NYOTA SELECTS 110,000 KENYANS TO RECEIVE KSH50,000 EACH, OUTLINES NEXT STEPS

The government’s youth empowerment initiative, National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA), has announced that 110,000 young Kenyans have been selected to receive Ksh50,000 each in business support grants.
According to the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), the selection process has been completed and successful applicants have already received notification messages. However, before accessing the funds, beneficiaries must complete an Entrepreneurship Aptitude Test.
To take the test, recipients are required to SMS the word “NYOTA” to 40270 before Sunday, August 31, 2025. Only those who achieve a minimum score of 70 percent will proceed to the next stage, which includes business training, mentorship, and eventual disbursement of the funds.
The NYOTA programme, a five-year initiative funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Kenyan government, seeks to tackle youth unemployment by equipping young people with entrepreneurial skills and financial support. It targets youth aged 18–29 years, and up to 35 years for persons with disabilities, who are unemployed or underemployed and possess a maximum of secondary school education.
President William Ruto’s administration has allocated billions of shillings to the project, which aims to empower over 100,000 youth annually through grants, training, and mentorship. Officials say the initiative will also promote a savings culture and support small enterprises across the country.