The Nyeri county government has partnered with Coca-Cola to empower the youth in a programme dubbed ‘Kuza Kazi’ project.
The project meant to empower youth with business skills, facilitate access to financial assets and create job opportunities will benefit 150 people.
Coca-Cola will provide them with startup kits to enable them to join its retail chain distribution network.
Phillip Gikunju of Almasi Bottlers Limited said the company was delighted to partner with the county government in supporting the youth to be the company’s partners in business.
“We have given them startup kits, a garden set, cooler boxes and the county has supported them with the startup stock and the trading spaces,” he said.
The garden set included chairs, tables and umbrellas
Gikunju said the youth will be connected to the company’s distributors who will be replenishing whatever they are able to sell.
He expressed hope that the business will be sustainable as the youth have already been trained.
They will be given targets and be supervised to ensure they succeed in the venture so that they can go large scale.
Almasi Bottlers Limited is located in King’ong’o area on the outskirts of Nyeri town.
It manufactures and distributes Coca-Cola products which include soft drinks, water and juices in Mt Kenya region.
Speaking on Tuesday during the programme's launch, Youth, Gender and Social Services executive Esther Ndung’u called upon other partners to join hands with the county government in supporting and empowering the youth.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the county will buy each of the beneficiaries about four crates of soda and energy drinks to start with.
The county, he said, will allow them to trade for six months without paying trading licenses.
“This is just a startup kit. We are going to keep monitoring, we have done training and we will continue to try and give them a solid base,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris