaining education. The core strategies to facilitating youth engagement in nation building include sustainable livelihood and youth empowerment, education and skills development. The policy also created the East Africa Youth Council with a mandate to provide a platform for youth to engage and make contributions towards integration process. Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2013 on employment policy and strategy for Kenya is anchored on the Kenya Vision 2030 with a goal of ensuring full employment and enabling economically able population access to sustainable sources of income through productive employment. The strategy aims at stimulating employment creation, facilitating skilled labour and entrenching entrepreneurial culture among the Kenyan population, improving the efficiency of the labour market and strengthening labour administration and social dialogue. The employment policy proposed measures to help reduce unemployment in Kenya, such as: establishment of special economic zones, supporting the development of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises, embracing technology and promoting its adoption, enhancing linkages between industry and training institutions, and implementation of integrated industrial training and attachment. Kenya as a member of International Labour Organization (ILO) is further bound by deliberations from the Employment Policy Convention (No. 122 of 1964) which tasks nations to prioritize the enactment of policies promoting full, productive and freely selected employment. Anchored on a decent work agenda, in 1999, the ILO founded employment opportunities, workers’ rights and social protection as key in creating employment. In 2000, member countries committed to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals which, among other things aimed at eradicating poverty through productive employment for all. Then the global jobs pact in the year 2009 was adopted to help curb global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequalities. In 2015, member countries adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which, among other things, stresses on 5 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya the need for employment and decent work for all, reduction of inequalities and putting poverty in all its forms to an end. In 2013, His Excellency the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, directed that procurement rules be amended to allow 30 per cent of contracts to be given to youth, women and persons with disability without competition from established firms (Treasury Circular No. 14/2013). The aim of the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities programme is to enable enterprises owned by the youth, women and persons with disability be able to participate in government procurement. The directive by the President was further strengthened by the Procurement Law that aims to reserve 30 per cent of government tenders for women, youth and persons with disability. However, the uptake has been lower than expected due to various challenges such as information asymmetry, bureaucracy in tendering, lack of adequate training of the youth on the criteria followed, and lack of easy access to funds. Due to challenges of high rates of youth unemployment in Kenya, attributed to lack of adequate practical work experience, the Government of Kenya through the Public Service Commission came up with an internship policy and guidelines for the public service in 2016. The main objective of the policy was to provide opportunities in the public service for the youth to get practical work place experience to enhance their employability. Other objectives include ensuring there exists a well-structured and coordinated internship programme within the public service and incentivizing the private sector to take up interns. The policy also intended to provide a good framework and standards upon which internship programmes were to be based, bring efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation process of internship programme, and then provide a well thought out monitoring and evaluation framework. The policy also set out principles of internship within the country. During the period of internship, interns are entitled to stipend but there is no obligation upon the public service to employ them upon successful completion of the programme. However, the policy is facing implementation challenges which include inadequate budget in government ministries, departments and agencies, low number of vacancies for internships and inadequate awareness among the youth. The Kenya Youth Agribusiness Strategy of 2017 seeks to position the youth at the forefront of agricultural growth and transformation. This is with the aim of boosting youth employment through agriculture, which is the number one contributor to GDP. The strategy identifies opportunities that can promote youth participation in agriculture and brings out strategic issues to be addressed by the government in the process of motivating the youth into agri-business. Some of the strategic issues include dealing with negative perception to agriculture by the youth, 6 Policy framework for youth employment in Kenya inadequate skills and information about agri-business, and access to finance. Others are access to land for agri-business, agricultural innovations, research and technology adoption, value addition and climate change. The strategy targets to reach 30 per cent of unemployed youth, translating to about 384,450 youth who are out of school, still in school and special groups and another 1,153,350 indirect beneficiaries out of the programme. The strategy sets out a national strategy implementation unit to spearhead the implementation process and the county agri-business youth strategy coordination committee which will be responsible for reviewing and approving county budget, coordination and monitoring and evaluation. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a crucial role in job and wealth creation in Kenya. Nevertheless, MSMEs face several challenges that constrain their growth and survival, including: access to information, financial services, land and infrastructure, skills and technology, licensing and other trade, labour laws, forward and backward linkages. To address these challenges, the Micro and Small Enterprise Act 2012 sets up new rules and institutions to support micro and small enterprise development in Kenya. Further, the Vision 2030 outlines the crucial role of MSMEs in transforming the quality of life to all its citizens by 2030. Accordingly, the Vision 2030 underscores the need to deal with the informal economy through measures aimed at raising productivity, generation of jobs, owner’s incomes and public revenues. It also recognizes the need for capacity buildings and appropriate financial services for MSEs and proposes the establishment of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) industrial parks. A number of institutions have been established to assist the youth in either getting employment or getting into self-reliance programmes. For example, the National Employment Bureau was established in 1988 following a presidential directive and charged with responsibilities of collaborating with both the private sector and the public sector to create employment opportunities for the youth. The National Employment Authority was created by an Act of Parliament in 2016 to succeed the National Employment Bureau. The National Youth Council was established in 2009 to champion youth affairs in the country. Finally, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund was established in 2007 to assist the youth get into entrepreneurship by providing them with affordable capital and training. 7 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 3. Government-Sponsored Youth Entrepreneurship Programmes Different institutions were set up to spearhead youth entrepreneurship in Kenya including: the Youth Enterprise Fund, Women Enterprise Fund, Uwezo Fund and Access to Government Procurement Opportunities. These programmes provide business start-up and subsequent expansion capital at lower cost as compared to commercial banks. They also provide other business support services such as training on business management, financial literacy, business incubation services and mentorship. Further, they provide business infrastructure and assist the youth in accessing the market through exhibitions. Access to Government Procurement Opportunities ensures that 30 per cent of all government procurement is reserved for the youth and other marginalized groups within the society such as women and people with disabilities. 3.1 Women Enterprise Fund The Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) was started through Legal Notice No. 147 of 2007 as a semi-autonomous agency under the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs. The Fund is mandated to support women-owned enterprises by providing them with ease of access to low cost credit, trainings and marketing of their produce with a view to enhancing their entrepreneurial culture. In achieving this objective, the Fund builds capacity for women entrepreneurs, helps women in business to develop links with other large enterprises, facilitates women in marketing their produce and attracts investments in SMEs which will help women to grow economically. The status of the Fund was enhanced by amendments to the Public Finance Management Act of 2012 which categorized it as a national fund. The Fund has now grown to command presence in all counties and constituencies in Kenya in fostering service delivery to its clients throughout the country. However, the Fund needs to be anchored by an Act of Parliament to give it more powers in pursuing loan defaulters. As at December 2017, more than Ksh 11.6 billion had been disbursed to various women groups and individuals who were youth and those over 35 years of age. Most of the funds (84% or Ksh 9.8 billion) were channelled through the Constituency Women Enterprise Schemes (CWES). Another 16 per cent, amounting to Ksh 1.8 billion, was channelled through financial intermediaries and about Ksh 43 million through LPO financing. Despite the red tape with government financing, potential beneficiaries tend to prefer direct engagements with specific institutions than going through financial intermediaries. This may be because of leaner collateral requirements as compared to commercial banks. Local purchase order financing 8 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes is not performing well despite the introduction of the 30 per cent Access to Government Procurement Opportunities by the youth, which could be explained by the long procedures associated with government tendering and business registration which demotivates most youth and women. A total of 80,954 groups had benefited from the Fund as at December 2017. These groups comprised of both women over 35 and those under 35 years of age. A total of 1,275,394 women benefited directly through the Constituency Women Enterprise Scheme (CWES) and another 163,380 women benefited through financial intermediaries (Figure 3.1). Due to the slow pick up in local purchase order financing, only 81 individuals had benefited. Although the Fund commands presence at the constituency level with various regional administrative units, loan applications are made at the constituency level with the help of constituency officers and then forwarded to the headquarters based in Nairobi for determination. Constituency officers oversee administrative functions at the constituency level. They help in appraisal of applicants, monitoring and evaluation of applicants and their businesses and in trainings. Figure 3.1: Loan disbursements and number of beneficiaries Source: WEF (2018) Regarding trainings, the Fund targeted to reach a total of 1 million women by the end of 2017 as per the 2012-2017 strategic plan. By December 2017, the Fund had managed to train a total of 969,376 women spread across the different financial years (Figure 3.2), falling short by just about 30,000 to reach the target. The number of those trained fluctuated over time from 142,512 women in 2013/14 to 126,819 in 2014/15 before increasing to 135,334 women in 2016/17 financial year. In the 2017/18 financial year, a total of 36,794 women were trained as at December 2017 with more expected in the remaining period. This is an indication that the Fund has established good structures to assist in the implementation of its mandate. The Fund also managed to link 27 women-owned businesses to large enterprises against an initial plan to link 500 enterprises. Out of these, 18 enterprises received 9 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya certifications from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Further, 1,102 women were enabled to get their products to the market and an additional 3,792 sensitized on businesses incubation. The number of women sensitized on business incubation is also spread across different years as shown in Figure 3.2. Financial year 2014/15 recorded a total of 178 women, 1,321 in the financial year 2015/16 and 1,298 in the financial year 2016/17. The financial year 2017/2018 has benefited 995 women as at December 2017 with more expected during the remaining months. Figure 3.2: Number of trainees and Incubation Sensitization Source: WEF (2018) At county level, Table 3.1 and Appendix 1 show that Kiambu County received the highest amount at Ksh 644.8 million with a total of 5,149 groups which were composed of 78,046 individual members. Nyeri County came second with Ksh 638.1 million and 63,599 members organized into 4,139 groups. Nakuru was third with Ksh 547.1 million to 61,599 members organized into 4,034 groups. Nairobi county came in at position four with Ksh 537.2 million, Kakamega at position five with Ksh 411.8 million, and Muranga sixth with Ksh 377.06 million. Meru, Mombasa, Homa Bay and Bungoma counties came at positions 7, 8, 9 and 10, respectively. Most of the top 10 counties are well known for their entrepreneurship aggressiveness hence the ability to attract that magnitude of funding. West Pokot County received the lowest amount of money, managing Ksh 19.2 million to 2,985 members organized into 202 groups. Mandera county followed with Ksh 33.8 million to 5,412 members organized into 332 groups. Marsabit county was the third lowest recipient of women enterprise funds with Ksh 41.9 million to 6,782 members organized into 438 groups. Tana River, Isiolo, Samburu, Garissa, Turkana, Lamu and Nyamira counties closed the bottom 10 list. Most of the bottom 10 counties are in North eastern and Coast regions which are characterized by nomadic pastoralism. Depending on climatic conditions, the pastoralists often move from one place to another, making it difficult to engage in other entrepreneurship activities. 10 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes Table 3.1: Top 10 and bottom 10 counties in disbursements (WEF) Top 10 Counties Bottom 10 Counties County No of No. of Amount County No of No. of Amount Groups Benefi- Received Groups Benefi- Received ciaries ciaries Kiambu 5,149 78,046 644,800,000 West Pokot 202 2,985 19,200,000 Nyeri 4,139 63,723 638,100,000 Mandera 332 5,412 33,800,000 Nakuru 4,034 61,599 537,100,000 Marsabit 438 6,782 41,938,000 Nairobi 4,008 59,049 537,198,000 Tana River 472 6,562 45,850,000 Kakamega 3,447 55,566 411,803,000 Isiolo 517 8,137 51,700,000 Murang’a 3,099 50,846 377,058,000 Samburu 401 6,150 52,207,000 Meru 2,711 44,726 339,402,000 Garissa 544 8,573 55,350,000 Mombasa 2,224 33,435 334,620,450 Turkana 531 8,524 56,000,000 Homabay 2,589 42,741 317,433,200 Lamu 498 7,322 57,600,000 Bungoma 2,396 37,767 287,863,000 Nyamira 639 10,459 60,247,300 Source: WEF (2018) 3.2 Youth Enterprise Development Fund The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) seeks to create employment opportunities for young people through entrepreneurship and encouraging the youth to be job creators rather than job seekers. The fund does this by providing easy and affordable financial and business development support services to youths who are planning to start or expand their businesses. The Fund was established through Legal Notice No. 167 of 2006. It was later transformed into a State Corporation under the Ministry of Public Service, Gender and Youth Affairs through Legal Notice No. 63 of 2007. The Fund is one of the flagship projects of the Vision 2030, under the social pillar. The mandate of YEDF includes providing loans to youth owned enterprises, providing market support to youth enterprises, facilitating youth enterprises to develop linkages with large enterprises, providing trading premises and worksites, providing business development services to youth-owned enterprises and facilitating youth to obtain jobs abroad. The Fund sought to be established in an Act Parliament to get more powers in pursuing loan defaulters which currently is a big challenge. Over the years, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund has established structures down to the constituency level with qualified officers. For administrative purposes the Fund has established 12 regions as a strategy to ease coordination of activities. On loan application and processing, officers at the constituency office receive applications from borrowers, vet them and then forward the applications to the head office for determination and consequent disbursement. Officers at the 11 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya constituency office also help in training, monitoring and evaluation youth owned businesses that has received funding from the fund. As indicated in Figure 3.3 and Appendix 2, as at June 2016, the Youth Enterprise Fund had disbursed a total of Ksh 11.9 billion to various youth groups and individual youths. The Fund has established different types of loan products to fit the needs of the youth who are in business. Through these loan products, the Fund disbursed funding as follows: the Agri-business loans advanced 238 loans making a total of about Ksh 88 million. The Constituency Youth Enterprise Scheme (CYES) disbursed 20,099 loans amounting to Ksh 1.8 billion and the Easy Youth Enterprise Scheme (EYES) disbursed 8,283 loans amounting to Ksh 324.7 million. Through funding of hatcheries, the fund disbursed 134 loans amounting to Ksh 28.6 million and LPO financing 378 loans making up to Ksh 235.4 million. Further, the youth with BID Bonds were supported with 144 loans amounting to Ksh 77.7 million and Vuka Loan 561 loans amounting to Ksh 274.19 million. Further, the Fund partnered with various financial intermediaries such as commercial banks to support in disbursing funds to the youth in a more efficient way. From the data available, the Fund prefers to disburse most of its funds through financial intermediaries as it channelled 76 per cent of funds disbursed and processes 89 per cent of the loans recorded. This is explained by due diligence procedures undertaken by commercials banks in terms of loan appraisal and follows ups aimed at minimizing default rates. Through this channel, the Fund advanced a total of 231,109 loans (beneficiaries in form of groups and individuals) amounting to Ksh 9.06 billion. Figure 3.3: Loan products Source: YEDF (2018) At the county level, Nairobi County was the most aggressive, receiving a total of Ksh 2.3 billion with 36,318 loans (Table 3.2). Kiambu County come in second with Ksh 894 million from 14,370 loans and Nakuru County follows in at third place with Ksh 746.58 million from 16,673 loans. Meru County is fourth, managing to receive Ksh 690.6 million and Ksh 690 million with 19,230 loans. Nyandarua 12 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes county follows with Ksh 491.6 million, Uasin Gishu with Ksh 452 million and Murang’a with Ksh 427.6 million. Others are Mombasa, Kisii and Kericho at position 8, 9 and 10, respectively. Most of the top 10 counties are in regions well versed with entrepreneurship as their common economic activity, and therefore tend to be more ggressive in seeking for funding. On the other extreme, Samburu County received the least amount of money disbursed through the Youth Fund, attracting only Ksh 11.5 million with about 275 loans. It was followed by Mandera with Ksh 17.98 million, Tana River with Ksh 22.56 million and Marsabit with Ksh 23.6 million. Others include Lamu with Ksh 24.17 