Government efforts to address youth unemployment through entrepreneurship are beginning to bear fruit, with beneficiaries of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme using financial support to establish income-generating ventures across the country.
One such beneficiary is 23-year-old Godwin Ng’eno from Kapsing’aru Village in Soliat Ward, Soin/Sigowet Constituency, Kericho County, who has turned the programme’s funding into a growing sugarcane farming enterprise while pursuing his ambition of building a career in Medical Biotechnology.
Ng’eno received the first NYOTA disbursement of Sh22,000, which he invested in sugarcane cultivation, a crop he says offered the best opportunity due to its strong presence in the region and an established market.
“Growing up in Soin/Sigowet, where sugarcane is one of the region’s major cash crops, I wanted to invest in a business that I understood and one with a ready market. I saw it as an opportunity to start building my future while waiting to secure employment in my profession,” he said.
He has remained actively involved in every stage of production, from land preparation to crop management.
His successful establishment of the first crop qualified him for the programme’s second disbursement of Sh22,000, which he has used to prepare additional land and expand the venture.
The expansion reflects the broader objective of the NYOTA Programme, which the government is scaling up to equip young people with financial support and entrepreneurial skills as part of efforts to reduce unemployment and promote self-employment.
Ng’eno credited the initiative with giving many young people an opportunity to create their own livelihoods instead of waiting for formal employment.
“I am grateful to President William Ruto and the Government for introducing the NYOTA Programme. It has given many young people hope and the confidence to start businesses instead of remaining dependent or waiting indefinitely for jobs,” he said.
Despite the encouraging progress, Ng’eno acknowledged that establishing a business has presented several challenges.
Rising prices of farm inputs, limited capital and unpredictable weather have tested the venture’s sustainability, but he remains confident that persistence will pay off.
“Every business has challenges, especially when you are starting. Farm inputs are expensive and farming requires patience, but I believe every challenge is an opportunity to learn and become better,” he said.
Looking to the future, the young entrepreneur plans to increase the acreage under sugarcane production, diversify into other high-value agricultural ventures and establish a modern agribusiness capable of creating employment opportunities for other young people in his community.
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