The Principal Secretary for MSME Development, Susan Mang’eni, represented Kenya at the UN’s Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, where she highlighted Kenya’s bold leadership in Outcomes-Based Financing (OBF), marking a decisive shift from input-driven to results-driven impact.
In Kenya’s case, OBF is being integrated into the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which prioritises MSMEs, agriculture, healthcare, affordable housing, and the digital economy.
Addressing an international audience of policymakers, development partners, and private sector leaders during a high-level roundtable, Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni emphasized Kenya’s bold transition to results-driven financing models, particularly through flagship programs such as the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) that is creating meaningful, lasting jobs for our youth, not just ticking boxes, but transforming lives. The NYOTA project aims to bridge skills gaps, generate employment opportunities, and promote entrepreneurship among vulnerable youth.
Backed by the World Bank, NYOTA aims to reach over 800,000 youth across Kenya’s 47 counties, with a particular focus on those with lower levels of formal education. It utilises Results-Based Financing (RBF) mechanisms by engaging Social Enterprises (SEs) with business models such as franchising and agent-based selling, paying them only when participating youth meet income thresholds. It also collaborates with employer organisations to deliver job-specific training, where payments depend on the youth being trained, employed, and retained in jobs for at least five months.
Four core motivations drive the Kenyan Outcome-Based Financing (OBF) model: prioritising tangible livelihoods by focusing on real income-generating outcomes for youth; emphasising inclusivity by targeting marginalised groups such as women, persons with disabilities, and underserved regions; upholding accountability through the establishment of clear performance targets and verification of results before disbursing payments; and promoting scalability by developing simple, replicable programme designs that are tested through pilot initiatives.
The FfD4 Forum, co-organised by Governments including Kenya, Colombia, and Switzerland, along with development partners such as the OECD and the UBS Optimus Foundation, provides a global platform for discussing the scaling of the outcomes-based financing across various sectors, including health, education, climate, and employment.
