The National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has received a briefing on the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
The session, chaired by Vice Chairperson Marianne Kitany (Aldai), saw members question Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Wycliffe Oparanya and his Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports counterpart Salim Mvurya on the roll-out of the programme.
Members expressed concern over the slow implementation of the multi-billion shilling youth empowerment project and highlighted issues with some of the requirements imposed on youths before accessing the funds.
The ambitious programme aims to ensure 70 youths in each of the 1,450 wards across the country receive a grant of Sh50,000 to start or expand businesses.
NYOTA, a scaled-up version of the Kenya Youth Empowerment Program (KYEOP), targets over 100,000 youths with business ideas. Each successful applicant will receive Sh50,000 disbursed in two instalments of Sh25,000, accompanied by Business Development Services (BDS) training and mentorship.
The programme focuses on youth aged 18 to 29, and up to 35 years for persons with disabilities, particularly those with secondary education or lower, including school dropouts.
Earlier, the House team also met the Managing Director of the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Markets Authority regarding the sale of East African Portland Cement (EAPC) shares.
