Supporting youth entrepreneurship is key to addressing unemployment
SUPPORTING YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS KEY TO ADDRESSING THE UNEMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE IN THE COUNTRY
By Henry Rithaa
In an article that was shared widely on social media a few weeks ago, hundreds of University graduates showed up for interviews at EKA Hotel in Nairobi, shocking interviewers and visitors at the hotel.
Some five vacancies had been advertised and the employment agency recruiting for the hotel did not anticipate such a huge turnout. However, when the day arrived, job seekers started streaming in as early as 5 am and by 8 am the hotel was filled, to the extent that some of the job seekers were forced to sit outside due to lack of space. The Hotel management was forced to close the door to other job seekers who were later told to go home and wait for further communication.
What happened at EKA hotel is not an isolated incident: It is replicated every day in companies throughout the country whenever employment opportunities are announced. The huge turnout of young people chasing limited employment opportunities is a sobering reality in a country that has about 800,000 young Kenyans entering the job market every year.
According to a 2018 World Bank report (the Kenya Poverty and Gender Assessment), youth unemployment is almost double that of the total population: 18 percent versus 10 percent. In addition, many youth are underemployed, working in low productivity jobs. And according to a report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Kenya needs 600,000 new jobs each year until 2030 to provide opportunities for young people entering the labour market.
It is for this reason that the Kenya Government has made the creation of jobs for young people a top priority by coming up with enabling legislation and a favourable business operating environment to spur youth entrepreneurship.
One of the main challenges facing young entrepreneurs in Kenya is the lack of financial capacity to upscale business ideas to the next level, which is critical in sustaining their businesses. Over the years, many young people in Kenya have come up with brilliant and innovative business ideas, but sadly, the ideas have not been harnessed into scalable strategies with the capacity to create employment opportunities for other people. As a result, many innovative business ideas that have the potential to spur job opportunities die at their formative stages, or at later stage due to myriad challenges.
It is for this reason that the Government of Kenya has partnered with the World Bank to launch a national business plan competition meant to support and spur youth entrepreneurship.
Dubbed “MbeleNaBiz Business Plan Competition” the Competition will run throughout all 47 counties in the country and will award 750 successful applying entrepreneurs grants of either Ksh 900,000 or Ksh 3,600,000 to upscale their businesses and create employment opportunities. A cohort of the successful applicants will also be provided with training on business plan preparation.
The Competition is an initiative under the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP). It is implemented by the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) and the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs (MPYG). KPMG has been brought on board to manage the Competition.
The Competition will accept applications from new and existing youth-led business enterprises. Applications from young Kenyans living in the diaspora will be accepted if their proposed businesses operate in Kenya.
A key criterion in the evaluation of the applications, will be their potential for job creation among youth. We are encouraging young entrepreneurs with great business ideas to enroll in the Competition and share their ideas. It could be the one great opportunity that they have been waiting for to take their business to the next level.
By investing in young entrepreneurs whose ventures will generate employment opportunities and earnings for other youth, the Competition will contribute to the development of an inclusive economy that provides opportunities for as many Kenyans as possible.
The writer is the CEO, Micro and Small Enterprises Authority
(MSEA)