Across Sub-Saharan Africa, 53 million young people aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education, or training. Three in five are young women. This is not a crisis of ambition; it is a crisis of access.

Kenya sits at the heart of this challenge. In 2025, nearly one million students sat the KCSE examination. Only 27% qualified for direct university entry. For the remaining 700,000+ young people, the system offers little: private colleges beyond reach, public TVET institutions with fees most families cannot absorb, and training programs that too often remain disconnected from what employers and industries actually need.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of young Kenyans leave school capable, motivated — and with nowhere to go. The result is “waithood," a limbo of low-skill, informal work that offers no dignity, no growth, and no future. This is not a talent deficit. It is an opportunity deficit. And the creative economy, one of the fastest-growing sectors in Africa, goes largely untapped as a result.

The Discover, Develop, Launch Model

1. Msingi — Discover

   8 weeks Foundation Stage

   Participants build self-awareness and career clarity through guided exploration, foundational life skills, and mentorship. Each young person leaves this stage with an individualized direction and market-relevant digital skills

2. Imarisha — Develop

   6 Months Creative & Technical Skills Stage

   Participants enter focused pathways in the creative and service economy, gaining hands-on technical skills, professional discipline, and work experience. Mentorship continues throughout, bridging skill-building with personal growth.

3. Stawi — Launch

   3- 12 monTransition to Opportunities

   The final stage connects young people to real-world entry points: career readiness coaching, job placement support, entrepreneurship guidance, and access to professional networks and markets. The measure of success is not program completion; it is durable economic participation.