President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered that three local youth initiatives get full government funding and support for full actualization.
In his Global Youth Day speech, President Kenyatta ordered the Department of Youth to immediately work with the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation to support the Angaza Elimu, Tambua and PGRC 360 Recycle initiatives.
He ordered the concerned departments to undertake a comprehensive inventory of the innovators, support them to fully develop the innovations and facilitate them, in some instances, to mass production and enterprise development. The departments have also been tasked to assist them in protecting their intellectual property.
Angaza Elimu is an edtech social enterprise, primed to transform education across the entire African continent by addressing the problem of inefficient classrooms and inadequate educational materials.
Tambua is a mobile phone app that helps patients verify the authenticity of pharmaceutical products. This protects citizens from purchasing counterfeit drugs.
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PGRC 360 Recycle converts plastic, glass and rubber waste from dumpsites to make composite material that can be used in furniture designing, slabbing and curbing of footpaths.
“These and similar ideas and innovations provide simple, accessible, and affordable home-grown solutions to problems ordinary Kenyans face. And we need to nurture this unique talent of our youth,” said President Kenyatta.
The President also revealed that in the last twelve months, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) has disbursed a total of Ksh473 million to 94,680 youth across the country.
“The Ajira programme, for example, is designed to empower over one million young Kenyans to access digital job opportunities, MSME programmes providing training and financial support as well as our Studio Mashinani which we have put together to harness talent in the creative sectors,” he added.
In terms of education, President Kenyatta said that the government had achieved 100 percent primary to secondary school transition, and also built other vocational training centres for the benefit of the youth.
“We have expanded and reformed technical and vocational education and training to make it more relevant and linked to the world of work. The 152 Youth Empowerment Centres, which are spread across the country provide a ‘One Stop Shop’ for youth focused services including access to ICT services, entrepreneurship training, guidance as well as counselling,” he said.
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