Oparanya urges youth to create jobs through government funding
Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Dr. Wycliffe Oparanya speaking during a past event photo/file
Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has urged young people to take advantage of government funding programmes to establish businesses and create employment opportunities as the government seeks to expand self-employment.
Speaking during the launch of MSME countrywide sensitization drive engagement in Mbale, Vihiga County, on Friday, Oparanya said the government was expanding access to start-up capital through programmes including NYOTA, Uwezo Fund, Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Fund and the Hustler Fund, urging young people to use the available opportunities to build sustainable businesses.
“This sector has employed over 20 million Kenyans through small business and self-employment,” Oparanya said, while citing a NYOTA beneficiary who had established a cyber café and employed two other people as an example of how government support could create jobs beyond the direct beneficiary. “The government is doing all these to ensure people get the start-up capital for businesses.”
The event saw Uwezo Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund received worth millions of Kenyan shillings to support beneficiaries, as the government highlighted various financing opportunities available to young people, women and small-scale entrepreneurs.
Oparanya said entrepreneurs seeking government support should formalise their businesses by registering with the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority, undergoing training and obtaining certification, noting that access to financing should be accompanied by skills that enable beneficiaries to manage and grow their enterprises.
He said NYOTA and the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation programme were targeting all 47 counties, with the government seeking to ensure that citizens benefit from programmes aimed at improving livelihoods and expanding economic opportunities. Oparanya also said 95 per cent of NYOTA beneficiaries had something to show from the support they had received.
The CS also urged young people and farmers to take greater interest in agriculture, particularly coffee farming, which he said could provide an additional source of income for households in Vihiga. He said the government had set aside Sh1 billion for coffee seedlings and that Vihiga farmers belonging to SACCOs would receive free seedlings this year.
Oparanya said a single coffee plant could generate approximately Sh3,000 per year, encouraging farmers to take advantage of the crop as the government seeks to increase agricultural production and household incomes.
Beyond financing, Oparanya said the national government was investing in infrastructure to improve the trading environment for small businesses in Vihiga through the construction of 10 modern markets equipped with facilities intended to support traders and preserve their goods.
“The national government is constructing 10 modern markets in Vihiga with amenities like internet, fridge to ensure goods don’t go bad, clean water and sanitation like bathrooms,” he said.
He said the facilities would also support digital inclusion and provide traders with better working environments as the government continues to promote MSMEs as a key driver of employment.
Oparanya further encouraged small-scale traders to take advantage of regional markets, saying the government would facilitate willing traders to attend an East African trade fair in Rwanda where they would have an opportunity to exhibit their products.
He also highlighted government interventions in agriculture, healthcare and affordable housing, including the Social Health Authority, as part of efforts to address gaps in access to essential services and improve livelihoods.
Oparanya urged young people to take advantage of the opportunities being provided through the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, saying access to funding, markets and other forms of support could help them move from job seeking to creating employment for themselves and others.
