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Child’s Light-hearted Moment Adds Human Touch to Ruto’s NYOTA Funds Launch

Posted on: 2026-01-13 12:42:42 | Last updated: 2026-01-15 05:00:22

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ADDIS ABABA - President William Ruto on Tuesday presided over the disbursement of KSh173.2 million under the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme during a public event held at Kabiru-ini ASK Grounds in Nyeri County, Kenya. The funds were allocated to 6,982 young entrepreneurs drawn from Nyeri, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Kirinyaga counties.

The NYOTA programme is a flagship youth empowerment initiative aimed at supporting enterprise development among young people through a structured framework that combines start-up capital, skills training, mentorship, recognition of prior learning and savings mobilisation. According to the President, the programme targets 820,000 youth nationwide and forms part of a broader strategy to integrate young people into the country’s economic growth agenda.

While the event largely focused on entrepreneurship and employment creation, a brief unscripted moment captured public attention. As several beneficiaries were invited to the stage to outline their business plans, a woman carrying her young child stepped forward and explained her intention to establish and expand a juice parlour using the NYOTA funds.

President Ruto engaged the beneficiary and briefly lifted the child from her mother’s arms. When he attempted to return her, the child clung to him and resisted, drawing laughter and applause from the audience. The President responded with light-hearted remarks, momentarily pausing the programme before proceedings resumed.

Beyond the moment of levity, the President interacted with several beneficiaries, including a young man from Kirinyaga County who plans to venture into poultry farming. Ruto encouraged him and offered to share practical advice based on his own experience in agribusiness, underscoring the programme’s emphasis on mentorship alongside financing.

Government officials say the NYOTA initiative is designed to harness the energy, skills and innovation of young people while addressing unemployment through enterprise-driven solutions. A day earlier, more than 9,800 youths from Bomet, Baringo and other South Rift counties received KSh22,000 each in the first phase of the programme.

The Nyeri event highlighted both the scale of public investment in youth entrepreneurship and the growing effort to connect policy initiatives with grassroots participation.