million, Wajir with Ksh 27.55 million, West Pokot with Ksh 40.94 million and Isiolo with Ksh 46.57 million. Closing the list are Turkana county with Ksh 53.27 million and Elgeyo Marakwet with Ksh 54.34 million. These counties are from North Eastern and Coast regions which are characterized with nomadic pastoralism. Table 3.2: Top 10 and Bottom 10 counties in disbursements (YEDF) Top 10 Counties Bottom 10 Counties County No of Amount Received County No. of Amount Received Loans (Ksh) Loans (Ksh) Nairobi 36,318 2,322,066,730.51 Samburu 275 11,459,230.00 Kiambu 14,370 894,169,955.00 Mandera 254 17,977,500.00 Nakuru 16,673 746,579,755.00 Tana River 511 22,557,602.00 Meru 19,230 690,615,179.80 Marsabit 539 23,644,975.00 Nyandarua 9,131 491,610,567.00 Lamu 965 24,165,590.00 Uasin Gishu 6,232 452,092,532.00 Wajir 378 27,551,452.00 Murang’a 8,955 427,660,523.80 West Pokot 765 40,940,500.00 Mombasa 7,124 410,771,186.00 Isiolo 1,587 46,567,860.00 Kisii 6,982 362,238,879.40 Turkana 1,263 53,265,910.00 Kericho 10,480 330,068,350.00 Elgeyo 888 54,340,097.60 Marakwet Source: YEDF (2018) Besides assisting youth-owned businesses with capital and trainings, in partnership with local employment agencies, Youth Fund facilitates the youth seeking employment abroad through pre-departure trainings and sensitizations. In implementation of this mandate as at June 2017, the fund had facilitated 5,039 youth (2,050 female and 2,989 male). Through pre-departure trainings, a total of 1,011 benefited whereas 3,799 were sensitized on employment abroad. Those who received trainings were headed to various countries such as Qatar, Bahrain and Afghanistan. The jobs were sourced in partnership with local agencies and include but not limited to security, technicians, drivers, housekeeping, waiters and waitresses, gardeners, secretaries and labourers. 13 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 3.3 Uwezo Fund The Uwezo (Swahili for ability) Fund is a flagship programme of the Vision 2030 aimed at enabling women, youth and persons with disability access finances to promote businesses and enterprises at the constituency level, thereby enhancing economic growth. It was launched by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya on 8th September 2013 and enacted through Legal Notice No. 21 of the Public Finance Management Act 2014, and published on 21st February 2014. Uwezo Fund seeks to facilitate the youth, women and people with disabilities with business support in form of loans to enhance self-employment among vulnerable groups. The fund has also put in place structures going down to the constituency level where they have offices and officers manning them. Loan applications are done from the constituency level then forwarded to the head office for approval before disbursement is done. It also provides mentorship opportunities to enable the beneficiaries take advantage of the 30 per cent government procurement preference through its Capacity Building Programme. As at September 2017, the Fund had allocated Ksh 5.8 billion to various constituencies, out of which Ksh 5.3 billion had already been disbursed. A total of 61,675 groups have so far benefited from the Fund, translating to 920,162 individual beneficiaries. The groups are composed of 38,700 women groups which are further categorized as 152,753 youth women individuals, and 483,312 women individuals above the age of 354. 1,428 youth groups which are further made up of 139,282 male individuals and 114,100 female individuals. And 1,547 groups of people with disabilities further broken down into 15,332 male individuals and 15,383 female individuals (Figure 3.4). Figure 3.4: Beneficiaries and Groups Source: Uwezo Fund, 2018 It is clear that women are the most beneficiaries of the Fund. as the focus is mainly on Women. The youth only come in from the perspective of the female 14 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes gender under the age of 35. From Figure 4.3, under the women’s category, a total of 636,065 individuals benefited from the funds, out of which 76 per cent were women over the age of 35 years. Most women are organized in groups in form of chamas (ROSCAS – rotating savings and credit associations) and therefore have the advantage over other group in benefiting from established empowerment programmes such as Uwezo Fund as opposed to the youth. However, looking at the youth, out of a total of 253,382 beneficiaries, 55 per cent are of the male gender, leaving their female counterparts with only 45 per cent. Despite affirmative action policies under implementation, participation of the female gender in most sectors is still below their male counter parts. From the counties perspective, Table 3.3 shows that Nairobi County is the greatest beneficiary of Uwezo Fund, having received Ksh 273.6 million from the Ksh 284.19 million allocated to the county. It is followed by Nakuru County with Ksh 244.18 million received from the Ksh 209.83 million allocated to the county. Kiambu was third with Ksh 243.01 million from the 215.68 allocated. Figures show that it absorbed more than it was allocated, perhaps due to aggressiveness in seeking for funds. Kakamega County came in fourth with Ksh 234.28 million, Bungoma with 181.81 million and Kisii with Ksh 171.16 million. Others are Kitui with Ksh 164.84 million, Meru with Ksh 164.53 million, Machakos with Ksh 154.09 million and Homa Bay County closed the list with Ksh 151.30 million from the Ksh 161.48 allocated to the county. These counties also demonstrate some aggressiveness in seeking for business funding than other regions. Lamu county was the least aggressive, managing only about Ksh 22.38 million out of the Ksh 33.12 million allocated to them. It was followed by Isiolo county with Ksh 33.28 million out of the Ksh 38.55 million allocated to the county. Tana River is also in the list of the least performing according to Uwezo Fund, then Marsabit, Samburu and Tharaka Nithi counties. Others include Taita Taveta, Embu and Nyamira counties closing the list with Ksh 74.51 million out of the Ksh 86.82 allocated to the respective counties. The counties from the Coast region and North-eastern regions are characterized with nomadic pastoralism, which perhaps limits their ability to stationery business ventures. 15 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Table 3.3: Top 10 and bottom 10 counties in disbursements (Uwezo) Top 10 Counties Bottom 10 Counties County Grps No. of Amount Amount County Grps No. of Amount Amount Benefi- Allocated Received Benefi- Allocated Received ciaries ciaries Nairobi 3,092 41,453 284,193,359 273,600,000 Lamu 281 4,956 33,115,849 22,375,000 Nakuru 2,954 46,569 209,826,248 244,181,000 Isiolo 343 4,913 38,548,433 33,279,916 Kiambu 2,432 31,048 215,682,943 243,010,000 Tana 440 5,704 61,116,894 44,550,000 River Kakamega 2,646 36,565 252,292,015 234,284,000 Marsabit 524 18,724 79,634,219 47,440,000 Bungoma 1,839 27,099 192,487,152 181,814,325 Samburu 585 8,548 59,239,596 47,620,000 Kisii 2,382 34,318 187,481,271 171,164,900 Tharaka 614 8,653 58,350,364 58,168,705 Nithi Kitui 2,187 35,845 173,765,235 164,843,000 Laikipia 763 12,517 61,895,640 62,600,000 Meru 2,007 32,308 172,608,015 164,532,000 Taita 656 7,937 72,943,789 66,948,000 Taveta Machakos 1,898 38,990 161,583,887 154,093,280 Embu 730 15,199 76,307,324 68,273,623 Homabay 1,594 26,974 161,479,554 151,301,500 Nyamira 967 12,073 86,816,998 74,512,000 Source: Uwezo Fund (2018) In addition, the Fund trains beneficiaries on business management and development, financial literacy and life skills. To this extent, the fund has facilitated 870 trainers of trainers from all the constituency committee representatives. These trainers are to assist in training beneficiaries within their constituencies. Further, the fund was instrumental in facilitating 846,949 individuals (595,111 women, 223,378 youth and 28,460 PWDs) to expand their businesses and build their skills in entrepreneurship and public procurement together with inculcating a saving culture in them. One of the greatest challenge that the Fund faces is low repayment rates, currently estimated at 26 per cent. This is occasioned by political interference when political leaders incite beneficiaries against repaying the loans advanced. A summary of the achievements of various mandates of the programmes are shown in Table 3.4 which indicates that a total of Ksh 28.9 Billion had been disbursed by December 2017 to about 403,575 groups which comprise of 3.6 million members. 16 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes Table 3.4: Summary of funds disbursements WE Fund YED Fund Uwezo Fund Total Amount Disbursed 11.7 11.9 5.3 28.9 (Ksh billions) No. of Groups 80,954 260,946 61,675 403,575 No. of Beneficiaries 1,438,855 1,304,730 920,162 3,663,747 No. of Trainees 969,376 356000 846,949 No. of Businesses Linked 27 - - 27 with Larger Enterprises No. of Businesses 1,102 - - 1,102 Facilitated in Marketing No. of Business Incubation 3,792 - - 3,792 Sensitization Employment Abroad - 8,838 - 8,838 Sensitizations Loan Repayment Rate (%) 94 84 26 Source: WEF, YEDF, Uwezo Fund (2018) Figure 3.5 shows the distribution of receipts across counties where Nairobi County came out very strongly having received Ksh 3.13 billion, followed by Kiambu with Ksh 1.78 billion and Nakuru with 1.54 billion. Being the capital city, most people move to Nairobi in search of employment, failure to which they end up setting up businesses. In addition, most of the headquarters of basic institutions such as the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund and ministries are based in Nairobi, making them more accessible to Nairobians. 