Wise Sambo

All over the world there has been an increased interest in entrepreneurship education and the society in general. Kenya was among the first countries in Africa to introduce aspects of entrepreneurship education in its education and training systems. Entrepreneurship and business creation are a growing alternative for young people in different economies whose age group often faces a labor market with double digit unemployment rates. This study seeks to investigate and report on the factors affecting youth entrepreneurship development with specific reference to entrepreneurship education in Kibera, a district of Kenya. Two objectives are identified, namely (i) to determine the government’s provision and access to the entrepreneurship education and training among the Kenyan youth, and (ii) to determine whether there is a relationship between the level of education, training and development of youth entrepreneurship. A sample of three hundred entrepreneurs (aged 18-35) within the Kibera district in Kenya is drawn to participate in this study. Structured survey questionnaires are used to collect primary data from business owners in the Kibera district. Findings revealed a strong positive correlation between the provision of entrepreneurship education and development of youth entrepreneurship and the level of education has a very weak positive correlation to youth entrepreneurship development. This study concludes with recommendations on how youth entrepreneurship can be improved in Kibera and the rest of Kenya. A total of 300 questionnaires were administered via e-mails with a total response rate of 83.3% (250) returned for analysis

Entrepreneurship and business creation are a growing alternative for young people in different economies whose age group often faces a labor market with double digit unemployment rates. Due to low economic growth, traditional career paths and opportunities are disappearing rapidly. In response to these challenges, the government introduced the National Youth Policy (NYP), amongst others, to deal with the challenges facing youth in Kenya. It was through the NYP that the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) was transformed to a state corporation in 2007 as a strategic move toward arresting unemployment among youth in Kenya. This study sought to report on the factors affecting youth entrepreneurship development in Kibera, a district of Kenya. Kibera is a low income, informal settlement in southwest Nairobi (Kenya) with an estimated population of one million housed on less than 2% of the total municipal residential land (or 3,000 people per hectare). A sample of three hundred entrepreneurs (aged 18-35) within the Kibera district, Kenya was drawn to participate in this study. Structured survey questionnaires were used to collect data from young business owners in Kibera. Findings revealed that government policy (NYP) and access to credit have a moderate to strong positive relationship in the development of youth entrepreneurship. Though the positive relationship shows that the Kenyan government is supporting youth entrepreneurship in Kibera, there have been differing views as to whether the programs to support youth are yielding positive results or not.

Keywords: youth entrepreneurship, Kenya national youth policy, unemployment, Kibera.
JEL Classification: L26, E24