The government of Kenya has unveiled a US $20million Empowering Novel Agribusiness-led Employment (ENABLE Kenya) programme set to bridge the succession gap in agribusiness in the country.
The president launched the programme in Nairobi County. It will be a youth capacity-building initiative aimed at creating employment and generating income in agriculture. 520 youth will be trained this month and will each receive financing of between Sh500,000 and 1.5 million as start-up capital. He also noted with appreciation the prioritisation of initiatives to build capacity in modern agribusiness technologies and to provide access to affordable and high-quality inputs.
“I note also that numerous on-going agricultural projects have integrated components for the youth, and a number of them have been designed and specifically tailor-made for the youth,” said President Uhuru.
ENABLE Kenya
ENABLE Kenya is funded by both the government of Kenya and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The programme seeks to build the capacity of 10,000 Kenyan young people involved in agribusiness to enable them to create employment opportunities for 50,000 others.
Aside from the training and capacity building to be offered, the program will also disburse funds to beneficiaries as interest-free loans to finance start-ups and in low-interest credit for existing youth enterprises. Also included in the kitty is risk guarantee provision to buffer financial institutions that provide commercial loans to entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.
The head of state also launched the rebranded 4-K Clubs with a call to the County Governments and stakeholders in the agriculture value chain to increase their support for efforts to empower the youth in agribusiness. He said ENABLE Kenya and 4-K Clubs fit into the various farmer empowerment initiatives being implemented by the government among them the Aquaculture Business Development Programme that is being rolled out in 15 counties.
“To complement this pilot project, parallel efforts are in place to transfer aquaculture technology and build the capacity of the youth in schools by establishing aquaponics in learning institutions. Already, 40 schools spread out across the country have benefited from this initiative,” said President Kenyatta.
