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

The Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) pilot project provided approximately $1,200 in cash and a smartphone to 1,018 youth in Mathare, Nairobi. The project found that mobile money transfers are highly feasible in urban slum environments and lead to a significant shift toward self-employment, with the proportion of youth working for themselves increasing from 37% to 79%. While smartphones enhanced market access and technical skill acquisition via the internet, specific business-management apps had limited take-up. Financial well-being improved markedly, with the percentage of recipients able to meet daily expenses rising from 28% to 82%. The report highlights a strong preference for grants over loans and an unmet demand for digital financial services that allow users to 'lock' or compartmentalise funds for saving.

• Transferring significant cash grants to urban youth in low-income slum environments via mobile money is highly feasible due to widespread mobile money use and national ID coverage.
• There was a substantial and lasting shift toward self-employment among recipients, particularly for men; the proportion of youth reporting their primary activity as 'working for self' rose from 37% to 79%.
• Recipients invested 47% of transfers in productive investments overall, with 34% specifically for business ventures. Lump Sum recipients invested more in new businesses and productive activities (50%) compared to Monthly Payment recipients (38%).
• Financial well-being improved significantly and remained sustained; the proportion of recipients able to meet daily expenses increased from 28% at registration to 82% more than two years later.
• Recipients demonstrated resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic, with many maintaining their businesses and financial gains despite lockdown measures.
• Smartphones were highly valued for accessing markets and technical information via the internet and social media, but specific project-led business and financial management apps had low popularity and usage.
• The cost of mobile data and lack of wifi act as significant barriers, preventing youth from accessing streamed educational or business content.
• There is a strong preference for saving mechanisms that 'lock' money to prevent impulse spending, with a noted reluctance to take on loans or increase debt.
• Local group structures are critical for building individual and community resilience and serve as effective entry points for external interventions.

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} }