{"id":5141,"date":"2026-08-07T17:51:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T17:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=5141"},"modified":"2026-08-07T17:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T17:51:57","slug":"nyota-enters-new-phase-as-122000-youth-begin-mandatory-business-mentorship-across-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=5141","title":{"rendered":"NYOTA Enters New Phase as 122,000 Youth Begin Mandatory Business Mentorship Across Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

NYOTA Enters New Phase as 122,000 Youth Begin Mandatory Business Mentorship Across Kenya<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Jeff Kizzilah Digital Editor\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project has entered a critical new phase aimed at strengthening youth-owned businesses through structured mentorship, following the successful rollout of startup capital grants to more than 122,000 beneficiaries across Kenya.\r\nAccording to Susan Mang'eni, Principal Secretary, State Department for MSMEs Development, the NYOTA Project has reignited a national enterprise movement by creating a pathway to self-employment through skills development, mentorship and financial support for young people from all 1,450 wards across the country.\r\nLaunched in March 2025, the digitally driven programme has expanded access to equal economic opportunities for youth at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Following the disbursement of startup grants on 10 July 2026, beneficiaries are now set to begin mandatory mentorship sessions from Monday, 10 August 2026.\r\nThe nationwide mentorship programme will be delivered by 4,879 experienced business mentors, with each mentor guiding up to 20 entrepreneurs. The programme will include business site visits, peer learning, coaching, counselling, practical business case studies and market linkage opportunities to help participants build sustainable enterprises.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe government is also developing innovative blended financing products that will enable NYOTA beneficiaries to access additional funding through government catalytic financing programmes, in line with President William Ruto's directive to expand financial support for youth-owned businesses.\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\nIn collaboration with county governments, the State Department is finalising a framework to implement business licence waivers, enabling NYOTA entrepreneurs to access affordable trading spaces and expand market opportunities.\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\nPreparations are also at an advanced stage for the rollout of the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) training programme next month. The initiative targets more than 600,000 young entrepreneurs, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to compete for government tenders.\r\nMeanwhile, under the On-the-Job Experience (OJE) component, Socio-Emotional Skills Development (SESD) training is currently underway in 18 counties: Isiolo, Marsabit, Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana, Baringo, Nandi, West Pokot, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Lamu, Mombasa, Kilifi, Garissa, Mandera, Wajir and Tana River.\r\nUpon completing the SESD programme, participants will proceed to a five-month apprenticeship under experienced master craftsmen and employers, where they will gain practical workplace experience, industry mentorship and occupational skills that improve employability and support sustainable livelihoods.\r\nThe State Department has reminded all NYOTA Business Support beneficiaries that successful completion of the mentorship programme is mandatory to qualify for the next phase of government support and has urged participants to attend all scheduled sessions.<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NYOTA Enters New Phase as 122,000 Youth Begin Mandatory Business Mentorship Across Kenya   By Jeff Kizzilah Digital Editor\u00a0 The National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy-and-investment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5145,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141\/revisions\/5145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}