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September 21, 2026September 21, 2026

Samuel’s Contribution and Journey on LigiOpen

My experience working with JAY4T has been a really valuable one.
Coming into the organisation, I was excited about the opportunity to work on LigiOpen because it was not just a typical development project; it was an existing platform that had already gone through different stages of development, so there was a lot to learn and understand.

LigiOpen's Fixtures & Match Centre tracking grassroots Kenyan football from kickoff to full-time.

Working on LigiOpen allowed me to work with an existing codebase rather than building everything from scratch. One of the things I enjoyed most was being able to investigate existing functionality, understand how different parts of the platform work together, identify issues and then make improvements. I also got to work with APIs and different parts of the platform, which helped me strengthen my practical development and problem-solving skills.

Discover, search, and register clubs across grassroots Kenyan leagues in one central directory.

One thing that stood out to me was learning how important communication and collaboration are when working on an existing product with different people involved. There were moments where we had to reassess our approach, understand the broader product requirements and align the technical work with what the organisation actually needed. That experience taught me that software development is not only about writing code but also about understanding the product, communicating decisions and being able to adapt when requirements or priorities change.

I also appreciated working with my fellow software developer who focuses on the mobile application and back-end functionality of LigiOpen, Alex, and the rest of the team. The collaboration helped me understand the relationship between the web platform, mobile application, APIs and the infrastructure supporting them. It gave me a much broader perspective than just focusing on the frontend.

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I would say the biggest thing I took away from the experience was learning how to work with and improve a real product that has history and technical debt. It has challenged me in a good way and has also given me an experience that I believe will be valuable in my career going forward.

July 29, 2026July 29, 2026

YEP: SHIFT FROM A COHORT-BASED PROGRAMME TO A CONTINUOUS PROGRAMME

How it began

Every year, thousands of young people enter the job market, with only a small percentage of them finding opportunities in the formal economy/sector. For many, the other alternative is the informal economy, self-employment, or creating opportunities for themselves.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2026 economic survey, Kenya created 822,100 jobs in 2025, and 87.2% of them were informal sector jobs. Only 12.8% were in the modern/formal sector. That means that nearly nine out of every ten jobs created in Kenya last year were informal. Some of these opportunities were created by people themselves through entrepreneurship, with some going on to create work for others.

At JAY4T, we believe that addressing youth unemployment is not only about creating jobs. It is also about equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and support they need to create their own enterprises and build sustainable livelihoods.

In December 2025, JAY4T finalised plans for the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) and opened applications for young people interested in joining the programme. Initially, YEP was designed as a six-month accelerator, with the first cohort running from March to August 2026.

The goal of YEP is to equip young people with entrepreneurship skills and business development knowledge while providing mentorship and support throughout their entrepreneurship journey.

YEP also serves as an accelerator to JAY4T’s three employment social enterprises: LigiOpen – a platform that promotes inclusivity, talent development, and sustainable opportunities for players, clubs, and communities; Kaakazini – a digital platform that allows craftsmen to digitally manage clients and projects, build their portfolios, and enhance their professional growth; and SoteTule – an enterprise that supports farmer groups and enhances the value chain with modern infrastructure and skills.

YEP officially launched in March 2026. A total of 183 young people registered interest in the programme, with 31 participants – 15 female and 16 male – joining the first intake. Participants came from different counties, with most coming from Kisumu, where the programme is based.

The Shift

More than 20 young people reached out and expressed interest after the March intake closed. This made us think again: If young people are ready to join the programme at different times, does it make sense to make them wait for the next cohort?

We realised that it didn’t

We recognised the need for a more flexible approach. Instead of operating as a fixed-cohort accelerator, YEP is evolving into a continuous programme – one that allows young people to enter at different points and progress through personalised entrepreneurship and employment pathways.