17 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Figure 3.5: Total disbursements per county Source: WEF, YEDF, Uwezo Fund (2018) Having a closer look at counties that received the highest share of funds, we establish that these areas are better informed, aggressive and possess an entrepreneurship acumen than other counties. As indicated in Figure 3.6, they also have the highest number of MSMEs in record as per the KNBS (2016) MSMEs Survey. For instance, Nairobi has a total of 1,050,600 MSMEs accounting for why it received the highest share of funds. It is followed by Nakuru with 376,100 MSMEs, then Kakamega with 353,400 and Kiambu with 263,200 MSMEs. Others are Meru with 238,500, Mombasa with 205,800, Kisii with 197,300 and Nyeri with 116,400 MSMEs. Looking at the total population in these counties as per the 2009 census, they also come out with highest population. For example, Nairobi County recorded 3.12 million, followed by Kiambu with 1.62 million and Nakuru with 1.60 million. Others are Meru with 1.36 million, Kisii with 1.15 million, Mandera with 1.03 million, Muranga with 0.9426 million and Mombasa with 0.9394 million. This may explain why they received the highest share of funds disbursed. 18 Government-sponsored youth entrepreneurship programmes Figure 3.6: Total population and number of MSMEs in counties Source: KNBS MSMEs Survey, 2016 and 2009 Population Census 19 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 4. Government-Sponsored Youth Employability Programmes This section looks into the programmes that assist the youth enhance their chances of employability by providing necessary hands on experience through internships, apprenticeships and other work-related training opportunities. They include the government internship programmes by the Ministry of Public Services, Kenya Youth Empowerment Programmes (KYEP) by the World Bank in collaboration with the private sector alliance and the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Programme (KYEOP). 4.1 Government Internship Programme With inadequate practical skills and experience as a key challenge for youth employment, the government came up with an internship policy and guidelines aimed at giving the youth a chance of gaining experience in the public service to afford them an opportunity to network. The programme had five (5) main objectives including creating a link between work and training and therefore enhancing employability of the youth, and to provide the youth with an opportunity to build hands on experience. Others are, enabling the youth to attain minimum legal requirements for them to be registered with a professional body, developing a positive work attitude and a culture of quality learning, and establishing a pool of skilled and experienced labour for the public service. The programmes intended to absorb only graduates for a period of three and twelve months according to the prescriptions of the professional body. They would be entitled not to remuneration but to a stipend as determined by the Public Service Commission from time to time. For the period October 2016 to date, the programme has engaged a total of 1,439 interns in various government ministries, departments and agencies as shown in Table 4.1. According to Article 2.5.1 of the Internship Policy and Guidelines of 2016, the public service shall be under no obligation to provide interns with employment after successful completion of the programme. However, interns will be at liberty to competitively apply for positions as they are advertised by the Commission. 20 Government-sponsored youth employability programmes Table 4.1: Number of Interns in the Public Service Ministry/Department/Agency No. of Interns engaged State Department of Gender Affairs 10 Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council 33 Kenya Revenue Authority 66 Uwezo Fund Oversight Board 28 Direct Of Public Prosecutions 61 National Aids Control Council 10 Public Private Partnership Unit of the National Treasury 10 State Department for Public Service and Youth 33 State Department for Transport 10 Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice 50 Ministry of Tourism 10 State Department of Environment 10 State Department of Housing and Urban Development 10 Kenya Rural Roads Authority 10 State Department for Water Services 25 Engineer Board of Kenya 3 State Department for Livestock 1,060 Totals 1,439 Source: Public Service Commission (2018) To scale up internships and apprenticeships within the private sector, the government enacted through Legal Notice No. 97 of 2016 – tax rebates for graduate apprenticeships regulations. Through these regulations, employers who hire at least 10 fresh graduates as interns will receive a tax rebate equivalent to 50 per cent of the trainees’ salaries and wages. Employers are required to seek the written permission of the Director-General of the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) before they engage the graduates. In addition, the contract between the employer and the intern is registered with NITA for it to be recognized. Once the internship period ends, the employer is expected to submit a certificate of completion to NITA and a copy to the intern. To ensure transparency in engaging interns, the Public Service Commission (PSC) in 2016 announced plans to declare all internship opportunities in government on a public platform to curb the current practice where agencies independently dish out internship slots, creating room for abuse and favouritism by some officials. 21 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 4.2 Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme The internship project was led by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) but funded by the World Bank. It was launched in 2010 and ended in 2016 after completion of the first phase. The programme targeted youth between the ages of 15 and 29 with at least eight (8) years of schooling, been out of school for at least a year and not engaged in any paid employment. It was implemented in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu and plans to roll it to the rural areas did not come into fruition due to lack of employers willing to take in interns. It was implemented in cycles of six (6) months split into two different parts – 2 months of training and 4 months of workplace experience. The youth received a stipend of Ksh 6,000 each and employers were also compensated for productivity lost at a rate of Ksh 3,000 per youth absorbed. Trainings were structured into three phases: life skills training that was aimed at strengthening non-cognitive skills among the youth, core business skill training and development, and sector specific skills training which was aimed at bringing out specific technical skills. A total of 13,305 youth benefited from internship programme and another 19,532 received trainings (Table 4.2). The total cost of the project was US$ 15.5 million. Table 4.2: KYEP target verses achievements Description Target Actual Achievement No. of youth participated 10,000 13,305 Internship weeks provided 200,000 289,781 Training weeks provided 100,000 148,273 Internship completion rate 95% 86% No. of youth completed life skills training 15,000 19,532 Source: KEPSA From the project impact evaluation, it was established that 78 per cent of youth (83% men and 74%women) who completed internship were immediately employed above the target of 35 per cent. Further, six (6) months after internship completion, 76 per cent were employed (82% male and 70% female) above the target of 50 per cent. 14 months after completing the programme, 80 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women were still in paid employment whereas 86 per cent of participants in cycle 4 expressed their satisfaction with the programme as did 84 per cent of employers. Some of the challenges that weighed down the project include: difficulties in verification of eligibility criteria in that it was not easy to establish that the youth were not in school and were not in any paid employment; the process of matching youth with employers was not an easy one; and some youth dropped out of the project due to problems with implementation delays, employers mismatch, loss of interest in the training and personal and family 22 Government-sponsored youth employability programmes engagements. Lastly, the number of female in participation was not pleasing at the beginning as more young men came out than young women bringing about gender imbalance. The government felt the programme needed closer supervision and it was rebranded to the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Project led by the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs (World Bank, 2016). In May 2016, the World Bank approved US$. 150 million and targeted 280,000 youth aged between 18 years and 29 without a job and without tertiary level of education. It is expected to run for 5 years from 2016 through 2021. The main objective of the project is to improve the employability and earning opportunities of the targeted Kenyan youth. The project has four components of empowerment. First is to provide skills training to young people through technical and vocational training and internships in the formal sector and apprenticeship in the informal sector with master craftsmen. Further, all the youth will receive life skills training and core business skills as initial training of the programme. The second component responded to the need of employability/job creation through start up grants and business development services for self-employed youth, business competition for start-up firms and innovation challenge to finance new ideas. The third component focused on improving access to and the quality of labour market information and finally providing support to strengthen youth policy development, monitoring and evaluation. The key interesting features and innovations of this programme is business plan competition to identify high potential young entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship aptitude test to identify youth preferences, upgrading of master craftsmen skills and certifying the trained youth at entry level apprenticeship trades. It further embraces results-based contracting to enhance linkage of trained youth to employers. The first cycle of the programme closed the call for applications to the programme on 10 January 2018 in which more than 3,000 unemployed youth from Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu and Kwale were taken on board. 