Kenya, 5 February 2026 – The World Bank has defended its backing of Kenya’s NYOTA programme, describing job creation as the country’s most urgent development challenge and positioning the initiative as a practical response to widespread youth unemployment.
World Bank Kenya Director Qimiao Fan said the programme is deliberately designed to equip young people with employable skills, entrepreneurship support and start-up capital, enabling them not only to find work but also to create opportunities for others.
Speaking during the launch of the programme in Malindi, Kilifi County, Fan said the Bank’s engagement in Kenya is firmly anchored on employment creation, with NYOTA standing out as a strategic intervention focused on real, measurable impact.
He noted that success would not be judged by how many young people sign up, but by how many gain work experience, build sustainable businesses and generate jobs within their communities.
NYOTA is structured around four main pillars: paid on-the-job training, entrepreneurship support, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certification, and start-up funding for youth-led enterprises.
The impact of the programme was evident at a public disbursement forum in Malindi, where at least 5,000 young people from Lamu, Kilifi and Tana River counties received a combined Sh160 million in start-up grants. The beneficiaries had completed a compulsory four-day business training programme aimed at preparing them to manage viable enterprises.
President William Ruto presided over the event, framing NYOTA as a central pillar of the government’s broader plan to tackle youth unemployment through entrepreneurship and income generation.
“There are another 90,000 young people in the next phase who will also benefit from this project,” Ruto said on Thursday.
He added that the programme would continue to scale up, saying, “there are a further 600,000 youth in the subsequent phase who will be reached by this NYOTA project as well.”