The shift changes how we think about supporting young people, not just about keeping applications open.
Instead of bringing everyone into the programme at the same time and expecting them to move on at the same pace, the continuous model allows participants to progress according to their individual stage, interests, skills and readiness.

The young people who joined through the March intake are now being supported through a CRM-managed journey. The CRM helps us track the participants through different stages of their journey, including intake and assessment, preparation and training, and placement within JAY4T’s employment social enterprises.
It also helps us coordinate support such as weekly check-ins, coaching, life-planning workshops and other activities designed to help participants keep moving forward.

But as the programme evolves, we have also recognised an important gap.

With YEP moving from a single cohort to a continuous programme, coordination is no longer a one-time task; rather, it becomes an ongoing, individualised job – tracking where each person is in their journey, understanding who may be stalled, connecting participants to the right mentors, and deciding when someone’s ready to move toward opportunities with LigiOpen, Kaakazini, or SoteTule. That is a full-time coordination that a CRM alone doesn’t solve.
That is why JAY4T has begun recruiting a programme lead who will coordinate YEP and provide closer support to participating young people.

The programme lead will help ensure that the continuous model remains personal rather than becoming just another system for tracking numbers. As participants progress at different stages, someone needs to be paying attention to their individual journey, intervening when they fall behind, and helping make the right mentor and pathway connections based on their abilities, interests and needs.

This is an important part of what the shift means for YEP. As we roll out this new continuous model, applications for YEP remain open. Young people no longer have to wait for the next cohort to begin their entrepreneurship journey.

They can join, build their entrepreneurship and business development skills, receive support and mentorship, and grow alongside JAY4T’s ecosystem of social enterprises.

YEP is no longer just a six-month cohort but a continuous pathway for young people ready to explore entrepreneurship, employment and sustainable livelihoods.

July 8, 2026July 8, 2026

Building for the Beautiful Game: James Githirwa’s LigiOpen Journey

This World Youth Skills Day, JAY4T is proud to spotlight young people whose talents are creating opportunities and strengthening communities. James Githirwa, a software developer on the LigiOpen team, reflects on his journey from student intern to contributing to a platform that is transforming grassroots football in Kenya.

Starting Out at LigiOpen

When I joined LigiOpen as an intern, I was thrilled. It was my first experience in the job market, and I was still pursuing a BSc in Software Development at KCA University. Having already completed several coursework and side projects, I expected the experience to bring both highs and lows. The project began with simple web technologies, but as it evolved, I quickly realised that LigiOpen would become much more than a website; it would grow into a platform with the potential to impact football communities across Kenya. After returning to university to complete my studies, I later rejoined the team as a part-time staff member.

Photo: James playing football

A personal connection to football

My connection to football began long before I wrote my first line of code. As both a fan and a player, I saw firsthand that many grassroots teams lacked a digital presence. Talented players shone every weekend, yet few people knew their stories. Teams struggled to reach supporters and sponsors, and this challenge became the inspiration behind LigiOpen.

The technical challenge lessons beyond code

The technical side of the project proved more demanding than I had imagined. While building web pages and integrating APIs was relatively straightforward, designing a system capable of supporting multiple leagues, tournaments, clubs, fixtures, news updates, and player profiles required careful thought. I spent countless hours redesigning database structures, refining user interfaces, and reimagining features as the platform’s vision expanded.

Through this experience, I learned that software development is about far more than writing code. It is about understanding people’s needs, solving real problems, and adapting as circumstances change. Along the way, I embraced new technologies, strengthened my system-design skills, and learned to think strategically about our long-term goals.

LigiOpen has become an important part of my own journey as a software developer. From studying software engineering principles in the classroom to applying them in real-world projects, every challenge has helped me grow both professionally and personally. There were times when bugs seemed impossible to solve and features took longer than expected to implement, but each obstacle sharpened my problem-solving abilities.