23 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 5. Government-Sponsored Youth Life Skills and Employment Programmes 5.1 National Youth Service The National Youth Service (NYS), established in 1964, is a uniformed service with the aim to train Kenyan youth, function as a reserve force for the Kenyan Armed Forces, provide for rehabilitation and training of disadvantaged and orphaned youth, and contribute to nation building. The NYS runs 16 training institutions throughout the country catering for some 10,000 to 15,000 youth at any time. The current annual intake is 5,000 recruited in 285 centres at district level. According to the NYS’ management, the annual intake could be doubled if sufficient funding was available. The target group is youth aged 18 to 22, unmarried and without dependents, usually with a minimum KCSE D+ educational attainment. Up to 40 per cent of the intake is reserved for orphans and vulnerable youth. Candidates from these target groups are also taken with a lower educational qualification, usually at least with a complete primary education. Girls represent around 30 per cent of the recruited youth. To enhance youth empowerment the government implemented a transformative youth empowerment programme through the 5-Point Vision. In this respect, the Kenya Vision 2030 and the Medium-Term Plan II (2013-2017) seek to promote transformative youth empowerment through skills and talent development and exploitation of the entrepreneurial potential of the youth. The National Youth Service exists to mould the youth into a responsible and a disciplined pool of manpower who will participate in the country’s social economic development. The service recruited 37,005 youth and took them through both paramilitary and social trainings and engaged another 7,100 in community development projects. This was especially in informal settlements like Kibera, Korogocho, Mukuru kwa Njenga and Kiandutu in Kiambu. It is established that 96 ablution blocks were established and 9 Posho mills (Table 5.1). Table 5.1: NYS targets verses achievements Activity Target Actual Achievement Youth engaged in community development projects - 3,600 + 3,500 = 7,100 Youth recruited and taken through paramilitary and social - 37,005 trainings Ablution blocks constructed and connected to sewer lines 228 96 Model houses built and completed and Posho mills 38 9 Fish tanks established 304 72 Beyond zero health clinics fabricated 38 9 24 Government-sponsored youth life skills and employment programmes Police posts established 38 9 Urban agricultural sacks set up 85,014 13,000 Kilometres of access roads established 13.44 3.5km tarmac 405.6 km murram High mast security flood lights set up 52 Dams and water pans completed 1,200 213 Ex-NYS service men and women facilitated to get jobs 100,000 10,000 abroad Boreholes in north eastern - 56 Police houses contracted 200 - Vector control, Lambwe Valley, Homa Bay, Runa National 100% Lambwe 100% Park Homa Bay 75% Source: NYS website (2018) 5.2 Kazi kwa Vijana The Kazi kwa Vijana programme was conceptualized in 2009 through a Cabinet memorandum as a stimulus package under the office of then Prime Minister. Its main objective was to cushion the youth from the effects of hunger and starvation by economically engaging them in community-based projects, ultimately reducing poverty levels within the country. The project aimed at providing between 200,000 and 300,000 youth across the country with gainful employment. It had a budget of Ksh 15 billion funded by the Government of Kenya in collaboration with other development partners such as the World Bank. In 2010, the World Bank came on board with an aim of expanding the programme into a Kenya youth empowerment project with three components. The first was the labour intensive (commonly known as Kazi kwa Vijana) manned by the Office of the Prime Minister, the second was private sector trainings and internships coordinated by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), and the third was capacity building and policy development handled by the Ministry of Youth. The project eyed low skilled youth who were selected from villages within 5 kilometres of the project radius and were to range from 18 years to 35 years taking gender and disability into consideration. They were to be paid an average of Ksh 250 per day which by then was sufficient in sustaining the youth. The project successfully benefited a total of 296,000 youth by its immature close. The youth did not go through any training prior to engagement, basically because the projects did not require any technical skills and there was always a high supply of labour than what the project could absorb hence first come first served principal. Eventually, the project was marred with allegations of misappropriation of funds and it had to be aborted prematurely. 25 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 6. Beneficiaries of the Various Initiatives In attempting to capture the views of the beneficiaries on the performance of the various initiatives, a survey was conducted for the beneficiaries in four counties including Nairobi, Homa Bay, Taita Taveta and Makueni. These counties represented various segments considering the amount of funds disbursed under the entrepreneurship programmes as indicated in Figure 3.5. The survey distributed 300 questionnaires but only managed to get 182 responses which were relied upon for this analysis. 6.1 Characteristics of the beneficiaries As expected, 75 per cent of the beneficiaries sampled were in groups and only 25 per cent benefited as individual entrepreneurs (Table 6.1). Individual entrepreneurs were dominated by the male gender at 58 per cent whereas female gender was 42 per cent. Majority of the youth have invested in wholesale and retail trade followed by agriculture. ICT and transport sectors record minimal activity and only a few have ventured into manufacturing. Further, 86 per cent of youth businesses employed 1 to 9 employees and therefore within the category of MSMEs. Youth were attracted to specific businesses according to unique business environments within different regions and, with inadequate capital it was difficult to venture into manufacturing. These findings are well collaborated by the KNBS (2016) MSMEs Survey which found that majority (92%) of establishments in Kenya are micro, 7 per cent small and 1 per cent being medium. In addition, most MSMEs fall under wholesale, retail and repair of motor vehicles. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport and storage also have a good share of businesses. 26 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives Table 6.1: Basic information on youth-owned businesses Organization of Youth Owned Businesses % Individual Owned 24.7 Group Owned 75.3 Total 100 Gender of Owners % Male 58 Female 42 Total 100 Number of Members in Youth Groups in Businesses % 1-5 Members 15.6 6-10 Members 30.3 11-15 Members 25.8 16-20 Members 20.6 Above 21 Members 7.7 Total 100 Nature of Youth Owned Businesses by Sector % Agriculture 23.6 Wholesale and Retail 25.3 Service industry 19.2 Transport Industry 11.5 ICT 13.7 Manufacturing 4.4 Others 0.5 Quarrying 1.8 Total 100 Size of Businesses Percent Micro 86.3 Small 12.1 Medium 1.9 Total 100 Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) 27 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 6.2 Training received by beneficiaries On the training received by the beneficiaries, 82 per cent of the youth in business reported to have attended some form of entrepreneurship training. Most of the trainings lasted for less than a week and was sponsored by the organization supporting the initiative, and the county governments. They acquired relevant skills to help them drive their businesses into success and some of the skills acquired include but not limited to general business management to enable them to run their businesses effectively, financial literacy to enable them plan for their finances efficiently, accounting and book keeping to enable them monitor and evaluate the progress of the business regularly, and life skills and investment management to enable them grow their wealth (Table 6.2). The trainings were very effective as indicated in figure 6.1 in enabling them to advance their skills in business management and giving them abilities to run their businesses. More than half of the respondents affirmed that fact, with none of them giving a contradicting opinion. Table 6.2: Entrepreneurship trainings Entrepreneurship Trainings Length of Trainings Sponsors of Trainings Period Frequency (%) Organization Frequency (%) 1 week and below 68.7 Org. supporting 30.8 Initiatives 2-3 weeks 9.3 County Govt 20.3 4 weeks 4.4 National Govt 11 1 month and above 3.3 NGOs 17.6 Private Sector 6.6 Development 0.5 Partners Skills Acquired from Trainings Skill Frequency (%) Skill Frequency (%) Financial Literacy 30.8 Investment 16.5 Management Accounting and 29.1 Life Skills 23.1 record keeping General Business 32.4 Management Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) 28 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives Figure 6.1: Effectiveness of trainings Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) Marketing is one of the functions necessary for businesses to run effectively. Poor marketing may lead to low revenues which may lead the business out of the market sooner than later. In this regard, youth owned businesses recorded a challenge in reaching markets due to their small size. They therefore, depended on the market within their county of business and the markets within their village. Endeavours to reach both national and international markets were futile (Figure 6.2). Further, both county governments and national government tenders are so bureaucratic in terms of complexity, making it hard for the youth to access them. This is compounded with the already established big businesses which compete with them, inadequate business infrastructures for their businesses, poor business locations and high cost of business licensing. However, institutions running various entrepreneurship programmes come in occasionally to support the youth in marketing their produce. This is normally done through exhibitions and other forums such as agricultural shows and training forums. Youth in business are also encouraged to support each other by buying from one another. Figure 6.2: Market for youth-owned businesses Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) 29 