Smartphones and micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi’s informal settlements

This case study describes the Youth Enterprise Grant (YEG), a pilot project by FSD Africa and GiveDirectly that provided smartphones and financial grants to 1,000 youth in the Mathare slum of Nairobi to evaluate the impact of digital technology on livelihoods and business skills.

• The Youth Enterprise Grant (YEG) was a two-year pilot project starting at the end of 2018 that provided 1,000 youth in Mathare, Nairobi, with a smartphone and an enterprise grant totaling $1,200. Grant distribution varied between three lump-sum payments or a monthly stipend of $50 over two years.
• The YEG project aimed to assess how young people used smartphones and grants to improve livelihoods, specifically focusing on the value of digital technology for money management, financial literacy, and business skills. The smartphones included M-PESA for grant payments, the Touch Doh budgeting app, and access to the Hustle Fiti business advice group on Facebook.
• Kenya is characterized by high digital connectivity, with more mobile phone registrations than people and an estimated 96% of internet users accessing the web via mobile devices. Additionally, over 79% of adults in Kenya hold a mobile money account.

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} }