This project will create employment for at least 150 unemployed youths in Trans-Nzoia, Kenya by initiating five different worker-owned cooperatives and providing support to progressively increase capacity of the new establishments to be able to absorb at least 30 unemployed youths in the first year and then 120 more of other unemployed young people in the community in the next year, in order to address the challenges of unemployment including gang involvement and drug abuse.
There are currently more than 1.4 million unemployed people, who make up the country's labor force according to International Labor Organization ILO. The young people are the greater percentage of the affected population, becoming a threat to the local communities and are in turn vulnerable to exploitation, suffering, killings and harmful indulgence. This project will affect more than 150 unemployed youths in the first year and a limitless number of youths in the subsequent years.
JAY4T through one of its programs, Social-Entrepreneurship Program initiates Worker-Owned Cooperatives. Workers democratically own the business and they participate in its financial success on the basis of their labor contribution to the cooperative. Workers have representation on and vote for the board of directors, adhering to the principle of one worker, one vote. The workers are regularly trained and work in a rotating manner. Financial literacy and capability is learned by the workers.
The project will create employment for 150 unemployed youth in the first year allowing them to rise out of poverty, as well as have the capacity to scale up and establish more similar and different businesses to accommodate more unemployed people in the next years as worker-owned and community benefiting companies. This project will improve the economic status of the affected communities and provide well-being for the youths and their families.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
