Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) Pilot Project in Mathare, Nairobi

This report evaluates the Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) pilot project in Mathare, Nairobi, which provided approximately $1,200 in cash grants and a smartphone to 1,018 youth (aged 18-35). The project tested whether these tools could improve economic outcomes for urban youth in informal settlements, comparing lump sum (LS) and monthly payment (MP) models. Key findings indicate a significant shift toward self-employment, improved financial resilience—even during the Covid-19 pandemic—and a high feasibility of mobile money transfers in slum environments, though the impact of specific business-skill apps was limited.

• The project demonstrated that transferring significant cash grants via mobile money to poor urban youth in slum environments is highly feasible. This is supported by the high prevalence of mobile money and national ID card coverage, with over 97% of transfers collected without reported issues.
• There was a substantial and sustained increase in self-employment among recipients, with the proportion of youth 'working for themselves' rising from 37% to 79%. This trend was most pronounced among men, and 68% of respondents identified self-employment as their primary income source by the project's end.
• Recipients invested a significant portion of their grants into productive activities, with 47% of transfers spent on productive investments overall and 34% specifically on business ventures. Lump Sum recipients invested more in new businesses and productive expenditures (50%) compared to Monthly Payment recipients (38%).
• Financial well-being improved markedly and remained sustained. The percentage of recipients able to meet their daily expenses rose from 28% at registration to 82% more than two years later. Other indicators included a 40% increase in reported savings and a reduction in the proportion of respondents with debt from 84% to 55%.
• YEG recipients showed resilience to the economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the lockdown caused income reductions, most recipients maintained their self-employment and financial gains. Group structures were identified as critical in maintaining individual and community resilience during this period.
• While smartphones were popular and increased access to markets and technical information, they had a limited impact on developing formal financial management or business skills. Specific apps trialled, such as Touch Doh, saw low utilization, and the cost of data limited access to streamed educational content.
• There is a significant unmet demand for digital financial services (DFS) that allow users to 'lock' or compartmentalize money for specific purposes, such as savings, to prevent impulse spending. Mobile money and informal groups remain the most popular saving methods.
• Recipients exhibited a strong reluctance to take on new loans or increase debt levels, fearing indebtedness. There was limited evidence that the grants were used to leverage significant additional formal capital, though there was a slight increase in the use of small online loans.

APA

Fitzgibbon, C. (2021). Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) Pilot Project in Mathare, Nairobi. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Report-09.01.22.pdf

Chicago

Fitzgibbon, Catherine. Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) Pilot Project in Mathare, Nairobi. FSD Africa, 2021. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Report-09.01.22.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fitzgibbon |first1=Catherine |title=Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) Pilot Project in Mathare, Nairobi |publisher=FSD Africa |date=May 2021 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Report-09.01.22.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fitzgibbon2021youth, author = {Fitzgibbon, Catherine}, title = {{Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) Pilot Project in Mathare, Nairobi}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/YEG-Report-09.01.22.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }