Youth savings and credit fund launched in Nyeri

Youths in Nyeri are set to benefit from Sh5.1 million through a youth saving and credit cooperative society (sacco) that was launched Thursday.

The National Youth Bunge Association (NYBA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Co-operatives and USAID has partnered with the County Bunge Forums to form the Nyeri County Bunge sacco.

Speaking at the function, Mercy Corps program manager George Njoroge said NYBA through Mercy Corps approached the Ministry of Cooperative and USAID to help them form county saccos with the goal of serving all the youth and youth groups that are members of a village Bunge network.

“The County Bunge will not only be a safe place for youth savings but a source of loans for its Bunge members,” he said.

The Cooperative Development Secretary in the Ministry of Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Nelson Githinji said that the sacco will attract both public and private sector investment that will benefit the young people from Nyeri County.

Mr Githinji also said that the government has set aside a budgetary allocation of Sh220 billion to assist women and persons with disability.

He said among the youths, there are many who fall within the above groups and who should take advantage of the opportunity to form group networks that can assist them access government tenders.

“This is an initiative that will empower young people and ensure that there is equitable distribution of wealth,” he said.

He noted that devolution will enable the county government to strengthen and monitor such a sacco to ensure it is run in a way that benefits all the members.

Mr Githinji said Kenya has a good development record in cooperative management adding that it was rated the best in Africa and the seventh best worldwide by the International Cooperative Alliance.

The Nyeri Youth County Bunge Association chairman Michael Mugweru said the sacco will assist the youths to engage in income generating activities.