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Other than provision of capital, training and support in marketing of products/ services from youth-owned businesses, other business support that is necessary in aiding business success include mentorship in business, business incubation services and development of business plans. Additionally, accounting and financial support, business coaching and business networking services are also offered. Business incubation is a very important aspect of business development and youth owned business need to be supported in terms of incubation. Some institutions implementing youth entrepreneurship programmes are very supportive in incubating youth-owned businesses. Majority of businesses that received incubation support recorded success as indicated in Figure 6.3. Those that were not successful reported various issues such as owner engaged somewhere else, inadequate capital for expansion, and political uncertainties, natural calamities such as floods and droughts. Figure 6.3: Business incubation Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) Businesses succeed when they are monitored and evaluated on a regular basis either by the business owner or by any other appointed agent. Due to the size of the business owned by the youth, they may not be able to afford sophisticated and more effective and efficient frameworks. However, as shown in Figure 6.4, majority of them have a simple framework in place to enable them monitor their businesses regularly. Some of the frameworks in use include cashbooks, bank account statements, M-Pesa statements and stock books. 30 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives Figure 6.4: Monitoring and evaluation framework Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) On the side of institutions that support various entrepreneurship programmes, it was established they do not have a comprehensive business monitoring and evaluation framework to help them assess the success of businesses supported by them. However, as shown in Figure 6.5, officers at the constituency level do occasional checks and visitations. It was also noted that these organizations do not have adequate capacity in terms of qualified human resource and adequate financial resources and equipment to facilitate them in establishing and running an effective monitoring and evaluation framework. Figure 6.5: Frequency of monitoring Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) 31 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 6.3 Financing All the beneficiaries’ surveyed were those receiving financing from various government institutions as elaborated in section 3 above. Some factors have made institutions implementing entrepreneurship programmes in Kenya successful, including fairness and equity in distribution of the funds (Figure 6.6). The funds are easily accessible as the operations of implementing institutions are decentralized to constituency level and regional offices opened for administrative purposes. They also have well trained and qualified personnel to aid the youth through the process of sensitization, application, appraisal and monitoring. Figure 6.6: Fairness and equity of funds, ease of access of funds Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) 6.4 Creating jobs The main objective of establishing these programmes was to ensure that youth unemployment rate is reduced through provision of self-employment opportunities. In so doing, the culture of entrepreneurship is inculcated among youth and dependency on white colour employment is minimized. Figure 6.7 indicates that most of the respondents feel youth empowerment programmes have been successful in both enhancing entrepreneurial culture among the youth and in reducing unemployment among the youth in Kenya. 32 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives Figure 6.7: Helpfulness in enhancing entrepreneurship and reducing unemployment Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) This finding is supported by Figure 6.8 which indicates that from the year 2007, when the first entrepreneurship programme was launched in Kenya, the status of both self-employment and the share of the informal sector to employment has been going up. For example, in 2007 the number of self-employed and unpaid family workers were 66,800 and in 2017 the number had risen to 139,400. This increase has partly been attributed to programmes enhancing entrepreneurship in the country, such as the Youth Enterprise Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund. Similarly, employment in the informal sector has been going up exponentially; for example, in 2007, the sector had approximately 7.5 million employees and in 2017 the number had risen to 14.1 million employees. As at 2017, the share of the informal sector to the total employment in the country was estimated to be 83.5 per cent. Figure 6.8: Number of self employment and informal sector employment Source: KNBS (2010, 2013 and 2017 ), Economic Survey 33 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Since most of youth-owned businesses are micro and largely informal we therefore expect the rate of under-employment to go up substantially as the rate of unemployment reduces. Figure 6.9 indicates that over the years since 1999 to date, Kenya’s outlook on total unemployment is improving from 14.6 per cent to the current 7.4 per cent. Nevertheless, the rate of under employment is increasing significantly from 4.8 per cent in 1999 to 20.4 per cent in 2016. From this, we can make an inference to some extent that investments in entrepreneurship programmes has made an impact on the level of unemployment within the country but the kind of jobs being created are mostly in the informal sector which is largely characterized by under employment. Figure 6.9: Unemployment and underemployment rates Source: KNBS (1999, 2009), Population census and KHBS (2018) 6.5 Challenges to Youth Empowerment Programmes in Kenya The challenges to youth employment programme in Kenya are in two-fold: those affecting entrepreneurship programmes, and those affecting youth employability programmes. Challenges to Youth entrepreneurship programmes in Kenya. For purposes of this study, challenges are categorized into two, those affecting the youth while trying to access funds from implementing agencies and those hindering implementing agencies from successfully achieving their mandate. From the beneficiaries’ perspective, one of the challenges is the high licensing fees and other charges levied by county government. High fees and charges increase the cost of operation of the businesses, making it hard for them to break even and leading to many businesses closing before their fifth anniversary. Complex 34 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives business registration process has also cited as a hindrance to youth advancement of business ventures. Moreover complex government bureaucracy often delays disbursement of funds. Also, business skills among most youth limits their capacity to utilize the available opportunities. Other factors include inadequate business infrastructure, society’s poor attitude of the youth engaging themselves in entrepreneurship. Further, the education system has been tailored for office employment and not self-employment, making the youth possess insufficient skills on how to run their businesses. At bottom of the rank is lack of collateral for funds that are channelled through financial intermediaries, and low amounts of loans offered which cannot sustain the business and move it to the next level of maturity (Figure 6.10). It was reported that some fund offers as low as Ksh 50,000 to groups. Figure 6.10: Factors hindering youth from entrepreneurship. Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) From the perspective of institutions charged with the responsibilities of implementing youth entrepreneurship programmes, the several factors were reported to have hindered successful implementation of the programmes (Figure 6.11). On top of the list is weak legal standing. All the three funds were founded under respective Legal Notices by the government. This hampers their operations because they are unable to, for example, enforce loan recoveries from defaulters due to legal incapacitation. Second is inadequate financing which is not only affecting service delivery but also curtailing abilities of the funds to reach more people. Also political influence on the youth has sometimes led to loan defalt; some political leaders have made some youth believe that they should not repay the loans. Further, some youth prefer formal employment than involvement in entrepreneurship. Also, the mandate of some of the programmes overlaps with 35 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya other agencies doing the same thing. This creates confusion and increases the cost of operation since all the three funds will need funds for administrative roles instead of consolidating it and focus on loan disbursements. Other factors include negative publicity. Some funds have suffered serious public contempt due to past engagements in financial impropriety. This has made them lose some credibility in the eyes of the public. Cultural and religious factors also affect uptake of the funds. For instance, some communities do not appreciate women engagement in gainful employment. Further, the Islamic perception about payment of interest prevents some from seeking funding from entrepreneurship programmes. Inadequate monitoring and evaluation framework, low literacy levels, high default rates and unfavourable working conditions are other factors affecting implementation of youth entrepreneurship programmes. Figure 6.11: Factors hindering implementing institutions Source: Beneficiaries Survey (2018) Challenges to youth employability programmes in Kenya Internship programmes in Kenya face challenges that include inadequate financial resources set aside for the programme, necessitating implementing agencies to absorb just a few interns for a given period. Some agencies and departments do not have a budget for such activity, making it difficult to implement the programme. Inadequate awareness and sensitization on the programme has been witnessed when interns are making applications for government internship programmes. They channel their applications to the Public Service Commission instead of to specific ministries/department/agency they wish to be given an opportunity in. Also, the opportunities available are few against high demand and this makes the selection process complex. Further, except where diploma holders are required to have an experience for them to be registered with a professional body, they are left 36 Beneficiaries of the various initiatives out by the policy which focuses on degree holders alone. Finally, the private sector feels inadequately incentivized to take interns on board, and therefore not willing to absorb the youth for internship programmes due to the costs associated. The few who are willing do so have adequate capacity to take on board a large number. 