The second phase of the government's NYOTA Business Support programme is set to kick off from Friday, July 10, with 122,000 young Kenyans set to benefit from the latest disbursement.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

President William Ruto confirmed the developments on Monday, July 6 after receiving a briefing at State House on the progress of the programme which is being implemented by the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

According to the Head of State, the launch of the second tranche will take place nationwide from Friday at 18 venues across the country. The launch is set to bring together beneficiaries from all 47 counties.

Ruto confirmed that the government had allocated Ksh3 billion for the latest round of funding.

📌 What You Need to Know

“With the launch of the Ksh3 billion second tranche of the business support component for the 122,000 beneficiaries, each beneficiary will receive Ksh25,000. In addition to a similar amount they had received earlier in the year, each beneficiary will have received a total of Ksh50,000,”

Further, the president confirmed that the beneficiaries had completed mandatory business development training and were fully qualified for the second disbursement.

The president's statement went on, “Already, the beneficiaries have undergone a business development skills programme."

With the date of disbursement now confirmed, the government is set to have some pressure eased, particularly after the World Bank, which is fully sponsoring the programme, initially expressed concern over delayed disbursement.

In June, World Bank officials held a meeting with the government to strengthen the project's implementation, address emerging challenges facing the programme, particularly funding, and ensure the project achieves its intended purpose.

Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang'eni had attributed the delay to budgetary constraints, saying the project's implementation had been compressed into a single financial year, placing pressure on available funding.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke