Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich has assured the 344 youths who graduated from the 2jiajiri programme that his government will support any youth ready to invest in the manufacturing sector to start a cottage industry.
The governor said his county has a long-term project which aims at registering youths and supporting them to start cottage industries, saying this was the only way to create employment for the residents.
Speaking during the graduation of the 158 girls and 186 boys who were sponsored by the Kenya Commercial Bank at the Iten sportsground, the governor said residents cannot continue waiting for foreigners to create jobs for them.
“We cannot continue looking up to others to create employment, as this cannot happen; it is only us who can create jobs for ourselves, just like the Chinese have done by starting their own cottage industries,” he said.
Rotich said he hopes to see a future where residents of the county buy, wear, and eat products made from within the county, saying in the process it will not only provide a market for locally produced goods but also create employment.
The governor therefore called on the youths to ensure that they don’t sell the startup tools which they received from KCB, saying they will assist them in starting their businesses, and advised them to practice honesty for them to succeed.
Bernard Barasa from KCB, while advising them to start their own businesses, told them that they should target to graduate to small and medium enterprises before finally growing to corporate organisations.
“Let us strive to gradually improve our businesses and ensure that they outlive us so that future generations will continue running and earning from them long after we are gone,” he said.
Ezra Kiptoo, one of the graduates, said he had already started making money from his shoe-making business after acquiring skills from the Kitany Vocational Training Centre.
Kiptoo said he started by mending shoes, a trade which is looked down on by many in the county, and once he got admission to the VTC, he advanced from mending to making shoes, saying he has been receiving orders from many quarters, which has made him self-reliant.
By Alice Wanjiru and Joy Jeelagat
