Young people engaged in the ‘bodaboda’ business are set to benefit from a partnership between the Co-operative Bank Foundation and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) to enhance the employment and business growth for 3,000 bodaboda riders.
The partnership will offer riders support in business skills, digital tools to run their business and more important, road safety to reduce the high rate of accidents and loss of lives involving bodabodariders across the country.
The project will be first implemented in the Coast, Eastern and Central regions of Kenya, after which it will be rolled out to other parts of the country.
To kick-off the project going, the Co-op Bank Foundation will be engaging the bodaboda riders through their associations and groups, and also owners of motorcycle fleets, women who run bodaboda businesses and riders who operate electric and solar-powered motor bikes.
Other key project partners offering support to the project include; the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to provide training on road safety and compliance, SAFAL MRM Group Foundation to mobilise the riders for training, Mark Holdings Limited for providing service facility for the motorbikes, and Co-op Bank Bancassurance to provide insurance and training, mainly on benefits of insurance and risk mitigation.
The Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project under the Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) programme.
The GI Country Director Mr. Bodo Immink, lauded the project as a key milestone towards increasing job opportunities in the sector, saying;
“Initiating and supporting sustainable development is what we do every day together with our partners. With this project we are setting the stage for urban and sustainable mobility,” said Mr. Immink.
The Head of the Co-opBank Foundation Dora Waruiru lauded the partnership as a long-overdue intervention to mitigate the huge challenges of the otherwise promising bodaboda sector, saying;
“The BodaBoda sector has emerged rapidly to become a great opportunity for creating jobs and incomes especially for young people, but has come with huge challenges not least of which is the unacceptably high rate of accidents and loss of lives. It is therefore a great honour for us to partner with GIZ, NTSA and others to support BodaBoda riders run their business in a safe and profitable fashion.”
Background Brief
Over 75% of the country’s population is aged 35 years and below. Similar to other middle-income countries, youth unemployment in Kenya presents a challenge to its development agenda. The World Bank estimates that approximately 800,000 Kenyans join the labour market each year and only 50,000 succeed in getting professional jobs1. ILO corroborates this situation where youth aged 15 to 24 make up over 35 per cent of the working-age population, they account for less than 19 per cent of total formal employment2. With the current population trends, the overall number of unemployed youths will double between the years 2010 and 2035.
Partners
Employment and skills for Development in Africa (E4D)Launched in 2015, the Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) programme aims at bringing people into jobs and improving employment situations in six countries: Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Through cooperation with the private and public sector partners, E4D is implementing development projects in different sectors, mainly targeting disadvantaged groups like women and youth. The programme is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is co-funded in Kenya by the European Union (EU) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
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NTSA In this partnership, NTSA will support the design and delivery of a curriculum on road safety and facilitate sessions on traffic laws and adherence to the set-out safety guidelines. Additionally, the Authority will support development of content related to road safety to be accessed on the digital application.
The Safal MRM Foundation is the Social Investment arm of the Safal Group in Africa. The Foundation already has Alumni groups involved in BodaBoda work and will play a critical role within the project in providing logistical support in mobilizing and training of the targeted youths to enhance their technical skills.
Co-op Bank Foundation
Co-operative Bank Foundation (CBF) was established in 2007 as a registered trust in recognition of the need to enhance the existing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by Co-operative Bank of Kenya Limited.
Co-op Bank Bancassurancewill provide insurance underwriting services to the bodaboda riders, and training, mainly on benefits of insurance and risk mitigation.
Mark Holdings Limitedare dealers in motorcycles, motorbike spares and provide service facility for bikes. They will provide training on basic motor vehicle serving and maintenance by holding motorcycle service clinics. As a dealer, Mark Holding will provide motorcycle to the youths through their Co-operatives and will be expected to support in purchasing branded reflecting jackets as a key step in ensuring their safety.
