Kenya is set to turn its global sporting calendar into an economic powerhouse, with the Ministry of Sports teaming up with the Tourism and Cooperatives ministries to boost sports tourism and create youth employment opportunities.
This year, Kenya will have a packed international events lineup including the Magical Kenya Open (Feb 20-23), WRC Safari Rally (March 20-23), Cecafa tournament (May 31-June 7), Nairobi City Marathon (July 6) and the African Nations Championship (Aug 2-30).
The government is moving to ensure these competitions leave a lasting economic impact.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya, alongside Tourism CS Rebecca Miano and Cooperatives and MSMEs CS Wycliffe Oparanya, convened a high-level meeting on Wednesday at Talanta Plaza, Nairobi, to strategise on maximising these sporting spectacles.
The three leaders agreed to a collaborative approach aimed at enhancing talent development, attracting tourists, creating jobs and injecting money into youthled enterprises.
“Kenya is hosting several high-profile international events that require a Whole-of-Government approach. My colleagues and I are committed to identifying and tapping into the opportunities these tournaments present to uplift our young people,” said CS Mvurya.
He emphasised that sports is a key economic driver, capable of boosting tourism, supporting local businesses and fostering inter-ministerial cooperation.
CS Oparanya highlighted the role of youth-focused initiatives in driving sustainable economic growth, pointing to the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project.
The project is a Sh33 billion collaboration between the government and the World Bank, designed to equip young people with employability skills and entrepreneurial training.
“In this country, the youth and women are very disadvantaged and you’ll find that most of this category of people are in small businesses,” said Oparanya.
“As a Government, we have the NYOTA project worth
Sh33 billion that we are doing together with the Ministry
of Youth that will enable us to fund and train the youth on
financial literacy to enable them to start their businesses
and even employ others.