Thousands of young entrepreneurs across Kenya are set to receive another round of financial support as the government prepares to roll out the second phase of the NYOTA Business Support programme.
The latest disbursement is scheduled to begin on Friday, July 10, with 122,000 beneficiaries expected to receive funds aimed at helping them grow their businesses.
President William Ruto announced the development on Monday, July 6, after receiving a progress briefing at State House on the programme being implemented by the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The briefing focused on the progress made so far and preparations for the next round of payments.
According to the president, the nationwide launch will take place simultaneously at 18 venues, bringing together beneficiaries from all 47 counties.
This marks a different approach from the first phase, where the funds were released in stages across different areas.
The government has allocated Ksh3 billion for the latest disbursement, with each beneficiary expected to receive Ksh25,000.
Ruto said, “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.”
The president also confirmed that all beneficiaries had completed the required business development training before qualifying for the second payment.
He added, “Already, the beneficiaries have undergone a business development skills programme.”
The confirmation of the payment date comes after weeks of uncertainty over delays in releasing the funds. The delay had attracted attention from the World Bank, which is fully financing the programme. In June, officials from the World Bank met with the government to review the project’s progress, address challenges affecting implementation, and discuss ways of ensuring the programme achieves its intended goals.
Earlier, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni explained that the delay was caused by budgetary constraints. She said implementation of the project had been compressed into a single financial year, creating pressure on available funding.
Although the government had indicated that the funds would be released by June 30, the payments were pushed back by about 10 days.
With the second phase now set to begin, thousands of young entrepreneurs are expected to receive fresh financial support to expand their businesses.
The simultaneous launch across 18 venues is also expected to speed up the distribution process and ensure beneficiaries from every county receive their funds at the same time.
