The government has refuted a social media notice claiming completion of business training and the commencement of Ksh25,000 start-up capital disbursement under the NYOTA initiative.
In a statement issued on Sunday, May 10, MSMEs principal secretary Susan Mang’eni identified the notice as fraudulent, advising beneficiaries not to heed it, as it did not come from the program.
“Disregard such purported ‘update’ circulating regarding NYOTA start-up capital disbursement. We will make an official announcement in the coming days regarding when the disbursement will occur,” she stated.
The fraudulent notice, presented as a media release, asserted that beneficiaries had finished a compulsory two-day classroom business training and that phase two disbursement of start-up capital would commence on Monday, May 11.
While denying the notice, Mang’eni assured beneficiaries that official communication on subsequent steps would be released through verified communication channels.
She further motivated participants to continue developing their enterprises while awaiting the formal announcement.
“Meanwhile, we encourage our beneficiaries to continue developing their businesses and sharing their success stories,” she added.
It is important to note that the ministry is currently conducting business training for beneficiaries who received the initial Ksh 25,000 business start-up capital.
Following the conclusion of the training, the ministry will distribute a total of over Ksh33 billion to the beneficiaries, adding Ksh 25,000 each to their businesses. The specific dates, however, have not yet been formally announced.
NYOTA is a five-year transformative agenda financed by the World Bank. It seeks to empower youth by tackling unemployment, income insecurity and limited savings.
Reports indicate that Kenyans nationwide benefited from the fund during the first nationwide rollout.
Under the fund, a youth receives Ksh22,000 in direct business support and Ksh3,000 in savings deposited under the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Haba Haba Scheme.
To enhance the program’s success rate, county governments recently declared a two-year waiver of business license fees for NYOTA beneficiaries.