Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements

The Youth Enterprise Grant (YEG) was a two-year pilot project starting in late 2018 that provided 1,000 youth in Mathare, Nairobi, with smartphones and enterprise grants totaling $1,200. Implemented by GiveDirectly for FSD Africa, the project aimed to determine if digital tools—including M-PESA for payments, Touch Doh for budgeting, and the Hustle Fiti Facebook group for business advice—could enhance financial literacy, money management, and business skills among micro-entrepreneurs in informal settlements.

• The Youth Enterprise Grant project provided 1,000 youth in Mathare with a smartphone and a total grant of $1,200, delivered either as three lump-sum payments or a monthly stipend of $50 over two years.
• The project utilized specific digital tools to support participants, including M-PESA for grant disbursement, the Touch Doh app for budgeting via Sheng-speaking animated characters, and the Hustle Fiti Facebook page for business advice.
• Kenya exhibits high digital connectivity, with more mobile phone registrations than people and an estimated 96% of internet users accessing the web via mobile devices.

APA

Inc, K. (2021). Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/smartphones-and-micro-entrepreneurs-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/

Chicago

Inc, Kihingu. Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements. FSD Africa, 2021. https://fsdafrica.org/smartphones-and-micro-entrepreneurs-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Inc |first1=Kihingu |title=Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements |publisher=FSD Africa |date=8 November 2021 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/smartphones-and-micro-entrepreneurs-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{inc2021smartphones, author = {Inc, Kihingu}, title = {{Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/smartphones-and-micro-entrepreneurs-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }