NAIROBI, Kenya- The government has rolled out a free digital training programme targeting young entrepreneurs, women and persons with disabilities seeking to access public procurement opportunities.
The NYOTA AGPO Digital Training Programme is the fourth component of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project, which also includes business support, on-the-job experience and recognition of prior learning.
More than 600,000 young entrepreneurs are expected to benefit from the programme, raising NYOTA’s planned reach to over 820,000 people across the country.
All NYOTA applicants and targeted AGPO beneficiaries, including women and persons with disabilities, are eligible to enrol regardless of their age or educational qualifications.
Addressing low uptake of reserved tenders
The programme is meant to help beneficiaries overcome barriers that have limited their participation in government tenders, including low awareness, complex application processes, poor business formalisation and inadequate enterprise readiness.
Under Section 53(6) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, at least 30 per cent of the government’s annual procurement budget is reserved for enterprises owned by youth, women and persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development said the current financial-year budget of Sh4.8 trillion presents procurable opportunities worth at least Sh1 trillion.
The 30 per cent AGPO allocation is valued at not less than Sh300 billion.
“The AGPO training is therefore designed to close these gaps, and catalyse AGPO uptake among the youth,” the ministry said in a statement signed by Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni.
Five modules in 10 weeks
The self-paced programme will run for 10 weeks, with five modules delivered over two weeks each. The first week will focus on coursework, while the second will include practical sessions.
Participants will be trained on AGPO eligibility and certification, public procurement procedures, tender documentation and bid preparation.
They will also learn how to register and bid through the Integrated Financial Management Information System and the Electronic Government Procurement platform.
Other areas will include contract execution, cash-flow management, procurement financing, governance, record keeping and business sustainability.
The practical component will feature webinars by subject-matter experts and industry leaders, alongside live interactive sessions. The training content will be offered in English and Kiswahili.
Eligible applicants can register by dialling *254#, selecting the NYOTA AGPO option and completing the required steps. They will then receive an SMS link to the training platform.
The government said it is working with Safaricom to provide subsidised data bundles for successful applicants.
Registration and financing support
Beneficiaries who complete the course will receive proficiency certificates to support their participation in government tenders.
Those without registered businesses or AGPO certificates will be linked to the Business Registration Service for sole proprietorship registration under waivers that the government said it is working to establish.
The ministry is also developing a debt-offsetting mechanism that would allow AGPO tenderers to discount invoices within 60 days after delivering goods or services.
It said the intervention, together with a Cabinet directive prioritising settlement of pending bills worth Sh50 million and below, could ease the cash-flow pressure faced by small traders.
The programme is intended to create an end-to-end pathway connecting training, financing and government tenders through the e-GP system, as the government seeks to increase youth participation in public procurement.
