A very critical new report has come to light which shows that the government’s leading Nyota youth empowerment project spent all of its first-year budget amounting to more than Sh1 billion just on administrative costs and consultancies, with no start-up loans or training at all given to the more than one million applicants who were promised support from the program and who applied.
The revelation has caused a lot of indignation among the youth groups, lawmakers, and watchdogs who are demanding accountability as the project is under intense scrutiny regarding its management and execution.
Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) which is the agency responsible for implementing the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (Nyota) project disclosed that Sh1.032 billion which was allocated by the World Bank and government for the financial year 2024/25 was completely consumed by internal costs.
A large portion of the funds was spent on consulting fees, office operations, and internal administration rather than the start-up capital, business training, and mentorship that were promised to the youths.
The auditors indicated that 84.4 percent of the allocated funds went to administrative activities, including the purchase of computers and other office equipment, while essential services that are central to empowerment — like skills training and capital disbursement — were not operated during the year.
This disaster has resulted in the inability of hundreds of thousands of competent applicants to access support which in turn has weakened the project’s claims of objectives and raised issues of supervision.
The Nyota project, which had a total budget of Sh33 billion with 90 percent World Bank funding, was aimed at offering financial support in the form of start-up loans, mentoring and access to markets for entrepreneurs aged 18-29.
It was expected to benefit eight hundred thousand youth across the country by December 2028, but unfortunately, it seems that the project is getting associated with mismanagement instead of being recognized for its good opportunities.
Opposition lawmakers and youth activists have been among the critics expressing their views regarding the project’s difficulties and they have labelled the management of the Nyota project as “a betrayal of public trust”.
They are now calling for an inquiry by the parliament to look into the amount distributed from the fund and the reason for the lack of applicants’ benefits. Some analysts even go as far as predicting that the fiasco could lead to the loss of public faith in such empowerment projects and overall discontent with government programs.
The Ministry of MSMEs and its management have not yet made any public comment concerning the report, despite donors and stakeholders pushing for immediate action to correct the situation. The second phase of the Nyota project is already being implemented in some counties and the issues of transparency and governance are becoming more pronounced as the time for the key disbursement becomes nearer.
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