Ruto Issues Update on Ksh50,000 Grants for Kenyans
President William Ruto has announced that his government will begin disbursing another round of Ksh4.4 billion to beneficiaries of the NYOTA grant programme starting next week.
Speaking on Tuesday, November 11, during the 25th East African Community (EAC) MSMEs Trade Fair held at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, President Ruto revealed that preparations were ongoing for the next phase of training and disbursement.
He explained that the remaining applicants would undergo training beginning this Friday, after which the funds would be released.
“We started that process last week, and I want to confirm that the remaining phase is in progress,” Ruto stated. “I have been briefed by CS Wycliffe Oparanya and his team that training for the rest of the country will commence on Friday. From next week, we shall release another Ksh4.4 billion to the trained and approved beneficiaries.”
The NYOTA programme is part of a five-year transformative initiative by the Kenyan government, supported by the World Bank. It seeks to empower young people by tackling issues such as unemployment, low income, and inadequate savings.
Through this initiative, youths from all 1,450 wards across the country will each receive Ksh50,000 in grants to help them start or grow small businesses.
The physical verification for the first group of applicants took place on Friday, October 24, while the initial disbursement of funds was done on November 7. From this first phase, over 3,800 young people from Nakuru County successfully received their grants.
With the next round of disbursement approaching, President Ruto revealed that a large number of beneficiaries in the second batch would come from Nairobi County after the completion of the upcoming training sessions.
“In Nairobi alone, we are targeting about 6,000 small businesses. We plan to allocate them Ksh300 million to help them expand and strengthen their enterprises,” he said. “Our goal is to help these small entrepreneurs access the capital they need to grow and sustain their businesses.”
President Ruto further emphasised that women must make up at least 50 per cent of the NYOTA beneficiaries to ensure gender balance and inclusion in the empowerment programme.
Additionally, he announced that the government intends to identify 600,000 small-scale entrepreneurs from across the country who will be supported through capacity-building programmes.
These initiatives aim to enhance their business skills and enable them to work more effectively with the government on various projects.
To promote transparency and accountability, the government has also introduced strict monitoring mechanisms to ensure the funds are properly utilised.
Principal Secretary for the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Fikirini Jacobs, confirmed that the government had deployed consultants to train, guide, and monitor the progress of all beneficiaries to make sure the grants achieve their intended purpose.
This renewed push under the NYOTA initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to uplifting young entrepreneurs, fostering innovation, and supporting small businesses as a pathway to sustainable economic growth across Kenya.
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