Youth: This is how cash set aside for us could be made more beneficial

Several initiatives have been crafted in a bid to improve the lot of the youth. One of these strategies is helping them set up businesses and be self-reliant. These efforts are driven by the need to meet the challenges of the lack of jobs.

The youth form the majority of the population and if they are offered the necessary support to venture into entrepreneurship, they can play a key role in economic growth.

Aside from creating jobs, youth entrepreneurs grow the economy by contributing to Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and enhancing national revenues through taxation.

One of the major initiatives towards this end is the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF).

The Fund was launched in 2006 as part of the government’s response to high levels of unemployment among young people. Now the Fund has been in operation almost for a decade. The question is, has it met its objective?

Statistics does not paint a rosy picture on the performance of the initiative. Mr Edward Githaiga CEO for Vision 2030 Youth Entrepreneurs Associate, says the Fund has a long way to go before it meets the needs of the youth. He says Only 200,000 youth against a population of 20 million have so far benefited from it.

Mr Githaiga said YEDF’s main Achilles heel is political interference, a view supported by business strategist Lawi Kibire who noted that the selection of the board members has all always taken a political angle.

“Young people are not on the board, the board members also do not have strong backgrounds in business, yet they are put to manage youth funds,” said Mr Kibire. “It is important to also look into the lending structure and do away with rigorous collateral processes that thwart youth from making an effort in applying for the funds.”

A number of youth interviewed said the fund is suffering from poor leadership.

Youthful entrepreneur Mr Brian Randich who has interests in real estate and finance echoed Mr Kibire’s sentiments. He said the current system of disbursing the funds is quite wanting.

Mr Randich has experienced the Fund’s challenges first-hand. As he was starting his businesses, he sought help from YEDF but he encountered an intricate web of roadblocks that proved difficult to navigate. He finally found salvation in government tenders.

He blames corruption for inefficacy of the Fund.

“Many people are applying for the loans, but the problem is too much corruption. Genuine people are locked out and the cartels benefit,” Mr Randich told Money.

Mr Randich said the top leadership at the Fund should be youthful adding that currently some managers are aged over 50 years. Sidelining the youth from top leadership he said, has spawned the current rot bedevilling the otherwise noble initiative.

“Secluding youth from the fund’s management means their views and needs do not matter,” said Randich adding that it is evident that the older people do not have interests of the youth at heart.

“How would you explain the current messy situation at the fund?” he posed.

Over the recent past, the fund has been reeling from claims of corruption with millions of shillings apparently embezzled. President Uhuru Kenyatta sent home board Chairman Bruce Odhiambo amid allegations of these sleazy deals. The chairman is the President’s appointee.

Many youth say the criteria for obtaining the funds is not clear adding that even when they meet the set conditions they are still unable to access the funds.

YEDF acting CEO Emmanuel Odero said the board is appointed by the cabinet secretary. And while the youth point fingers at the leadership of the Fund for the current series of woes, the CEO says the selection process for managers is above board. Mr Odero added that the challenges facing YEDF is not entirely the creation of the leadership.

“Yes there have been negative incidents in the past, (but) we cannot entirely blame it on the board selection criteria. The chairman is appointed by the President himself on merit,” said Mr Odero.

“The CEO is also recruited through a competitive recruitment process.”

Mr Odero however said reforms are underway to ensure efficient and effective administration of the Fund.

The changes, he said, are being spearheaded by the Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki.

“The Cabinet Secretary has strengthened the audit process to involve effective implementation of the audit recommendations,’ said Mr Odero.

The CEO is optimistic that YEDF will ride through the current storm. He noted that one of the challenges that need to be addressed as soon as possible is the lack of awareness among the youth on the process of obtaining the funds. Thus, he added, more focus is being put to encourage the youth to take up funds.

Mr Odero said the Fund has increased its regional offices to 14 in a bid to reach more youth. “We also have officers presence in each and every constituency but unlike women, youth are not quite aggressive. We are encouraging them to take up opportunities offered by the government,” said Mr Odero.

“We are doing aggressive sensitisation so that most youth can understand what government has put in place for them. We are putting more focus on improving youth welfare,” said Odero. “Uptake of the Fund must increase. As we issue more cheques, we sensitise youth not to shy away from applying. for more funds”

The inaccessibility of the funds has hampered President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2013 promise to create one million new jobs. The Jubilee administration expected to ride on initiatives such as YEDF and the allocation of 30 per cent of all public tenders to the youth and other marginalized groups to address the acute shortage of joblessness.

How to apply for cash from Youth Fund

To apply for the funds, first you need to form a group and register an enterprise with the Registrar of Companies either as a sole proprietor, partnership, limited company, or an association.

It is also important to receive clearance from the Youth Enterprise Fund if you are a youth; Women Gender Directorate if a woman; and, certification from National Council for Persons with Disability if you are disabled.

Register your enterprise with the National Treasury. Collect registration forms from the Locational Social Development Committee, a Social Development Assistant (SDA), the District Social Development Officer or download it from the website of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs.

Completed forms are certified by a social development assistant and forwarded to the Divisional Social Development Committee (SDC), which assesses proposals in line with guidelines.

The divisional SDC forwards recommended proposals in order of merit to the District Social Development Committee. The district SDC conducts further assessment of the proposals, including their financial and technical viability, before a final approval for funding.

The assessment criteria includes; registration status of the group (must be a registered group) and whether the group has been in existence for at least three months

Also important to the Youth Fund officials is whether your proposal is business-oriented and if your group or business has a bank account.
It is also important that the group gets recommendation from the local SDA or the secretary of the locational SDC.

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