NAIROBI, Kenya — The government has assured beneficiaries of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme that the second tranche of startup grants will be disbursed by June 30, ending weeks of uncertainty over the release of the funds.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, June 2, Principal Secretary for MSMEs Development Susan Mang’eni attributed the delay to budgetary pressures arising from changes made to the implementation framework of the World Bank-funded initiative.
According to the PS, the programme was initially designed to roll out its Business Support Component in three separate intake phases. However, overwhelming demand from young Kenyans prompted the government to revise the model and adopt a nationwide rollout.
“The government acknowledges the increasing inquiries and concerns from beneficiaries on the disbursement of the second tranche and regrets the delay, which was caused by the compression of the project and concentration of the attendant budgetary requirements in one financial year,” Mang’eni said.
The Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development said consultations were held with President William Ruto and World Bank officials after it became clear that interest in the programme had far exceeded initial projections.
To avoid long waiting periods for applicants who would have fallen under later phases, the government opted to implement the Business Support Component as a one-off nationwide intake.
“Following the intervention of His Excellency the President and the World Bank leadership in Kenya, the component was rolled out as a one-off intake nationwide to avoid delays for beneficiaries,” the statement said.
The revised approach means all eligible applicants are being processed under a single nationwide selection exercise instead of staggered intakes spread across multiple phases.
Government estimates indicate that more than two million young people applied for the Business Support Component, making it one of the largest youth empowerment initiatives in the country.
Officials said processing applicants in batches would have significantly delayed support for many prospective beneficiaries, prompting the decision to consolidate the programme into a single intake.
Despite the changes in implementation, the funding structure remains unchanged.
Most beneficiaries have already received the first tranche of KSh25,000, while the second tranche is expected to be released by June 30, 2026, completing the KSh50,000 startup support package.
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The confirmation is expected to provide relief to thousands of beneficiaries who had been seeking clarity on when the remaining funds would be disbursed.
President William Ruto launched the first phase of grant disbursements earlier this year, overseeing the release of approximately KSh2.5 billion to youth beneficiaries across all 47 counties.
The NYOTA programme is primarily financed by the World Bank, with total project funding estimated at about KSh25.8 billion.
Beyond startup capital, the initiative also supports skills development and employment opportunities through the On-the-Job Experience (OJE) programme, which targets approximately 90,000 young people through apprenticeships and workplace-based learning.
The government says the programme is intended to address youth unemployment by equipping young people with business capital, practical skills and work experience to improve their participation in the economy.
