President William Ruto has announced plans to establish a Youth Enterprise Investment Bank aimed at boosting youth-led businesses across Kenya.
Speaking in Kakamega on Tuesday during International Youth Day celebrations, the president said the bank will focus on providing affordable financing, credit guarantees, and capacity-building programmes for young entrepreneurs.
“To further support youth-led enterprises, we shall, before the end of this year, launch the Youth Enterprise Investment Bank. The bank will be capitalised at Ksh9.75 billion to provide financing, credit guarantees, and capacity building for young people,” Ruto said.
The Head of State noted that the move is part of a greater government strategy to promote financial inclusion and create sustainable economic opportunities for the youth, who make up the largest segment of the population.
He explained that the institution will be structured to address the common challenges facing young entrepreneurs, such as a lack of collateral, high interest rates, and limited access to business development training.
The president added that the project will be rolled out before the end of the year to ensure that more young Kenyans can access the resources needed to start, grow, and sustain their businesses.
The Kenyan government holds ownership steaks in a number of commercial and development banks, with its shareholding ranging from minority stakes of just under 20 per cent to full ownership in certain institutions.
In some cases, these shares are held directly through the National Treasury, while in others, they are managed via state corporations and parastatals.
Out of the more than 39 licensed banks in Kenya, the state has ownership interests in at least half a dozen, giving it a significant, though not dominant, footprint in the country’s banking sector.
This level of involvement allows the state to influence strategic direction in key financial institutions while also using them as vehicles to drive specific policy goals such as financial inclusion, mortgage financing, and SME development.
However, President Ruto did not delve into much of the ownership of the details and nature of the set-to-be-launched Youth Enterprise Investment Bank.
Meanwhile, Ruto also reiterated that Kenyan youth interested in starting businesses are set to receive Ksh50,000 each starting in September this year through the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
NYOTA is a five-year transformative agenda by the government, funded by the World Bank. It aims to empower youth by addressing unemployment, income insecurity, and limited savings.
Additionally, its interventions include training 600,000 young people to access Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) and providing 110,000 youth entrepreneurs with business development services, market linkages, mentorship, and financial support.
He revealed that the government would soon release Ksh5 billion to be distributed to 70 youth in each ward across the country who are interested in starting small-scale businesses, with the compilation set to be concluded next week.
