The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), in collaboration with Twiva, has officially launched the second cohort of the Twende Digital Project, a groundbreaking initiative designed to tackle youth unemployment and enhance the digital capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through social commerce. The launch event, held in Nairobi, marks a crucial milestone in transforming Kenya’s employment landscape, especially for the youth and local businesses.
Building on the success of the first cohort, which concluded in July 2024, the current program aims to create 2,000 new jobs, pushing the overall target to 3,000 jobs by mid-2025. The first cohort successfully generated and improved over 1,000 jobs. The new cohort will continue to offer comprehensive support to participants, including access to finance, health benefits, and pension schemes, alongside efforts to boost workplace productivity.
The initiative promotes a unique cross-value ecosystem that benefits both the youth and SMEs. Dr. Ehud Gachugu, Acting Deputy CEO and Global Director of Youth & Jobs at KEPSA, highlighted the collaborative nature of the program. “Twende Digital creates a powerful synergy where SMEs and young people grow together. While SMEs gain critical digital expertise and market access, young people earn meaningful, decent jobs as resellers through social and influencer marketing strategies. This win-win model fosters economic development and resilience and contributes to closing the unemployment gap in Kenya,” he said.
The project is part of a broader effort to tackle the alarming youth unemployment rate in the country. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, over 50 percent of the 2.97 million unemployed Kenyans are between the ages of 18 and 29. The Twende Digital Project seeks to address this issue by offering young people the opportunity to engage in the growing digital economy, while helping SMEs adopt the digital tools they need to thrive in today’s tech-driven market.
Paul Ngugi, Deputy Country Lead at the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE), emphasized the long-term vision of the project, stating, “We are committed to creating approximately 230,000 jobs for young people globally by 2026. Twende Digital is one of our key partnerships, and through this initiative, we are seeing tangible outcomes; not just in the number of jobs created but in how they improve lives and transform businesses.”
The project’s strategy revolves around leveraging modern digital marketing approaches like social commerce and influencer marketing to empower young people and give SMEs a competitive edge. A spokesperson for the initiative explained, “By empowering youth as influencers and digital marketers, we are providing them with dignified work while giving SMEs a competitive edge in this digital age.”
With KEPSA’s backing, the program offers participating SMEs exclusive access to crucial business resources, training, and market opportunities. Harrison Ngatia, Chief SME and Enterprise Development Officer at KEPSA, spoke about the benefits for SMEs: “As members of KEPSA, SMEs benefit from critical business resources, training, and policy support. The Twende Digital initiative equips these businesses with cutting-edge digital tools, enabling them to boost sales and reach wider markets.”
The Twende Digital Project has expanded to various counties, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kiambu, Nyeri, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, and Machakos, ensuring that its impact reaches marginalized and underserved communities across the country. This expansion reflects the project’s commitment to fostering inclusive economic growth in all regions of Kenya.
Through the collaborative efforts of KEPSA, Twiva, and CFYE, the Twende Digital Project is driving significant change by creating sustainable economic opportunities for the youth and empowering SMEs. With its focus on job creation and digital transformation, this initiative is set to make a lasting impact on Kenya’s economy.
