In 2019, The Youth Empowerment International Organization (YEIO) began designing their latest intervention with the goal of improving the economic climate for youth-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in agriculture. These SMEs would eventually buy from smallholder farmers, ultimately helping both youth and small holder farmers.



The team piloted this new model in Machakos county, Kenya. Over 70 percent of the population in Machakos are engaged in agriculture as a primary source of income, but their production is vulnerable to water scarcity and variable temperatures. There is a high rate of crimes involving youth and youth reported feeling disenfranchised and untrusting of the government. Young people are not fully engaging in economic activities.



The YEIO Africa team sought to directly address these barriers through a youth development approach. Their project featured three components: building the technical capacity of youth-owned SMEs, linking these SMEs to funding, and improving coordination between the private and public sectors.

Download the case study below. This study is a companion document to YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation's (YP2LE) three-part Systems Mapping Training series for members of the YouthPower Learning Network. Get free access to the training and other companion materials.