Growth Through the Journey

Although there is still much to build, I am proud of what we have achieved and excited for what lies ahead. I believe that, with continued development, LigiOpen can become an integral part of Kenya’s football ecosystem. I am grateful to JAY4T for the opportunity to contribute my skills and to the entire technical team for their support and collaboration.

Skills gain their true value when they are used to solve real problems and create opportunities for others. At JAY4T, we are honoured to walk alongside young innovators like James as they shape the future of work and sport.

July 8, 2026July 8, 2026

Building LigiOpen: Alex’s Story of Skill and Perseverance

As we mark World Youth Skills Day, JAY4T is celebrating the young innovators turning their skills into impact. Alex, a mobile and backend developer on the LigiOpen team, shares his experience of helping build a platform that connects sports communities while growing his own technical expertise along the way.

When I was called upon to work on LigiOpen, I thought it would be easy at first since I had completed several projects successfully before. I expected this one to be similar. The first days were indeed straightforward, as I focused on setting up the basic architecture common to most projects. Then came the real challenge: the league and competition scheduling module.

I once saw someone on X remark that creating a school timetable without clashes is incredibly difficult. While I cannot speak from a teacher’s perspective, I found the comparison fitting. Organising the flow of leagues and competitions proved to be one of the most demanding tasks I had encountered.

Thankfully, support arrived when we partnered with The Frequency Collaborative (TFC) for three months. Their team of young, skilled developers and designers helped us refine our database and design a solid league structure. Building on that foundation, I developed the league and competition system that powers LigiOpen today.

LigiOpen is now available on the Play Store, and work on the website continues. Although features such as ticketing and the merchandise shop are still in development, I can confidently say that the most difficult milestones are behind us.

I believe LigiOpen will grow into an organisation that provides both employment and entertainment for many people, and I am grateful to have played a part in building it.

Through Alex’s story, we learn that meaningful skills are forged through real challenges, collaboration, and persistence. JAY4T is a community of young people creating solutions that strengthen their communities and shape the future of work.

January 27, 2026January 28, 2026

Listening for Livelihoods: How Jabulani Youths for Transformation is Building Youth Ownership Through Feedback

This blog was originally published at: FeedbackLabs

What happens when young people are trusted not just to participate, but to shape the systems that serve them?

That question guided LabStorm #235, hosted by Feedback Labs, featuring Jabulani Youths for Transformation (JAY4T), a grassroots, youth-led nonprofit based in Kisumu, Kenya. JAY4T exists to turn the potential of African youth into power, transforming creativity, skills, and entrepreneurial energy into dignified livelihoods and community-led enterprises.

Founded and led by young people, JAY4T tackles the pressing issue of youth unemployment across Western Kenya. The organization has launched four youth-driven social ventures, engaged over 1,200 youth, and increased youth employment in its network by 25%, mobilizing both seed funding and in-kind support.

Through its flagship Employment Collective, JAY4T connects youth to two main pathways:

Employment Track – where participants gain hands-on experience and income through ventures like LigiOpen, Sote Tule, KaaKazini, and The Frequency Collaborative.
Entrepreneurship Track – where youth join Xchange Bazaar, a peer-to-peer mastermind network to refine ideas, share skills, and co-create solutions.

JAY4T’s model is built on deep engagement and shared ownership, with youth serving as collaborators and co-designers in every stage of program development. Their mission: to create practical pathways from unemployment to opportunity, while maintaining trust and sustainability.

As JAY4T expands its reach, the team faces a critical question:

How can we listen more deeply to youth, especially those from marginalized or low-income communities, in ways that are empowering, actionable, and sustainable?

While the organization currently gathers input through surveys and in-person conversations, not every participant responds, and some feedback can be hard to interpret. As they prepare to serve new cohorts, the JAY4T team wants to ensure that feedback directly shapes programs, reduces dependency, and builds stronger youth ownership across all stages, from enrollment to employment.

In this LabStorm, the team and participants explored one central challenge: how to strengthen feedback practices so that youth not only feel heard but see their voices reflected in action.

