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Ruto: Ksh5B NYOTA fund to benefit 100,000 youth in first phase
06th October, 2025 01:22 PM
President William Ruto has announced that he is targeting at least one million young people in Kenya under the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) program.
Ruto made his remarks on Monday, October 6, 2025, at State House, Nairobi, where he also stated the government’s progress in ensuring youths are able to receive the funds raised through the World Bank, which amounts to Ksh5 billion.
“We are having a conversation around youth entrepreneurship… We have raised Ksh5 billion together with the World Bank to give 100,000 youth in Kenya money to scale up their businesses,” Ruto said.
And as the mapping exercise officially kicks off across the country on Monday, October 6, 2025, Ruto revealed that once the mapping is done by the end of October, the government will start releasing the funds to the selected youths.
He further affirmed his mission in recruiting up to one million youths aged 18 and 29 for the empowerment initiative.
“The target is to have one million young people benefit; we are starting with one hundred thousand. By the end of October we will begin the process of releasing the Ksh5 billion, making sure that in every ward in Kenya we are able to identify at least 70 young people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are doing business,” Ruto revealed.
NYOTA grant
In a meeting with Principal Secretaries at State House, Nairobi, on Friday, October 3, 2025, Ruto explained that this measure is meant to guarantee smooth and transparent implementation of the programme.
At the time, he pointed out that by bringing together leaders from the executive, legislature and county governments, the government is making the programme inclusive.
“This is coming as a result of being deliberate about doing something about employment, empowerment and engagement with young people,” Ruto said.
Worth noting, according to the Head of State, the programme, which is a partnership between the government and the World Bank, is a flagship youth empowerment initiative valued at Ksh5 billion.
Likewise, the Youth Programme is designed to support 100,000 young people across the country, with 70 beneficiaries drawn from each of Kenya’s 1,450 wards.
On the other hand, each successful applicant is expected to receive a Ksh50,000 grant to kick-start their entrepreneurial ventures, opening up opportunities in business and enterprise.
Additionally, President Ruto said the programme will also involve 90,000 youth who will be trained to gain job experience, 20,000 on recognition of prior learning, and another 600,000 who will be trained on Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO).
