Kasmuel McOure Joins Forces with Government to Empower Young Kenyans

The State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development has announced a strategic partnership with ODM Youth League member Kasmuel McOure to expand youth engagement and economic empowerment initiatives.

In a statement on Thursday, December 18, MSMEs Development Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni said the collaboration aims to ensure young people receive timely information and access to programs that can enhance their economic prospects.

“To expand the reach and impact of our State Department, we look forward to collaborating with Kasmuel McOure, the convener of the Broad-Based Youth Front, to ensure that more young people can access timely information, opportunities, and tools that support their economic empowerment,” Mang’eni said.

She explained that the partnership will promote key government programs supporting youth-led enterprises and MSMEs. The goal is to increase awareness and participation in initiatives that provide financing, infrastructure, and enterprise development support.

“Through this collaboration, we aim to deepen youth awareness and uptake of key government initiatives, including the Hustle Fund, NYOTA Project, and shared User Spaces under Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE). These platforms enable MSMEs to engage in value addition, scale their enterprises, and create sustainable livelihoods,” Mang’eni added.

The announcement comes a week after McOure launched the Broad-Based Youth Front, a movement designed to directly lobby the government for youth interests without relying on political intermediaries.

In a statement on Tuesday, December 9, McOure declared that the group would not take direction from politicians who did not support last year’s June 2024 protests.

“I will not take direction from any politician who was not with me on the streets last year regarding the broad-based government. Their popularity or political status notwithstanding,” he said.

RELATED – Kasmuel McOure: Youth Front to Engage Govt Directly on Key Reforms

McOure stressed that the movement will champion youth affairs directly and hold the government accountable for delivering on its promises.

“We are in this broad-based government until it fully delivers its mandate, and we will own it to the very end. Your cheap rhetoric and attempts at political reinvention will not deter us. Starting today, we will lobby the government for youth affairs directly, through the Broad-Based Youth Front. Politicians have toyed with the youth for far too long,” he said.

The activist also highlighted plans to engage leaders across the broad-based government, particularly in President William Ruto’s administration, and to work with party youth leagues, starting with UDA, to present the youth blueprint.

Additionally, McOure criticized the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports for underperformance, accusing it of neglecting the youth.

“We will also raise the ante against the indolence and intolerable inefficiency of the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports. Its dismal performance treats the youth of this country as an afterthought, prioritizing personal agendas over the mandate entrusted to them,” he said.

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