Discussion Highlights Co-design feedback with youth, not for youth.

Participants emphasized that the youth themselves should help design how feedback is collected, analyzed, and shared. Creating a formalized Youth Advisory Council or Entrepreneurship Council could make feedback ongoing, rather than episodic. This structure also provides leadership experience for participants and strengthens peer accountability.

Try peer-led evaluation and reflection.

Youth-to-youth conversations often yield more honest feedback. JAY4T could train a small group of youth participants in evaluation and facilitation, giving them tools to conduct focus groups, analyze data, and report findings. This approach builds capacity while fostering trust and skill development, turning evaluation into a learning experience.

Make feedback creative and visible.

To keep engagement fresh, participants suggested interactive and youth-friendly tools like:

WhatsApp polls and Instagram business accounts managed by youth teams.
Vote-up forums where participants can rank ideas and priorities (like the Employment Collective online platform).
“What We Heard / What We’ll Do” walls — both digital and physical — where youth can see how their input leads to change.
Speak Up Week, inspired by the Feedback+Atlanta Crash Course, to celebrate participants who share their feedback and ideas.

Follow the feedback trail.

One participant encouraged the team to “follow the feet”, in other words, analyze when and why participants disengage. Exit interviews, short text check-ins, or post-program surveys can help uncover barriers that keep youth from applying new skills or staying connected after training.

Use frameworks to measure transformation, not just participation.

To move beyond attendance metrics, JAY4T could use models that help track personal growth and skill application, measuring change over time in confidence, financial independence, and self-efficacy.

Build partnerships for learning and scale.

The group discussed connecting with innovation hubs like iHub Nairobi, or organizations like Generation and Youth Café, which support similar missions. Partnerships could open doors for mentorship, joint research, and expanded funding opportunities, especially for youth entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Key Takeaways

Feedback is a skill-building opportunity. Peer-led approaches help youth learn facilitation, analysis, and leadership skills.
Visibility builds trust. Showing how feedback leads to real change sustains motivation and ownership.
Creativity counts. Digital tools and public recognition can make feedback engaging and youth-centered.
Sustainability requires partnerships. Collaborating with like-minded organizations strengthens both reach and learning.

This LabStorm reminded us that listening is the first act of empowerment. For Jabulani Youths for Transformation, feedback isn’t just about program improvement; it’s about co-creating the future of youth employment in Africa.

By putting young people at the center of design, evaluation, and storytelling, JAY4T is turning feedback into a foundation for agency, innovation, and shared success.

November 28, 2025November 28, 2025

Kenya’s Youth Employment Crisis – JAY4T’s Take

Hats up, cheers and smiles all over. It’s graduation day! It’s not always ‘tarmacking’, as people say, as some fresh graduates have a plan, but then, amidst them, are young people who are left clueless about what is going to become of them after graduation. For long, youth unemployment has remained a statistic, as Kenya’s 2025 economic survey by KNBS outlined. For long, we have stuck to the statistics where we look at the unemployment rate among the youth in Kenya.

In the survey, KNBS outlined that the labour force participation rate for persons aged 15-24 years dropped from 27.3% in 2023 to 23.7% in 2024. This could either mean that young people are giving up looking for work, staying longer in school due to poor job prospects or working informally where they are not captured in the statistics.

On the other hand, there is a decline in skilled labour. The 2025 economic survey highlighted that the share of skilled labour in total manufacturing declined lower than the share of unskilled labour in 2024, indicating a demand for skilled labour. This means that Kenya’s labour market is not creating enough skilled jobs and not absorbing graduates, contributing to the skills mismatch. First-time job seekers, mostly youth, are joining a system that isn’t creating enough opportunities. This means that Kenya isn’t just facing a “youth unemployment” crisis. It’s facing a skills gap where the market demands skills youth don’t have, while also failing to create jobs that match the skills youth do have.

