Mombasa youth have been urged to apply for the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) grant to access capital to set up business enterprises and curb unemployment.
Speaking at the Youth Fund Office in Mombasa, the Chairperson of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund Board and a youth empowerment advocate, Fatma Barayan, underscored the fact that the Fund (YEDF) has assisted various groups in Mombasa, who have benefitted from loans amounting to Sh17,588,750.
She gave a breakdown of the disbursements, stating that Jomvu Constituency has so far benefitted from Sh6,650,000, Kisauni has received Sh3,898,750, Nyali received loans worth Sh2.6 million, Likoni from Sh 2.5 million, Changamwe got Sh1.1 million, and groups in Mvita benefitted from Sh840,000.
“I would like to highlight that the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) has benefitted the youth of Mombasa. The funds allocated to Mombasa County total Sh225,852,385 and have benefitted 10,425 young people,” Barayan added.
However, she noted that the main challenge they face is that many young people do not understand that this project is a revolving fund and not a grant. Therefore, it’s important to know that when they receive the funds, they are expected to repay them with interest rates that are lower than those offered by commercial banks.
She added that, currently, 50 young individuals who underwent training last week are set to benefit from Sh7 million to facilitate their travel to Saudi Arabia in two weeks, where they will engage in various employment and business opportunities.
“The loan recovery rate is generally satisfactory, but there are constituencies where we still have to encourage young people to understand that this is a loan and that we rely on their timely repayments so that other young people can also benefit,” she added.
“Some of the things we train them on include writing proposals because that’s an important criterion when applying for a loan. We use that proposal to provide advice and guidance on how to run their businesses,” she explained.
Kelvin Ireri, CEO of Derek Enterprises, an internet provider in Miritini and Mikindani, and one of the beneficiaries of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), stated that they started their company with many financial challenges until they acquired a Sh2 million loan from the youth fund.
“We were able to repay that Sh2 million, and just yesterday, we received a top-up of Sh4 million to further expand our business, employ more young people, and provide internet services to other towns,” he stated.
He highlighted that the YEDF is better for young people than banks because the processes at banks are lengthy and require the use of assets to acquire a loan, which many young people do not have. Despite this, he also mentioned that the YEDF has low interest rates, making it a friendlier option for young entrepreneurs.
He reiterated that the YEDF provided them with a loan of Sh2 million and advice on how to run their business. With this support, they were able to expand their business from providing wireless internet to also providing fibre internet. Currently, they provide 80 pe rcent fibre and 20 per cent wireless internet services.
Riziki Mathias shared her success story, explaining that she initially received a loan of Sh50,000, which she used to build a stall for rent. She then received a second loan of Sh100,000 and purchased a tank to sell purified water, recognising its profitability.
With a third loan of Sh200,000, she invested in digging a borehole, further expanding her water business. Currently, she is aiming to take out a loan of Sh500,000 to purchase a water bowser and expand her business even further.
The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) is a flagship project of the Kenya Vision 2030 and a state corporation under the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, and Youth Affairs that aims to create employment opportunities for young people through entrepreneurship.
It focuses on enterprise development to increase economic opportunities for Kenyan youth by advancing loans to youth, training them on entrepreneurial skills, and supporting them in marketing their products.
By Fatma Said