As Kenya's youth empowerment drive gains momentum, the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project is rolling out business training for over 63,000 selected beneficiaries starting today, Friday, November 15, 2025, across 25 counties. This marks a pivotal phase in the World Bank-funded initiative, but authorities are sounding the alarm on a wave of fraudulent apps and SMS messages exploiting the program's popularity to scam eager applicants.Principal Secretary for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, Susan Auma Mageni, announced the rollout during a press briefing on November 14, 2025. The four-day classroom sessions—spanning November 15 to 18—will cover 151 constituencies and 754 wards, focusing on entrepreneurship skills, business development services (BDS), and practical tools for launching sustainable ventures. Only youth who received official SMS invitations from the shortcode "Nyota Ke" are expected to attend at designated venues, with no fees required for participation.
Post-training, beneficiaries will enter a two-month mentorship and incubation period, followed by access to seed grants—starting at KSh 25,000 for the first cohort, with a second batch of KSh 4.4 billion slated for disbursement next week. President William Ruto highlighted Nairobi's focus, aiming to support 6,000 enterprises with KSh 300 million to scale up small businesses.NYOTA, a five-year program launched in October 2025, targets vulnerable youth aged 18-29 (up to 35 for those with disabilities) who haven't advanced beyond Form 4. It addresses unemployment by promoting skills in sectors like agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, transport, and the creative economy, while fostering savings through initiatives like the NSSF's Haba Haba scheme—complete with bonus matching contributions and maternity benefits for consistent savers. Over 100,000 youth are projected to benefit nationwide, building on the first cohort's success where 12,000 received initial grants in Western Kenya.With excitement building, fraudsters have capitalized on the hype. The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) warns of bogus mobile apps falsely claiming to facilitate NYOTA registrations or fund access, often demanding fees like KSh 165 for "eligibility checks." Fraudulent M-PESA alerts mimicking disbursements (e.g., "You have received KSh 50,000 from Nyota Funds") have also circulated, but MSEA confirms no payments have been sent yet—and none will reference a "Nyota Foundation," a nonexistent entity.