Teaching young people entrepreneurial skills is a great solution to the high unemployment rate among youth in Kenya. At the same time, it helps to pave the way to meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Many young people, especially those living in poor and disconnected communities, can help generate economic growth and sustainable wellbeing if they have access to entrepreneurial skills and the motivation to spark innovation. This will further help them understand how problems can turn into solutions.
The Youth Enterprise Development Fund together with other youth organization bodies such as the Youth agendaKE and Uwezo Fund have strongly encouraged this in the past weeks by organizing entrepreneurship training forums in most counties. The idea is to encourage youths to form registered groups in order to access financial services to start income-generating projects, identify business opportunities, develop business plans for their enterprises, keep proper records and more.
The benefits of learning to be an entrepreneur at a young age are many and below are some of them:
You get to do what you love
Many people stay in their comfort zone their whole lives. It is logical because they feel safe there. However, that doesn’t mean they are truly happy. Youth entrepreneurship will make you feel ready to strive to improve all areas of your life.
You become a role model
Just having the guts to become an entrepreneur is inspiring, but your success will serve as motivation and inspiration to others.
You develop and improve valuable skills
Youth entrepreneurship helps you to improve your soft skills. You will be able to improve your communication skills which are important for absolutely every success. Besides that, you will learn how to organize your time, be creative, improve your self-discipline. Entrepreneurship programs such as the Centonomy are a good example; it has assisted individuals in achieving their own definition of financial freedom.
You gain independence
Most people never learn to live independently. Their lives depend on their boss, parents, job or the economic situation in the country. Many youths have been able to make their own decisions, organize their own time and be financially independent from their parents. But the sense of pride you will feel when you make your first shillings is unmatched. Here, you will finally see what true independence looks like.
You become part of a new family
The culture of entrepreneurship is almost like a big family, your business becomes a family and so do your fellow entrepreneurs who are always willing to give advice and help whenever it is needed.
You choose who to surround yourself with
You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. When you own your own business, you can surround yourself with a great group of people that share your vision, passion and drive.
Entrepreneurship is hard. But if you are brave enough to take the leap, have a great idea, passion and a competitive spirit, this may just be the choice for you.