37 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 7. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 7.1 Conclusion The youth are the pillars of the society which need to be utilized properly in harnessing the potential of the economy into growth and development. Unfortunately, high levels of unemployment have disillusioned the youth, making them dependents. The modern sector of employment is not expanding fast enough to absorb the youth entering the labour market. The government has come up with various programmes, including entrepreneurship programmes, youth employability programmes, and life skills and direct employment programmes. The entrepreneurship programmes were meant to motivate the youth into business by providing affordable credit and business management trainings. By end of December 2017, a total of about Ksh 28.9 billion had been disbursed by the Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund, with more than three (3) million beneficiaries across the country. The youth employability programmes were meant to prepare the youth for the job market through internships, and as at December 2017, a total of 1,439 youth had been engaged in the public service and a further 13,000 through the Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme (KYEP) which later rebranded into the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP). KYEOP is now on its first cycle having recruited more than 3,000 youth in January/February 2018. That said, the programmes are characterized by various challenges. The beneficiaries observe that a favourable business environment is critical in attracting the youth to self-employment. The agencies, however, view the youth as not yet ready to embrace entrepreneurship and there are also cultural and social constraints that confront potential beneficiaries. Moreover, inadequate budgetary allocations are constraining the government internship programme. 7.2 Policy Recommendations Based on the above findings, this study therefore recommends the following measures to be undertaken to address the problem of youth unemployment in Kenya. 1. The government alone cannot solve the problem of youth un-employment. Therefore, there is need to boost collaboration with the private sector and development partners. This calls for regular interaction forum for all partners with an aim of aligning policy with the youth agenda in the country and re-emphasizing on alternative methods of employment creation such as entrepreneurship, agribusiness and creative industries to fill the gap left by a 38 Conclusions and policy recommendations stagnant modern sector employment. Such collaborations can also make the private sector play a more active role, such as mentoring education centres (students and teachers) on entrepreneurship as part of the corporate social responsibility and also provide platforms for talent nurturing. 2. To enhance youth entrepreneurship programmes, a national youth entrepreneurship strategy is critical in unlocking the potential of entrepreneurship among the youth and encouraging them for start-ups. The strategy will, among other things, focus on the country’s unique challenges as pertains youth unemployment, bring out ways of inculcating entrepreneurship education and skills development to the youth, facilitate technology exchange and innovation programmes, improve access to low cost finance, and promote awareness and networking among the youth. Further, the strategy should seek to simplify business registration processes and procedures for the youth, reduce or waiver licensing fees and other county charges for youth-owned businesses, and provide business infrastructure. Finally, there is need to incorporate a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework in the strategy. 3. To encourage the youth into agri-business, speedy implementation of the Kenya youth agribusiness strategy enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Council of Governors is a priority. The strategy runs from 2017 through 2021 and seeks to position the youth at the forefront of agricultural growth and transformation. Agriculture is a key sector to the Kenyan economy, contributing 31.5 per cent to GDP as at 2017 (KNBS, 2018), making it the highest contributor to national output. Therefore, the Kenya youth agribusiness strategy presents the youth with additional opportunities in agriculture and its value chain. It seeks to address negative perceptions by the youth towards agriculture, impart agricultural skills among the youth, enhance access to finance, and ensure access to agricultural land and agricultural innovations, research and technology adoption. Other areas that the policy seeks to highlight include value addition, market information and climate change. The strategy brings out coordination mechanisms which will be beneficial in managing the sector, and a participatory monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanism. 4. On youth employability programmes, the government needs to consider enhancing the budget for internship programmes to various ministries, departments and agencies for them to take on board more interns. This will enable professional graduates to attain minimum qualifications for professional registration and mentorship of those willing to start their own professional firms without watering down professionalism and quality. This 39 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya will not only expose qualified graduates to the work environment but also give them a chance to think about their careers. This will also afford them a chance of attaining hands on work experience and build networks necessary in the labour market. 5. Finally, there is need for the implementing agencies to consider putting in place a comprehensive information and documentation system to provide regular data on the status of such programmes. At the same time, there is need for a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework. This will ensure adequate information at any given time to aid in evaluating the internal performance of the institutions and tracing and tracking their beneficiaries. 40 References Kenya National Bureau of Statistics - KNBS, (2016), Economic Survey. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics - KNBS, (2017), Economic Survey. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics - KNBS, (2018), Economic Survey. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics - (2016), Micro, Small and Medium establishment (MSME) Basic Survey report 2016. World Bank (2012), Economic Update December; and UNDP, 2010. Kenya National Human Development Report 2009. Youth and Human Development: Tapping the Untapped Resource. 41 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya Appendices Appendix 1: Women Enterprise Development Fund Disbursement by county County No. of Groups No. of Members Amount Disbursed Kiambu 5149 78,046 644,800,000.00 Nyeri 4139 63,723 638,100,000.00 Nakuru 4034 61,599 547,100,000.00 Nairobi 4008 59,049 537,198,000.00 Kakamega 3447 55,566 411,803,000.00 Murang’a 3099 50,846 377,058,000.00 Meru 2711 44,726 339,402,000.00 Mombasa 2224 33,435 334,620,450.00 Homa Bay 2589 42,741 317,433,200.00 Bungoma 2396 37,767 287,863,000.00 Kisumu 2423 39,560 271,700,000.00 Nyandarua 2168 34,593 269,760,000.00 Kitui 2640 42,063 266,688,000.00 Embu 1823 28,514 248,024,200.00 Kirinyaga 1868 30,703 246,889,000.00 Kilifi 2223 33,485 243,838,980.00 Machakos 2038 31,967 219,830,000.00 Kisii 2254 36,725 216,926,000.00 Nandi 1502 23,989 189,349,000.00 Trans Nzoia 1506 23,578 177,675,000.00 Vihiga 1472 23,087 177,300,000.00 Kericho 1626 25,810 177,100,000.00 Migori 2009 34,493 176,800,000.00 Uasin Gishu 1530 24,558 174,600,000.00 Busia 1354 21,644 166,525,000.00 Kajiado 1211 18,899 155,700,000.00 Taita Taveta 1263 19,758 153,904,500.00 Bomet 1450 22,523 150,160,000.00 Kwale 1262 18,637 139,150,000.00 Makueni 1404 22,894 135,119,000.00 Siaya 1468 24,404 131,212,900.00 Tharaka Nithi 1068 17,531 130,950,000.00 Baringo 1,049 17,108 121,150,000.00 42 Appendices Laikipia 871 13,914 110,750,000.00 Narok 875 13,560 96,450,000.00 Wajir 829 13,861 73,850,000.00 Elgeyo Marakwet 574 8,953 62,550,000.00 Nyamira 639 10,459 60,247,300.00 Lamu 498 7,322 57,600,000.00 Turkana 531 8,524 56,000,000.00 Garissa 544 8573 55,350,000.00 Samburu 401 6,150 52,207,000.00 Isiolo 517 8,137 51,700,000.00 Tana River 472 6,562 45,850,000.00 Marsabit 438 6,782 41,938,000.00 Mandera 332 5412 33,800,000.00 West Pokot 202 2985 19,200,000.00 Source: WEF (2018) 43 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 44 Appendix 2: Youth Development Fund Disbursements by County County Agri Vijana C YES Amount E YES Hatcheries LPO Bid Bond Vuka Loan FIs Loan Grand Total Amount Amount Amount Financing Amount Amount Nairobi 11,435,944.00 169,656,781.70 21,369,071.81 1,876,770.00 129,105,000.00 76,205,174.00 123,036,000.00 1,789,381,989.00 2,322,066,730.51 Kiambu 15,016,384.00 116,457,581.40 18,817,202.60 1,668,240.00 26,836,000.00 - 27,950,000.00 687,424,547.00 894,169,955.00 Nakuru 2,865,752.00 89,153,298.60 8,712,682.00 208,530.00 8,048,000.00 500,000.00 13,425,000.00 623,666,493.00 746,579,755.60 Meru 4,085,096.00 82,984,155.80 38,819,746.00 417,060.00 1,000,000.00 - 13,245,000.00 550,064,122.00 690,615,179.80 Nyandarua 1,075,032.00 45,165,400.00 5,186,688.00 