Green and Digital Economy Apprenticeships Hub for mentorship, incubation and networking opportunities. The Sheria Ya Vijana! Project is a multi-year youth empowerment initiative in Kenya, implemented by Barnfonden in collaboration with six partner organizations and co-funded by the European Union. The project seeks to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting youth participation in governance, economic inclusion, and leadership with a strong emphasis on opportunities within the green and digital economy. Implemented across five sub-counties in Nairobi County and six sub-counties in Kwale County, the project aims to empower young people to lead inclusive green and digital transitions by enhancing their skills, fostering civic participation, and supporting youth-led enterprises. Ultimately, the project seeks to promote meaningful participation, empowerment and leadership of Kenyan youth and youth-led organizations in advancing the twin green and digital transitions. The initiative targets youth aged 15-29 years, as well as TVET trainers, youth-led organizations, enterprise hubs, government stakeholders, NGOs, and private sector actors in Nairobi and Kwale Counties. Through business incubation hubs, mentorship, and networking platforms, youth will gain technical capacities to refine their business ideas, expand networks, and increase exposure to markets and stakeholders Under this project, OAY is mandated to establish Green and Digital Economy Apprenticeships Hub for mentorship, incubation and networking opportunities (including AI driven projects) to connect youth with companies and industry professionals. In the first phase of this activity, by building on the already existing incubation model in the care economy, OAY in collaboration with relevant stakeholders will employ a similar approach in setting up Green and Digital Economy Apprenticeship Hubs, designed to offer a combination of digital, hub-based and on- site mentorship, incubation and linkages to networking opportunities. Deliverables; The project entail Cohort based provision of hands-on coaching and mentoring support for self- employment and wage employment targeting; ● 15 Youth Led Organizations (YLOs) in Business Advocacy ● 8 Youth Social Enterprises (YSEs) to sustainably implement initiatives in the green and digital economy ● 20 young urban women in the care economy on digitalization of services, greening of facilities, and application of technology advocacy and bringing on board 100 SMEs to a digital platform. Throughout the last 2 years of the OAY also seeks to secure and provide linkages for attachment, internships and employment placement, monitoring their productivity, and growth and retention
This project addresses the persistent issues of underfunding, disjointed advocacy, and lack of accountability regarding reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health plus nutrition (RMNCAH+N) across Africa. Furthermore, a lack of community and youth involvement often results in policies that ignore local realities. To bridge these gaps, this initiative will empower civil society and youth-led organizations to use data effectively, influence national budgets, and hold leaders accountable, ensuring health priorities are community-driven and sustainably financed. Through dedicated mentorships, the subgranted YLOs will benefit from ongoing mentorship in areas like advocacy training, health financing mentorships, media engagement , and coalition building. YLOs will also be mentored to generate and apply actionable evidence