State set to roll out Sh33b youth, women empowerment programmes

Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya during the Mashinani outreach program on MSME programs in Ikolomani Constituency, Kakamega County, on April 22, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

The government plans to roll out a Sh33 billion youth and women empowerment programmes in partnership with the World Bank known as the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) and Kenya Jobs Economic Transformation project (KJET).

Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya explained that Nyota seeks to empower youths with business training, mentorship and start-up grants of up to Sh50,000 while KJET seeks to integrate MSMEs into value chains with improved infrastructure and sector specific training, empowering youth and women enterprises.