The government has warned beneficiaries of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project against using the money for purposes other than business, while also clarifying potential loan repayments using the funds.
Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Wycliffe Oparanya, speaking on Thursday, January 8, clarified that the NYOTA funds couldn't be deducted from some popular mobile overdraft loan facilities since the funds are disbursed through a dedicated mobile application.
According to Oparanya, the mobile app was specifically designed to ensure money is used strictly for business purposes.
Effectively, beneficiaries with existing overdrafts or loans should not expect automatic deductions from the NYOTA funds since the money is paid into the app and not directly into their regular current mobile accounts.
“The issue of your loans, you will have to deal with the lender,” Oparanya said during the disbursement of the Nyota North Rift Cluster Business Start-Up Capital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Further, the CS also revealed that the government is able to track how the money is withdrawn and used through the app.
Oparanya warned that funds intended for business activities would not be released if a beneficiary attempts to divert them for betting or gambling.
“If you try to use the funds for betting, the money will not be released. It will only be released once you use it for the intended business,” he said.
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.
Following the latest disbursement drive, the government estimates that about Ksh250 million has been disbursed to more than 9500 youths in counties across the North Rift region.
In the Rift Valley region, each beneficiary will be allocated Ksh22,000 to support the growth of their enterprises, while an extra Ksh3,000 has been deposited into savings accounts at the National Social Security Fund.
President Ruto also announced on Thursday that support had been extended to young people under the Recognition of Prior Learning component, where certification courses of up to one month have been funded to ease their transition into employment.
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