Govt says 98% of NYOTA funds beneficiaries have started their businesses
By Francis Muli, March 31, 2026The government has announced that 98 per cent of beneficiaries under the NYOTA Business Support initiative have already started their businesses.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Susan Mang’eni said the milestone follows the rollout of a countrywide mentorship programme that began on March 4, 2026, across all 1,450 wards.
“The mentorship program includes site visits, business guide talks, experience sharing moments, cross-peer mentorship and networking sessions to enable beneficiaries to start and grow their businesses,” she said.
The mentorship initiative was introduced after the disbursement of the first tranche of startup capital to 121,800 beneficiaries under the NYOTA project’s three-pronged model of business skills training, funding and mentorship.
According to the government, 94 per cent of beneficiaries who received the initial funding have already undergone mentorship.
“To date, 94 % of the beneficiaries who received the first tranche of startup capital have been taken through the mentorship program, and 98% of them have already started their businesses. The remaining 2% are in the process of starting their business,” the statement said.
Data from the programme shows that a majority of participants are new to entrepreneurship. About 65 per cent are first-time business owners, while 19 per cent have less than one year of experience. Another 13 per cent have between one and three years of experience, and only 3 per cent have been in business for more than three years.
“This shows that the NYOTA Business Support is largely supporting emerging entrepreneurs who are at the early stages of building their enterprises,” Mang’eni noted.
The programme has also achieved near gender parity, with women accounting for 51 per cent of beneficiaries who have undergone mentorship, compared to 49 per cent men.
In terms of sectors, agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries dominate, accounting for 41 per cent of the enterprises. Wholesale and retail follows at 26 per cent, while fashion and design accounts for 11 per cent and beauty and cosmetics 7 per cent. Other sectors represented include ICT, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, as well as transportation and storage.
The nationwide mentorship programme, initially scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, has been extended to April 8, 2026, to accommodate the remaining six per cent of beneficiaries yet to participate.
“We have extended the deadline to Wednesday, 8th April 2026 to give the remaining 6% of the beneficiaries who are yet to turn up an opportunity for mentorship,” Mang’eni said, urging those yet to engage to contact constituency NYOTA Project coordinators.
She emphasized that participation in the mentorship programme is mandatory for progression to the next phase of training.
“The mentorship is a mandatory requirement for the 2nd business skills classroom training,” she said.
The second phase of classroom-based business skills training is set to begin on April 15, 2026, across all constituencies.
Upon completion, beneficiaries will receive a second tranche of startup capital amounting to Ksh25,000, including Ksh3,000 set aside as savings under the National Social Security Fund Haba Haba scheme. This will bring the total disbursement per beneficiary to Ksh50,000.
The government said the second disbursement is expected before the end of April 2026, after which beneficiaries will enter a second mentorship phase aimed at linking them to the micro, small and medium enterprises ecosystem.
Beneficiaries in Dadaab Refugee Camp and Kakuma Refugee Camp will undertake their classroom training in April and May 2026 alongside host communities.
The programme has also created opportunities for graduate-level youth, with over 3,600 trainers and 5,500 mentors engaged to support participants through training and mentorship.