Innovations creating hope and opportunities for the youth

According to the World Bank, almost 50 per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are living in extreme poverty.

And here in Kenya, we are not immune from such dangers.

Given that our population’s median age is 19 years, we face a rapidly growing young generation eager for jobs and prosperity.

Fortunately, so far, the government is doing what is required to prevent Kenya from being dragged into Africa’s dangerous demographic quagmire.

We lead the pack, but we still have more work to do.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
Under Uhuru, specific measures to address youth employment have already yielded encouraging results.

The Kenya Youth Empowerment Project exceeded expectations, placing more than 13,000 young people in training and internship programmes.

Seventy-eight per cent of these found immediate employment.

Building on this success, the government announced in the recent Budget that companies hiring interns will receive generous tax breaks.

In addition, a further Sh18.3 billion is being allocated towards youth mentoring and entrepreneurship, plus Sh600 million specifically for youth business enterprise.

MENTORING THE YOUTH

Such targeted initiatives are one reason why 2.3 million new jobs have been created since President Kenyatta came to power.

But the key to the government’s success in boosting youth employment is not only in allocating funds to job placement projects.

It lies in a real understanding of today’s global trends and how growth can be harnessed for tomorrow.

In today’s rapidly developing technological world, the opportunity to empower young people and to truly place the future in their hands, has perhaps never been greater.

The government continues to place an emphasis on innovation and connectivity, as the engine to fuel growth.

INTERNET UBIQUITY
Kenya’s tag as the “Silicon Savannah” is no mere slogan.

It is becoming ever more tangible. More than 30 million Kenyans use the internet, a huge increase from just 12 million in 2013.

And during the last year, satellite data subscriptions have surged by an extra 113 per cent, while terrestrial wireless data subscriptions have seen a 20 per cent growth.

Widespread online accessibility and connectivity means that the potential riches of the internet and digital age are open to all - in short, opportunity in Kenya is being democratised from the bottom up.

Kenya’s digital makeover is also being translated into very real economic benefits.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Bloomberg predicts that Nairobi’s burgeoning tech scene could be worth $1 billion (Sh100bn) to Kenya’s economy by 2019.

Already, 54 of the country’s start-ups are featured on AngelList, a global portal which matches promising early-stage ventures with angel investors.

And several Kenyan start-ups have already become global industry leaders.

Magic Bus Ticketing, described by some as the “Uber for buses”, beat off competition from 25,000 applicants to be awarded the $1 million (Sh100m) Hult Prize last year.

Meanwhile, video-on-demand start-up Buni.tv was bought out last year by French music video network TRACE TV.

BRIGHT FUTURE
And the global vote of confidence in Kenya’s innovation potential was recently underscored by the announcement that Facebook has launched a low-cost internet solution in Kenya, which is set to hook up even more Kenyans online.

In many ways, these results speak for themselves.

They are a palpable insight into what can be achieved.

At the same time, they hand Kenya’s youth something equally important for our country’s future – hope.

The government’s commitment towards youth employment, innovation and technological development gives hope for a future of opportunity.

Ms Wangari is a nominated senator