Ali AwDoll
Members of the Garissa County Assembly have raised alarm over persistent technical hitches in the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project, saying the glitches have unfairly locked out hundreds of young people from accessing government-funded business support.
Speaking to journalists shortly after hosting Kenya’s First Daughter, Ms. Charlene Ruto, at the Assembly for youth empowerment engagements, the MCAs described widespread frustration among local applicants who were unable to complete registration due to repeated system failures. They appealed to Ms. Ruto to intervene with the relevant authorities to ensure the issue is resolved and the registration period extended.
Baraki Ward MCA Hassan Geley led the calls for accountability, revealing that despite hundreds of youth from his ward applying for the NYOTA business support program, only nine applications were successfully processed.
“This is not just a glitch; it’s a barrier that’s denying our young people a fair chance at economic empowerment,” Hassan lamented.
Echoing the concern, Saka Ward MCA Abdiweli Adan Abdullahi termed the situation “deeply unfortunate,” emphasizing that a technical failure should not hinder the national agenda of youth empowerment.
“A system hitch should not lock out young entrepreneurs from benefiting from such a vital initiative,” he said, urging the government to extend the application window for Garissa County.
In Damajale Ward, only 21 applicants managed to register successfully, according to MCA Omar Abdi Hassan, who said many young people were still stuck in “validation loops” on the system.
“It’s heartbreaking to see deserving applicants, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds, left behind despite their determination,” he noted.
The MCAs warned that the technical barriers risk widening regional inequality, as marginalized and remote communities in arid counties like Garissa face greater connectivity and access challenges.
Hassan called on the NYOTA secretariat to prioritize system upgrades to ensure inclusivity and fairness.
Launched by the Government of Kenya, the NYOTA Project is designed to tackle youth unemployment through entrepreneurship training, startup financing, and mentorship. The initiative targets youth aged 18–29, and up to 35 for persons with disabilities, across all 47 counties.
Efforts to obtain a response from the State Department for Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy (SDYACE) on the reported system failures proved unsuccessful by the time of publication. The second-round application deadline for the NYOTA Project’s business support program closed on October 12, 2025.