Fostering Agribusiness Entrepreneurship for Kenyan Youth through Practice-Based Education

Abstract

Approximately 1 million Kenyan youth enter the labour market each year, a number which the formal sector has been incapable of absorbing. As a result, youth unemployment and underemployment rates are high, with two-thirds of youth aged 15–24 not engaged in the labour force. The lack of formal wage opportunities pushes these young people into entrepreneurial activities; however, due to the theoretical focus of the current education system, many secondary school-leavers do not possess the practice-based skills to start their own businesses. This article argues for building partnerships between secondary schools, largely in rural areas, and agribusinesses to foster skills-building that will enable young people to start entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector. It draws on interviews with agribusiness owners and stakeholders in the education sector, and survey data from secondary school students and on youth employment to identify how to improve youth employability through business-led experiential programmes.