Engaging Kenyan Youth in Agriculture and Nutrition (EKYAN)

Engaging Kenyan Youth in Agriculture and Nutrition (EKYAN) aims to strengthen sustainable economic opportunities for young people through inclusive agribusiness development, market participation, and financial inclusion. The youth-focused initiative funded by UNICEF and implemented by a consortium led by SNV in partnership with Proportion Global and the Association of Startup and SME Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK).

Implemented between October 2024 and April 2026 across Busia, Kirinyaga, Kisumu, and Samburu counties, the project reached over 5,000 out-of-school youth, including young women, young mothers, and youth with disabilities.

Through skills development, mentorship, market linkages, and access to inclusive finance, EKYAN contributed to improved youth livelihoods, enterprise development, climate-smart agriculture adoption, and stronger participation in resilient agri-food systems.

Kenya faces significant challenges in providing economic opportunities for its youth, who make up 75.1% of the population. With a youth unemployment rate of 14.2% and over 1 million young people entering the labour market annually, many remain without access to education, employment, or entrepreneurship opportunities. The agriculture sector, which holds strong potential for employment and enterprise development, remains underutilised by youth due to negative perceptions, limited skills development, weak market access, and inadequate financial support systems. Additionally, climate change, poor soil health, and unsustainable agricultural practices continue to worsen food insecurity and environmental degradation.

As part of the consortium, SNV focused on addressing these key challenges by:

• Providing agribusiness training, mentorship, and entrepreneurship support to out-of-school youth, including young women, young mothers, and youth with disabilities.

• Facilitating market linkages to strengthen youth participation in agri-food value chains and improve access to sustainable enterprise opportunities.

• Promoting financial inclusion through Village Savings and Loan Associations, financial literacy, and linkages to financial institutions and savings schemes.

• Enhancing food security, nutrition, and climate resilience through climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices, including vegetable value chains and regenerative agriculture approaches.

Through these integrated interventions, EKYAN contributed to stronger youth livelihoods, enterprise development, financial resilience, and more inclusive participation in Kenya’s agri-food systems.

EKYAN builds on Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) model and lessons from previous youth and agri-food systems programmes in Kenya.

To achieve the project goals, the following key interventions were implemented:

• Research and youth engagement: Landscape assessments and human-centred approaches were used to tailor training, mentorship, and enterprise support to the needs of out-of-school youth, young women, and youth with disabilities across the target counties.

• Capacity strengthening and entrepreneurship support: Over 5,000 youth were reached through SNV’s Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship curriculum, focusing on climate-smart agriculture, agribusiness development, financial literacy, and value addition. A total of 35 Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) were equipped to scale training, mentorship, and business coaching support.

• Market linkages and financial inclusion: Youth agripreneurs were connected to market opportunities through agricultural fairs, value chain networks, and private sector partnerships. The project also strengthened financial inclusion through Village Savings and Loan Associations, savings platforms, and linkages to financial institutions.

• Stakeholder engagement and systems strengthening: The project engaged county governments, private sector actors, and local innovation networks to strengthen enabling environments for youth entrepreneurship, climate resilience, and inclusive agri-food systems development.

The EKYAN project aimed to strengthen youth participation in Kenya’s agri-food systems by creating more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient livelihood opportunities for young people. Through integrated support approaches, the project sought to improve youth employment, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and market participation within the agriculture sector.

Key anticipated outcomes included:

• Increased youth engagement in agribusiness and agri-related income opportunities across target counties.

• Improved entrepreneurship, technical, and climate-smart agriculture skills among young women and men.

• Enhanced access to market opportunities, business networks, and agri-food value chains for youth-led enterprises.

• Increased financial inclusion through savings groups, financial literacy, and linkages to financial institutions.

• Strengthened adoption of nutrition-sensitive and regenerative agricultural practices to improve food security and climate resilience.

• Improved inclusion of marginalized groups, including young women, young mothers, and youth with disabilities, within local economic systems.

Overall, the project envisioned a more empowered generation of young agripreneurs contributing to resilient livelihoods, sustainable food systems, and inclusive economic growth in Kenya