INFLUENCE OF YOUTH ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FUND ON YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN KANDUYI CONSTITUENCY

Abstract

Empowerment of youth is a very important issue in developing countries. Young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and almost 73 million youth worldwide are looking for work. In 2006, The Government of Kenya established Youth Enterprise Development Fund with the purpose of empowering youth who account for over 67 percent of the unemployed. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of the youth enterprise development fund on youth empowerment in Kanduyi Constituency. The study targeted a population of 181 youth groups’ administrators. Using Krejcie and Morgan table the sample size of 118 respondents was obtained. Cluster sampling technique was applied to select respondents in their various locations. Simple random technique was then applied to reach the specific respondents within the cluster. The data was collated using questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and presented through frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation. The study revealed that nature of project, entrepreneurial training, market linkage and monitoring and evaluation were statistically significant to affect youth emporwerment, as all the p value (sig) were less than 0.05. The study also found that there was a positive relationship between youth empowerment and nature of project and market linkage as shown by a coefficient of 0.434 and 0.190. There was a negative relationship between youth empowerment and entrepreneurial training and monitoring & evaluation as shown by a coefficient of -0.293 and – 0.946 respectively. The study concluded that the loan which majority of youth groups accessed (< Ksh 50, 000) is very minimal compared to the number of people in each group who expect to benefit from it hence the trickle-down effect becomes difficult to realize. The study further concludes that market linkage has not provided adequate market for goods and services produced by the youth enterprises. Finally, the study concludes that YEDF has actually created jobs among the youth as shown by 73.7 percentages of respondents. The study recommends that The Ministry of Youths and Sports should continuously conduct entrepreneurial training prior to and during the allocation of funds so as to equip the youths with knowledge and skills for successful entreprenuership. There is also need for the Ministry of Youths and Sports to come up with programs that will assist the young groups to develop and understand market opportunities and link them to value chains.

Key Words: Nature Of Project, Entrepreneurial Training, Market Linkage, Monitoring And Evaluation, Enterprise Development Fund, Youth Empowerment