Hundreds of young people in Webuye East and Mwingi North constituencies are set to receive technical vocational skills and business development training from the KCB Foundation.

This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the foundation and the two constituencies.

The training will focus on the key sectors that hold the greatest self-employment potential including, building and construction, manufacturing, carpentry and joinery, electrical installation, catering and hospitality, automotive engineering, domestic services, sustainable agribusiness, beauty and personal care and ICT as well as creative arts.

The deal will see KCB Foundation invest a total of KES4.9 million, matched on a 1:1 ratio by the National Government Constituencies Development Fund in both constituencies, bringing the total investment to KES9.8 million in support of over 150 youth.

The youth will be trained under KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri programme, which seeks to support unemployed and out-of-school youth to gain technical skills and employment in the job market.

The training also includes entrepreneurial and business development skills training as well as access to capital and asset financing for the businesses that they set up.

KCB Foundation Director Mendi Njonjo noted that “By working in partnership with the local government, we ensure that we support deserving youth and institutions within our constituencies. This is our approach to nurturing the growth of MSMEs at grassroot levels by providing technical training, access to capital, toolkits provision and business management support from KCB’s micro bankers.”

The youth will receive classroom training for 3-6 months after which they will sit for the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) Grade 3 assessment.

Consequently, they will be linked to jobs and internships through the county labour-based program as well as business development.

Webuye East constituency MP Hon Martin Wanyonyi said, “Our goal is to tackle the issue of youth unemployment and provide them opportunities that will enable them to provide for their livelihoods. I am particularly happy that both the youth and our MSMEs most importantly can now achieve their growth ambitions.”

Read also: KCB Foundation backs 1,000 scholars in the class of 2024

Promoting sustainability

In other development, KCB Foundation will provide Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) financing to select schools within the constituencies to enable the transition to green energy for cooking as part of KCB’s commitment to promoting sustainability and green solutions.

Mwingi North MP Paul Musyimi added that, "At a grassroot levels, the role of MSMEs cannot be overlooked, because they spur the economy, provide jobs for our people and attract investment. This is why I am happy that has introduced 2Jiajiri to ensure we empower our people and give this constituency the competitive advantage necessary to thrive."

Since its inception in 2016, 29,712 youths have been trained under the 2jiajiri initiative, 9,708 businesses incubated, and 267 million Kenya Shillings worth of loans disbursed under the initiative. 1,612 startup toolkits have been issued, with 11,845 (41 percent) female and 17,045 (59 percent) male beneficiaries.