The National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project has confirmed that its Business Development Skills (BDS) training will run from November 14 to 17, targeting youth across 25 counties. Selected participants will receive direct SMS notifications detailing the exact locations of their sessions.
"NYOTA Business Development Skills (BDS) Training will be commencing in the following counties. Those selected will receive official SMS notifications indicating the venue of their training," the project said in a statement released Thursday, November 13.
The initiative emphasized that participation in the training is a prerequisite for youth to access business capital under the NYOTA Project. "Attendance of the BDS training is mandatory for all selected beneficiaries to qualify for the next step; which is receiving business capital support under the NYOTA Project," the notice added.
The Lower Eastern counties scheduled for training include Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni. In the North Rift, youth in Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo, and Laikipia counties are set to participate.
Upper Eastern counties taking part are Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, and Isiolo, while South Rift and Maa counties include Nakuru, Narok, Kajiado, and Nandi. Nyanza and South Rift counties hosting sessions are Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho, and Bomet.
The training announcement comes a day after NYOTA warned the public about a fake mobile application falsely claiming ties to the project. In a notice on November 12, the organization urged youth to exercise caution.
"NYOTA Project has no fund app. The information being circulated about the fund app is fake. Youth, let’s stay alert so that we don’t fall victim to fraudsters," it stated.
This warning follows an earlier alert from the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), which flagged fraudulent M-PESA messages claiming that youth had received funds from NYOTA.
"We have received reports of fraudulent M-Pesa messages claiming that youth have received funds from the NYOTA Project or NYOTA Foundation and prompting recipients to send money to unknown numbers," MSEA stated on October 27.
MSEA clarified that no payments have been made to any beneficiaries and urged the public to rely solely on official channels. "Please note: NYOTA has not sent any M-Pesa-related payments. All official SMS communication to youth will be sent only from 'Nyota Ke' and through the project's verified social media pages," it added.
The authority further urged Kenyans to report suspicious activity and avoid sharing unverified messages. “We urge the public to ignore, avoid sharing, and report any such messages or suspicious activity," MSEA concluded.
