Uwezo Fund Characteristics and the Performance of Youth Livelihood Projects in Kibra Constituency, Nairobi County, Kenya
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Date
2022-06
Authors
Ismail, Ismail Yassin Hassan
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Abstract
The Government in its efforts to address the livelihood challenges of vulnerable
groups in the society has set up devolved funds among others, Uwezo Fund, which is
a youth, women and people with disabilities fund. Despite such funds being
operational for several years since their inception, empirical studies assessing how
Uwezo fund has influenced the livelihood of youth in Kenya remains conspicuously
unexplored and undocumented. The main study objective was to determine the
influence of Uwezo Fund on the livelihoods of youth in Kibra Constituency, Nairobi
County through assessing Uwezo funds accessibility, capacity building programs,
institutional framework and policies and savings. The study was informed by the
Change theory, push-pull theory and the Harrod-Domar model. The research will rely
on a descriptive research design. 51 registered groups in Kibra constituency formed
the study’s unit of observation. The target population for the study were 153 members
drawn from the 51 youth groups that have so far benefitted from Uwezo Fund since
its inception in Kibra Constituency. Data collection was with the use of questionnaires
administered to beneficiary group leaders. A pretest was carried out on 10% of the
population to support reliability and validity testing. Descriptive and inferential
analyses were applied on the collected data. Data presentation was in the form of
tables, pie charts and bar graphs, while percentages and frequencies will provide
descriptive analysis results. Inferential analysis such as correlation and regressions
were also applied to find out the variables’ association. A 74% response rate was
attained, with most of the youth groups involved from Laini Saba Ward. The results
showed variability in the groups involvement in agribusiness, service and trade
business. The correlation tests indicated a strong positive effect of capacity building
programs, institutional framework and policies on the youth livelihood. Further
analysis indicated a moderate positive effect of savings while financial accessibility
had a weak positive effect on enhancing the youth livelihood. The regression tests
showed that Uwezo fund determined 67.3% of the changes in youth livelihood in
Kibra constituency. The research concluded that capacity building, savings and
institutional framework and policies had a significant influence on enhancing youth
livelihood. The study further found out that financial accessibility did not significantly
influence youth livelihoods. Recommendations were for the Uwezo secretariat to
undertake more robust capacity building programs as well as align their internal
institutional frameworks to drive better livelihood among the youth. The research
concludes that youth groups should develop savings programs that do not divert all
their income from their daily consumption to ensure there is no negative effect on
their livelihood.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award
of Degree in Master of Business Administration (Project
Management), Kenyatta University
Keywords
Fund Characteristics, Youth Livelihood Projects, Performance of Youth Livelihood