Through the Youth Fund, the government has released Ksh300 million to the local music industry in order to support the development of young musicians and artists in Kenya. The fund makes it possible for artistes, song writers, dancers, singers and producers among others to borrow money to finance their projects.

NEED TO EXPLOIT MUSIC TALENT IN THE YOUTH

Speaking during a meeting with the industry’s stakeholders, Gor Semelang’o, the Chairman of the Youth Development Fund, said that the fund will open doors for more music-minded people to earn their living through their talent and at the same time create a much needed revolution in Kenya’s music industry. “We need to exploit every music talent in our youth to ensure this country reaps the full benefits from music,” he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was vocal about supporting the entertainment industry in his political campaign ahead of the March 4th elections and judging from recent events it was not all a publicity stunt to lure the colossal youth vote.

VIJANAA FILM FUND

The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) was established as a state corporation in 2007 with the aim of tackling the country’s challenging youth unemployment problems. The Fund’s mandate is therefore to facilitate the creation of employment opportunities through enterprise development.

Since its inception the fund has spearheaded a good number of projects among the youth but it was not until recently that the fund opened doors to the entertainment industry.

Apart from the recent Ksh300 million music loan fund, the YEDF also recently partnered with the Kenya Film Commission (KFC) and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in a project dubbed; VIJANAA FILM FUND whose aim is to power the youth film business in Kenya by addressing the challenges faced by young people in media productions, and creating opportunities for the youth to invest and benefit from film making ventures.

THE UWEZO FUND

Last month, the president launched the much anticipated Uwezo Fund aimed at supporting youth and women enterprises as outlined in Jubilee’s government manifesto.

The Uwezo Fund came about following Uhuru Kenyatta’s pledge during the pre-election campaigns that if Kenya’s Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru elected him in round one of the general election he would re-channel the Ksh6 billion initially set aside by the government for electoral expenditure in the event of an election run-off.

According to Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Ms. Anne Waiguru, in whose docket the fund lays, eligible youth and women across the country will have access to interest-free loans as start-up capital for small and micro business of varying amounts not exceeding Ksh500,000. Only a 3 per cent one-off administration fee will be payable for each loan.

GOOD INITIATIVES BUT…

These are good initiatives, the Kenya Forum acknowledges that, but we hope that the government will also educate and train young people on how to maximize the funds for their own financial growth. We also hope that corruption will kept at bay as far as managing and discharging of the funds is concerned.