NAKURU, Kenya, Feb 12 \u2013 Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) Acting Chief Executive Officer Benedict Atavachi has urged young people to invest in agribusiness, describing the sector as a high-return venture and a key pillar of Kenya\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a Youth Agripreneurship Training Forum in Nakuru County attended by more than 300 youths drawn from all 11 sub-counties, Atavachi said agriculture remains the backbone of the country\u2019s economy and offers vast opportunities for wealth creation.<\/p>\n
He assured the youth that the Fund is ready to provide affordable financing to support their agribusiness ventures in line with President William Ruto\u2019s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.<\/p>\n
Atavachi announced that YEDF is offering individual agribusiness loans of up to Sh2 million at single-digit interest rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cYEDF Agribusiness Loan is a vital financing product which supports youth in agriculture and unlike other organisations, we can award large amounts with a single-digit interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the loans are tailored to meet the needs of young farmers, with repayment schedules aligned to agricultural production cycles to support business growth and sustainability.<\/p>\n
The training forum was organized in partnership with One Acre Fund\u2019s Tupande, a social enterprise serving over 1.2 million farmers across 34 counties in Kenya.<\/p>\n
Tupande provides smallholder farmers with access to financing, farm inputs, training, and market linkages, helping to create sustainable pathways to prosperity.<\/p>\n
During the forum, YEDF unveiled a partnership framework with Tupande that combines Youth Fund financing and enterprise development services with Tupande\u2019s technical support, inputs, and market access.<\/p>\n
The four-year programme aims to reach at least 300,000 youths across 34 counties.<\/p>\n
Atavachi expressed confidence that the partnership would enhance loan repayment rates, noting that beneficiaries would receive structured support from Tupande throughout the farming cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the technical and market support from Tupande, we are almost guaranteed smooth loan repayment while empowering young farmers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Atavachi underscored the need for practical interventions to tackle challenges limiting youth participation in agriculture.<\/p>\n
\u201cLimited access to affordable financing, market access, land availability and vital business skills continue to affect youth participation in agriculture,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
He was accompanied by Nakuru County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture Leonard Bor and senior officials from One Acre Fund.<\/p>\n
One Acre Fund Communication Officer Karigu Ekumbo said the youth were trained in modern agronomic practices and linked to both private and public sector partners.<\/p>\n
She revealed that Tupande, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and YEDF, is implementing a four-year (2023\u20132026) initiative dubbed \u201cReshaping Kenyan Agriculture for Dignified Youth Livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ekumbo encouraged young people, especially women, to view agriculture as a viable pathway to wealth creation rather than subsistence farming.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung people and women should see agriculture as a business opportunity that can transform their lives and communities,\u201d she said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAKURU, Kenya, Feb 12 \u2013 Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) Acting Chief Executive Officer Benedict Atavachi has urged young people to invest in agribusiness, describing the sector as a high-return venture and a key pillar of Kenya\u2019s economy. Speaking during a Youth Agripreneurship Training Forum in Nakuru County attended by more than 300 youths drawn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}