2,502,360.00 - - 1,500,000.00 436,181,087.00 491,610,567.00 Uasin Gishu 2,866,752.00 39,704,186.80 6,792,456.00 417,060.00 - - 5,050,000.00 397,262,078.00 452,092,532.80 Murang'a 2,150,064.00 48,345,659.80 3,610,000.00 2,710,890.00 - - 5,850,000.00 364,993,910.00 427,660,523.80 Mombasa 358,344.00 41,597,502.00 3,164,120.00 625,590.00 2,285,000.00 - 12,305,000.00 350,435,630.00 410,771,186.00 Kisii - 58,282,928.40 11,576,380.00 208,530.00 700,000.00 - - 291,471,041.00 362,238,879.40 Kericho 1,075,032.00 42,953,121.20 6,311,974.00 625,590.00 3,020,000.00 - 3,900,000.00 272,182,633.00 330,068,350.20 Embu 2,651,720.00 36,172,822.20 7,690,032.00 - 4,120,000.00 - 6,420,000.00 258,222,109.00 315,276,683.20 Nyeri 6,807,536.00 48,594,968.40 15,905,936.00 208,530.00 8,496,000.00 100,000.00 13,080,000.00 203,540,517.00 296,733,487.40 Kirinyaga 1,433,376.00 33,525,467.20 11,728,874.00 1,668,240.00 5,940,000.00 - 1,500,000.00 238,377,000.00 294,172,957.20 Machakos 4,841,440.00 50,652,381.80 10,827,982.00 2,710,890.00 1,769,000.00 - 4,065,000.00 219,126,613.00 293,993,306.80 Kakamega - 87,511,783.00 26,426,510.00 834,120.00 1,300,000.00 200,000.00 7,750,000.00 162,360,420.00 286,382,833.00 Kisumu 1,791,720.00 68,879,340.80 8,877,344.00 417,060.00 1,060,000.00 - 5,225,000.00 184,338,771.00 270,589235.80 Kajiado 8,385,160.00 35,446,893.20 6,217,342.00 834,120.00 14,440,000.00 - 5,800,000.00 119,644,166.00 190,767,681.20 Tharaka 1,832,376.00 22,292,013.60 8,150,046.00 208,530.00 160,000.00 - 1,900,000.00 152,864,800.00 187,407,765.60 Nithi Kilifi 1,617,344.00 25,944,475.00 1,671,344.00 490,000.00 - 1,775,000.00 152,874,315.00 184,372,478.00 Nandi 2,150,064.00 20,983,107.60 5,657,188.00 1,042,650.00 - - - 154,441,190.00 184,274,199.60 Trans Nzoia 1,075,032.00 15,683,308.20 1,025,000.00 450,000.00 - - 159,408,955.00 177,642,295.20 Siaya 399,000.00 32,284,157.00 4,297,530.00 208,530.00 450,000.00 - 600,000.00 139,311,326.00 177,550,543.00 Appendices 45 Homa 1,074,032.00 39,457,834.00 5,468,344.00 - - 1,000,000.00 123,813,367.00 170,813,577.00 Bay Bungoma 1,791,720.00 40,565,118.00 8,813,030.00 417,060.00 3,140,000.00 - - 109,069,511.00 163,796,439.00 Kitui 1,433,376.00 53,581,256.00 7,635,624.00 417,060.00 6,170,000.00 - 1,050,000.00 78,424,590.00 148,711,906.00 Vihiga 1,791,720.00 45,987,526.60 12,376,218.00 7,550,000.00 - 2,140,000.00 63,907,760.00 133,753,224.60 Laikipia 358,344.00 11,400,000.00 2,735,000.00 - - 2,100,000.00 113,313,350.00 129,906,694.00 Makueni 2,150,064.00 55,546,341.80 6,702,524.00 1,251,180.00 4,360,000.00 - 1,950,000.00 39,358,435.00 111,318,544.80 Kwale 716,688.00 20,331,163.00 1,190,000.00 208,530.00 - 1,200,000.00 82,840,665.00 106,487,046.00 Busia - 34,823,030.00 6,479,530.00 625,590.00 400,000.00 - 1,000,000.00 62,957,032.00 106,285,182.00 Nyamira 358,344.00 15,715,752.00 5,570,241.00 417,060.00 - - 1,000,000.00 79,924,175.00 102,985,572.00 Narok 1,433,376.00 48,694,443.60 2,067,464.00 208,530.00 700,000.00 - 625,000.00 46,313,665.00 100,042,478.60 Baringo 358,344.00 35,483,220.00 2,633,934.00 834,120.00 400,000.00 700,000.00 900,000.00 33,479,500.00 74,789,118.00 Taita Taveta 358,344.00 20,513,920.00 4,229,200.00 646,590.00 - 1,200,000.00 44,904,305.00 71,852,359.00 Migori 716,688.00 32,721,400.00 1,575,000.00 625,590.00 1,860,000.00 - 3,550,000.00 29,857,975.00 70,906,653.00 Bomet 788,344.00 42,547,513.60 3,980,133.00 - - - 100,000.00 19,410,848.00 66,826,838.60 Garrisa - 8,045,000.00 200,000.00 - - - 100,000.00 52,769,129.00 61,114,129.00 Elgeyo 716,688.00 22,375,051.60 7,250,000.00 - - - 500,000.00 23,498,358.00 54,340,097.60 Marakwet Turkana - 15,300,000.00 3,155,000.00 1,251,180.00 500,000.00 - - 33,059,730.00 53,265,910.00 Isiolo - 6,960,500.00 175,000.00 - - 1,400,000.00 38,032,360.00 46,567,860.00 West Pokot - 10,950,000.00 906,000.00 - - - - 29,084,500.00 40,940,500.00 Wajir - 15,200,000.00 2,475,600.00 - - - 9,875,852.00 27,551,452.00 Lamu - 7,027,060.00 1,475,000.00 208,530.00 - - - 15,455,000.00 24,165,590.00 Marsabit - 10,350,000.00 725,000.00 2,293,830 - - - 10,276,145.00 23,644,975.00 Tana River - 10,224,270.00 275,000.00 208,530.00 - - - 11,849,802.00 22,557,602.00 Mandera - 14,232,500.00 3,745,000.00 - - - - 17,977,500.00 Samburu - 8,210,000.00 25,000.00 208,530.00 - - - 3,015,700.00 11,459,230.00 Total 87,959,240.00 1,838,514,233.90 324,698,290.41 28,568,610.00 235,395,590.00 77,705,174.00 274,191,000.00 9,062,065,466.00 11,929,097,604.31 No of Loans 238 20,099 8,238 134 378 144 561 231,109 260,946 advanced Source: YED, 2018 Review of government-sponsored youth empowerment programmes in Kenya 46 Appendix 3: Uwezo Fund Disbursements by County County Cumulative Amount Absor- Amounts Repay- Groups Approved for Total Disaggregated Data Total Total County Disbursed ption Repaid ment Funding No. of No. Of Beneficiaries Indiv. Applicat- Allocations at County Rate Rate Groups Benfici- ions Level(Kes) (%) Women Youth PWD Funded Youth (18-35) Women PWD aries (Groups) Male Female Youth Others Male Female Mombasa 104,163,243 95,319,428 92 24,545,410 38.18 679 434 28 1141 2575 1938 1499 6435 197 234 12,878 1,691 Kwale 100,254,724 95,550,000 95 27,475,555 46.20 588 327 26 941 1671 1304 2071 7395 199 234 12,874 1,227 Kilifi 162,051,031 144,415,000 89 24,409,285 24.62 1083 478 40 1601 2025 2275 4446 10448 268 391 19853 2,158 Tana River 61,116,894 44,550,000 73 928,312 3.17 263 167 10 440 875 633 986 3,019 87 104 5,704 486 Lamu 33,115,849 22,375,000 68 2,577,636 14.99 151 122 8 281 257 468 1,009 2,791 194 237 4,956 375 Taita 72,943,789 66,948,000 92 31,178,636 68.32 550 91 15 656 387 331 1143 5924 67 85 7,937 850 Taveta Garissa 120,508,506 110,060,000 91 6,536,027 8.42 569 551 19 1139 2483 2116 1463 5458 165 207 11,892 1,349 Wajir 138,568,907 110,205,000 80 3,443,484 4.24 311 585 46 942 3334 1838 3293 3567 188 177 12,397 1,574 Mandera 166,533,090 128,698,110 77 664,405 0.64 426 538 27 991 2280 2956 3081 5672 308 393 14,690 1,387 Marsabit 79,634,219 47,440,000 60 2,518,128 7.21 245 271 8 524 4238 2984 4549 6539 209 205 18,724 1,107 Isiolo 38,548,433 33,279,916 86 5,858,792 40.11 203 135 5 343 696 739 806 2580 63 29 4,913 478 Meru 172,608,015 164,532,000 95 55,207,021 45.53 1,385 556 66 2,007 3,317 3,341 3,753 20,622 473 802 32,308 2,422 Tharaka 58,350,364 58,168,705 100 23,365,545 54.96 387 207 20 614 1,338 912 1,255 4,843 128 177 8,653 849 Nithi Embu 76,307,324 68,273,623 89 32,575,294 56.70 469 238 23 730 1474 984 2061 10230 193 257 15,199 1,232 Kitui 173,765,235 164,843,000 95 65,336,310 49.18 1649 501 37 2187 1478 2843 4631 25885 682 326 35845 2788 Machakos 161,583,887 154,093,280 95 48,597,557 40.88 1503 346 49 1898 3667 2924 4896 26709 358 436 38,990 2,363 Makueni 137,210,278 136,132,980 99 42,226,521 41.41 1100 244 48 1392 1661 1360 2735 13320 448 694 20218 1956 Nyandarua 95,733,228 107,882,900 113 41,493,698 62.78 1099 309 33 1441 2257 1931 2647 11341 236 277 18,689 1,956 Nyeri 105,942,989 117,365,000 111 42,589,165 67.95 1092 324 36 1452 1592 1211 1671 7604 143 184 12,405 1904 Kirinyaga 72,409,830 74,648,000 103 37,977,836 77.84 530 261 41 832 1782 1003 2341 7252 773 271 13,422 1,106 Muranga 133,077,725 146,061,100 110 58,731,507 58.09 1021 608 52 1681 3850 3156 3041 14312 334 460 25,153 1,909 Kiambu 215,682,943 243,010,000 113 91,390,191 57.48 1486 877 69 2432 5339 3170 4640 16178 1140 581 31,048 3,178 Turkana 155,468,097 110,440,000 71 9,487,825 15.57 436 666 19 1121 9097 4336 6035 7807 450 318 28,043 1,393 Appendices 47 West 90,165,935 77,102,000 86 9,702,166 14.64 465 365 13 843 1722 2204 1029 4023 247 194 9,419 1,046 Pokot Samburu 59,239,596 47,620,000 80 7,675,760 22.19 422 155 8 585 723 399 1804 5147 402 73 8,548 616 Trans 104,831,135 98,990,775 94 21,345,142 27.46 719 431 26 1,176 3,107 2,338 2,816 8,540 340 379 17,520 1,678 Nzoia Uasin 117,011,196 111,545,000 95 40,212,218 45.53 826 432 30 1,288 2,210 1,832 2,907 9,844 86 140 17,019 1,509 Gishu Elgeyo 77,414,509 75,083,865 97 29,880,455 54.64 471 345 2 818 1937 1790 1820 4322 37 29 9,935 955 Marakwet Nandi 116,842,628 107,870,000 92 35,238,018 39.64 740 383 44 1167 2372 2068 1454 8706 200 311 15,111 1,429 Baringo 115,926,610 109,925,000 95 34,660,361 46.92 575 328 17 920 1924 1300 2094 6152 219 212 11,901 1,079 Laikipia 61,895,640 62,600,000 101 19,263,273 53.37 527 219 17 763 2042 1855 1470 6817 135 198 12,517 1,138 Nakuru 209,826,248 244,181,000 116 88,732,517 52.68 1991 882 81 2954 6040 5575 7325 26445 638 546 46,569 3,917 Narok 121,005,181 108,793,977 90 17,153,777 18.53 710 561 33 1304 3293 2053 3243 8,993 406 284 18,272 1,844 Kajiado 98,304,333 94,268,000 96 23,008,565 30.17 695 340 10 1045 2236 951 2240 6,193 63 39 11,722 1,233 Kericho 116,360,878 104,740,550 90 32,630,707 35.71 522 344 17 883 2236 1965 3204 6,791 194 153 14,543 1,302 Bomet 108,100,861 103,365,650 96 23,611,528 26.57 624 663 19 1306 3972 3377 5019 8,408 108 115 20,999 1,240 Kakamega 252,292,015 234,284,000 93 57,591,384 29.35 1743 840 63 2646 4591 4723 7568 18,553 772 358 36,565 3,812 Vihiga 94,336,496 91,247,000 97 25,015,687 31.35 704 252 18 974 1562 1562 2525 9,141 155 279 15,224 1,449 Bungoma 192,487,152 181,814,325 94 52,439,390 33.40 1190 600 49 1839 4895 4717 4581 11,878 543 485 27,099 2,449 Busia 144,758,575 138,435,000 96 36,377,369 31.42 1005 420 32 1457 2574 2671 3756 9,625 420 486 19,532 2,172 Siaya 118,663,066 125,851,354 106 37,524,088 44.52 911 441 34 1386 3792 2897 4922 12,126 440 602 24,779 1,721 Kisumu 137,907,224 146,472,000 106 37,003,961 32.76 996 615 61 1672 4055 3039 6370 19,857 528 796 34,645 2,112 Homabay 161,479,554 151,301,500 94 28,737,109 24.32 1,105 451 38 1594 3304 3747 3431 15,182 509 801 26,974 2,029 Migori 160,480,946 142,968,001 89 17,950,193 14.70 1,074 715 39 1828 4732 4025 4,687 12,094 482 614 26,634 2,455 Kisii 187,481,271 171,164,900 91 9,542,479.50 7.10 1,423 878 81 2382 5,414 4,863 6,074 16,864 528 575 34,318 3,197 Nyamira 86,816,998 74,512,000 86 4,450,869 7.50 551 396 20 967 3045 2023 1,632 5,095 121 157 12,073 1,172 Nairobi 285,193,359 273,600,000 96 67,015,089 35.97 1486 1536 70 3092 9831 7373 6730 16,585 456 478 41453 4123 Totals 5,854,400,004 5,522,026,939 4,373 1,435,876,238 26.0 38,700 21,428 1,547 61,675 139,282 114,100 152,753 483,312 15,332 15,383 920,162 81,415 Source: Uwezo Fund, 2018