Nothing seems to be working for most jobless youth in Kenya. A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that about 2.01 million out of a total of 2.97 million jobless Kenyans aged between 15 and 64 and who qualify for the labour force have given up looking for employment or start a business.
Yet a report by the Treasury in 2021 shows that less than 40 percent of the youth applied for the affirmative action programme Access to Government Opportunities (AGPO), introduced to enable enterprises owned by the youth, women and persons to participate in government procurement.
Procuring entities are also finding it difficult to engage these beneficiaries for varied reasons, including a lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills. Similarly, research by Hivos East Africa in 2018 found that only 36 percent of applicants said they had won tenders while 66 percent lacked capital.
Sixty percent had other challenges, including lack of entrepreneurial and business management skills, lack of access to startup financing, lack of relevant exposure and networks for starting and growing a business, lack of access to apprenticeships, limited information and capacity to take advantage of available youth-focused government funds such as the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Uwezo Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and AGPO and delayed payments after delivery.
Experts have highlighted the role education and training play in nurturing future entrepreneurs and in developing the abilities of existing entrepreneurs to grow their businesses to greater levels of success.
Ensuring that graduates from our learning institutions are successfully integrated into the economy through micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through training in job skills will improve Kenya’s competitiveness by encouraging more of our youth to own businesses, participate in government contracts, have access to and control of productive assets and eradicate harmful social norms and practices.
Entrepreneurial competencies will not only help young people to start and manage their own businesses, but also inculcate a mindset and know-how for identifying opportunities, creative problem solving, taking initiative and attitudes such as curiosity, openmindedness, proactivity, flexibility, determination, and resilience thereby boosting their employability.
The state should therefore focus on supporting youth entrepreneurship and help foster the establishment and growth of businesses, business incubation centres and training centres.
Otieno Panya is a Sustainable Supply Chain Management lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University(JKUAT).
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