- This is a 0.14 per cent decline from 2021.
- Kenyans have now turned to online communities to seek employment opportunities and training that have contributed to their earnings.
Image: HANDOUT
As the government is working towards job creation and ensuring every youth is employed and becomes independent, technology has also scaled up job creation.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the country's unemployment rate in 2022 was 5.50 per cent.
This is a 0.14 per cent decline from 2021.
Kenyans have now turned to online communities to seek employment opportunities and training that have contributed to their earnings.
One such youth is Violet Otieno.
Otieno is a beneficiary of an online platform, MESH
She uses her phone to connect to other young people and adds it has been a game changer.
"Business is for financial security. Even in high school, I would go with pens and sell them to my friends. Then I saved and rented a stall, but business has challenges, you need skills," she said.
"I use the app on my phone to connect to other young people and find products. It helps people connect to businesses that are not even within Kenya. My business has improved."
Another beneficiary Brian Amwayi, 27, says he gets products that he can sell to his friends, at work and even some retail shops.
Amwayi says he hopes for the best.
"We are ambitious – we have goals to achieve. But after school, most youths have to opt into hustles. We don’t have an option. That’s the way it is. This is a great platform where young people connect, exchange ideas, and share their skills," he says.
MESH Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Anuj Tanna says the online community has registered over 150,000 members who have used it to get job opportunities.
"We have been able to turn around the conversation about financial literacy, sales skills, and how to take advantage of the unique opportunity in the informal sectors," Tanna said.
Aside from offering money-making education to the youth who have signed up to the platform, Tanna said they have been able to connect the young people to potential employers with sales jobs.
"One of the members now earns over Sh200,000 per month in turnover by selling products through connections. Confidence and behaviour are what have helped the youth. This is through the courses and skill-building we have done," he said.
Tanna said it constantly matches every account created to available employers according to interests and profiles.
"No fee is needed to create a profile on the platform," he says.
However, the platform not only connects the youth to their employers but also enables young entrepreneurs to build their businesses and employ others in the online community.
"Some have said their businesses have improved, as the top 20 to 30 per cent of individuals have reached high places and started hiring other people, just within the community," the CEO added.
With the government intervention in installing Wi-Fi networks across the country and market, MESH hopes to reach every young person in every corner of Kenya to seek opportunities and better their future.
"Right now, most of our members come from Nairobi, and other major urban areas in the country, we hope to reach every young person in the informal sector," Tanna noted.
Tanna also said the platform also trains them on controlling their livelihoods and growth prospects, autonomy, social capital and personal validation.