Young entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to receive funding for their start-ups thanks to a scheme that the European Union has established (EU).
The Invest in Young Companies in Africa (IYBA) program will be introduced by the EU subsidiary in Kenya on Friday, February 17, with the goal of providing support for young and female-owned start-up companies.
According to the EU, the program will give priority to companies working in the fields of research, technology, innovation, and digital media as well as companies supporting the global objective of reducing carbon emissions.
According to a statement from the EU in Kenya, “the EU will be launching the Investing Young Businesses in Africa initiative (IYBA), which encourages new firms, to help the early phases of entrepreneurship in Kenya for women and young people.”
The assistance will be designed to boost both the volume and quality of public and private investment in Medium Small and Medium Businesses (MSMEs) in their early stages.
Additionally, the support will aim to boost the number of newly established MSMEs and aid in the expansion of early-stage businesses in African partner nations.
The initiative was designed with the intention of empowering women and young people and providing decent jobs across the African continent by the EU, which unites European nations in the pursuit of shared goals.
The EU stated that the goal is to “raise the quantity and quality of financing instruments and technical assistance for these firms.” The EU also noted that the goal is to “help and develop the new and early stage business ecosystem participants.”
The grants will be in several categories and will be funded to varying degrees, according to the program’s website.
In order to increase financial and technical support for pre-seed stage MSMEs with financial needs up to Ksh26 million, the first category will concentrate on pre-seed financing and technical help.
Also, building block two of the project will focus on early-stage financing by assisting them in improving access to funding for SMEs at their seed and early phases, with financial needs ranging from Ksh26 million to Ksh668,000,000.
Kenya will gain access to the program’s benefits if it is implemented in the country, which is intended for Sub-Saharan African countries.
