Govt Confirms NYOTA Second Grant Disbursement Date

The government has assured beneficiaries of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project that the second tranche of business start-up grants will be disbursed by June 30, 2026, following delays occasioned by budgetary adjustments.

Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi on Tuesday, Principal Secretary (PS) for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Susan Mang’eni said all eligible beneficiaries would receive the funds simultaneously across the country before the end of the current financial year.

“To this extent, we wish to announce and confirm that the disbursement for the second tranche of business start-up capital will happen by June 30th, 2026. All beneficiaries will receive the grants at the same time, unlike the first tranche disbursement, which was phased out in clusters,” said Mang’eni.

The World Bank-supported NYOTA project seeks to empower vulnerable and marginalized youth through business training, mentorship, entrepreneurship support, apprenticeship, recognition of prior learning, job placement, and access to market opportunities.

The five-year programme, which commenced implementation in March 2025, attracted about two million applicants under its Business Support Component, demonstrating strong entrepreneurial interest among Kenyan youth.

Mang’eni said 122,147 young people from all the country’s 1,450 wards had successfully undergone entrepreneurial aptitude assessments and business development support training and had received the first start-up grant of Sh25,000, with Sh3,000 retained as savings under the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

She noted that monitoring conducted after the first disbursement showed encouraging results, with more than 99 per cent of beneficiaries having established businesses.

“The outcome of the first mentorship nationwide hand-holding session and the second business development support classroom training show that over 99 per cent of the beneficiaries of the start-up grant had already established their businesses,” she said.

According to the PS, the Government revised the project’s original phased implementation model following the overwhelming response from applicants and interventions by President William Ruto and the World Bank.

The move allowed all targeted beneficiaries to be enrolled at once instead of being spread across three separate intakes.

She explained that the adjustment compressed project activities into a single financial year, creating budgetary pressure that delayed the second disbursement.

“We regret the delay, but it was necessitated by the need for budgetary enhancements after the project design was adjusted to accommodate all selected beneficiaries at once,” she said, adding that the National Treasury was working to resolve fiscal constraints.

Mang’eni said the project had engaged 46 business development service providers, over 3,600 trainers and 5,500 mentors nationwide to support youth entrepreneurs through training, mentorship and business growth guidance.

Addressing concerns about accountability, she said beneficiaries were being closely monitored through structured mentorship programmes to ensure grants were invested in business ventures.

“The second disbursement has to be earned. If beneficiaries have not demonstrated effort in establishing or running their businesses, they will not qualify for the next tranche,” she said.

The PS attributed the project’s success to its digital implementation model, saying it had minimized opportunities for corruption and enhanced transparency in beneficiary selection and fund disbursement.

She urged beneficiaries to remain vigilant against fraudsters exploiting the programme through fake messages, links and payment requests.

“There is no payment required to access these funds. Anyone asking beneficiaries to pay money is a fraudster,” she warned.

Mang’eni further revealed that the government was considering scaling up the programme in the 2026/2027 financial year to accommodate more youth who applied but were not selected in the current intake.

She said the president had already expressed support for expanding the initiative, citing its success in using technology to distribute opportunities equitably across the country.

“We have plans to scale up the project and create opportunities for more young people who expressed interest but were not successful in this intake,” she said.

The NYOTA project is being implemented through a multi-agency framework involving the State Departments for Youth Affairs, MSME Development, and Labour and Social Protection, working through agencies including the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), National Employment Authority (NEA), and NSSF.