Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) for the Informal Economy

The YEG pilot provided approximately $1,200 in grants and smartphones to 1,035 youth in Nairobi's Mathare slum, testing two payment cadences: lump sums and monthly payments. Interim results show that transferring funds via mobile money is highly feasible and that recipients significantly invest in self-employment and education. While pre-installed business apps saw low usage, general internet access via smartphones improved market reach. Gender differences emerged, with men investing more in productive assets and women prioritizing education and informal savings groups. Lump-sum recipients reported higher investment rates and savings compared to those receiving monthly payments.

• Transferring significant cash grants and smartphones to urban youth in low-income slum environments is highly feasible, with minimal issues regarding identification or security.
• The grants encouraged a significant shift from casual labour to self-employment, with the proportion of youth reporting their primary activity as 'working for self' increasing from 37% to 64%.
• Recipients invested approximately 31% of their transfers in new or existing businesses, including agricultural investments such as livestock, and 14% in education or training.
• Financial wellbeing improved markedly, with the proportion of youth able to meet their needs rising from 29% to 80%, and the proportion paying most or all of their rent increasing from 45% to 78%.
• While pre-installed apps like Touch Doh had very low utilisation, smartphones generally expanded business reach through social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram for marketing and client acquisition.
• Mobile money remains the primary financial service, but there is a strong unmet demand for 'locked' accounts or compartmentalisation tools to prevent impulse spending and separate business from personal funds.
• Gender differences are prominent: men invest more in productive assets and housing and are more likely to use digital loans, while women spend more on education and rely more on informal savings groups.
• Lump-sum (LS) recipients achieved higher productive investment rates (33.5%) and reported higher average savings (over Ksh24,000) compared to monthly payment (MP) recipients (27.9% investment and Ksh12,000 savings).
• Debt levels decreased significantly, with the proportion of respondents reporting current loans or debt falling from 71% to 39% and the average loan size reducing by 30%.

APA

Fitzgibbon, C. (2019). Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) for the Informal Economy. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Pilot-Project-Interim-Report-FINAL-2019.pdf

Chicago

Fitzgibbon, Catherine. Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) for the Informal Economy. FSD Africa, 2019. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Pilot-Project-Interim-Report-FINAL-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fitzgibbon |first1=Catherine |title=Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) for the Informal Economy |publisher=FSD Africa |date=November 2019 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Pilot-Project-Interim-Report-FINAL-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fitzgibbon2019youth, author = {Fitzgibbon, Catherine}, title = {{Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) for the Informal Economy}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Pilot-Project-Interim-Report-FINAL-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }