The government has put the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project beneficiaries on alert over a surge in fake mobile applications and fraudulent messages linked to the programme.
This comes as the Training for thousands of youth selected under the NYOTA Project is set to begin on Friday across 25 counties.
According to the State Department for MSMEs Development, the four-day training will be conducted in Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo, Laikipia, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Isiolo, Nakuru, Narok, Kajiado, Nandi, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho and Bomet
MSMEs PS Susan Mageni alluded that the nationwide rollout of youth entrepreneurship training across 25 counties, covering 151 constituencies and 754 wards will begin today, November 14, marking one of the most extensive youth empowerment efforts under the NYOTA Project.
The Ministry says only youth who received official SMS notifications inviting them to Business Development Services (BDS) are required to attend sessions at the venues indicated.
The project reiterated that it does not operate any mobile application for funds and urged beneficiaries to remain vigilant.
“NYOTA Project has no fund app. The information being circulated about the fund app is fake. Youth, let’s stay alert so that we don’t fall victim to fraudsters,” read the warning issued on November 12.
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This comes amid reports of fraudulent M-PESA messages purporting to notify youth of NYOTA disbursements and directing them to send money to unknown numbers.
The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) earlier cautioned the public after receiving complaints from several counties.
“We have received reports of fraudulent M-Pesa messages claiming that youth have received funds from the NYOTA Project or NYOTA Foundation and prompting recipients to send money to unknown numbers.”
The Authority clarified that no M-PESA-linked payments have been made so far stating that, “NYOTA has not sent any M-Pesa-related payments. All official SMS communication to youth will be sent only from ‘Nyota Ke’ and through the project’s verified social media pages.”MSEA is urging Kenyans to ignore and report suspicious messages to prevent further exploitation.
“We urge the public to ignore, avoid sharing, and report any such messages or suspicious activity,” the agency said.
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Meanwhile, the State Department says preparations for the nationwide rollout remain on schedule, with 63,231 youth expected to attend the training in the 25 counties.
The programme, launched on November 7 in Mumias, targets to empower over 100,000 vulnerable youth across all 1,450 wards and includes business training, mentorship, and phased disbursement of start-up capital.
A total of 12,155 beneficiaries in the Western cluster — Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma and Busia — have already received Ksh.303.8 million through NYOTA Pochi la Biashara after completing their initial training.
The remaining 18 counties, including Nairobi, Kiambu, Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, Samburu, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa and Elgeyo Marakwet, will begin training next week.
President William Ruto launched the NYOTA project for youth at Mumias Sports Complex in Kakamega County on Friday, noting that the multi-billion fund aims to empower young people to start and grow their businesses.
By Juma Ndigo
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