Why it matters to JAY4T

JAY4T’s mission is to leverage and transform the talents, skills and knowledge of the youth into social enterprise co-creation for impact, empowering them in the process. These statistics make this mission more challenging and urgent.

Here is what it means:

Youth disengagement from the labour market threatens long-term economic transformation

If young people believe that there are no real opportunities, they tend to retreat from job seeking, from education, and from innovation. This disengagement is costly, socially and economically.

Traditional training is not solving the skills mismatch

Many times, young people take up short courses to gain extra skills or to get the skills necessary for a particular job. These training programmes, which lack real-world applications, are producing skilled youth with nowhere to apply those skills. Market failure creates space for youth-led solutions

When industries aren’t creating enough decent jobs, and the public sector is overwhelmed, youth-led innovation can no longer be optional. It becomes essential.

How JAY4T is responding: Youth-Owned, Co-created Employment Social Enterprises

At JAY4T, in addition to mentorship and training, we focus on turning the skills gained during training and mentorship into co-created social enterprises. An approach which is grounded in co-creation, ownership, and employment.

Our social enterprises, KaaKazini, LigiOpen, and Sote Tule, create real employment opportunities. Through these enterprises, we tighten the skills gap through real work experience by providing hands-on experience and practical skills aligned with real market demand and problem-solving capacity.

This enables us to strengthen youth economic mobility in that, as the enterprises grow, young people develop the confidence, networks, and abilities to pursue better jobs, entrepreneurship, or leadership roles within their communities. A stepping stone to sustainable livelihoods.

September 15, 2025September 15, 2025

How JAY4T Youth Lead Their Own Transformation

At JAY4T, transformation isn’t something done for the youth – it’s something they lead themselves every day.

Jabulani Youths for Transformation empowers young people by leveraging and transforming their talents, skills, and knowledge into social enterprises that create positive impact. You have the ideas, the talent and the skills. We walk the journey with you, shaping those ideas into reality.

In this blog, we will explore how young people in JAY4T take charge of their journey and lead their own transformation.

The JAY4T approach - Why Youth are at the centre

Our asset-based approach starts with what young people already have – their existing skills, talents, and knowledge. We support youth to access entrepreneurship resources, skill development materials, networks, and tools to make their work possible.

We focus more on working with youth, not for them.

One example is our Xchange Bazaar events, a space where young people come together and share their ideas, skills, and resources in exchange for the same, much like barter trade. The main aim is to network and get what they need to grow their career or skillset. This is followed by masterminding sessions where we discuss one project at a time, brainstorming solutions to challenges, and then work alongside the youth to turn their ideas into reality.

Ways JAY4T youth lead their own transformation

Identifying Opportunities

We have young people coming from diverse communities, each with unique challenges and gaps. Many begin their transformation by spotting these issues and creating solutions that drive change.

Learning and Upskilling

Through JAY4T’s entrepreneurship program, youth are equipped with skills, resources and tools which guide them in their change-making journey.

We also have the Employment Collective, a community-driven forum that connects Kenyan Youths with job opportunities, entrepreneurship resources, and skill development materials and peer learning.

The Xchange Bazaar is another learning hub where youth trade skills. For example, “I’ll teach you Canva design if you teach me digital marketing.”

Collaborating & Networking

Youth build partnerships with peers and mentors through structured matching during our events, working in small groups to solve specific challenges.

Building a Future Mindset

Our vision is to see youth flourish beyond JAY4T, taking what they’ve learned and applying it in careers, businesses, and community leadership.

Be Part Of the Transformation

The JAY4T team invites more young people to step forward, take the lead, and shape their own journey.

Join JAY4T and become part of the co-creators. Step into your own transformation:

Register through our youth application form to join the movement.
Jump into the community forum to connect with peers, opportunities, and resources.
Showing up at our free events on Eventbrite – real talks, real skills, and real networks.

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025

Kenya’s Youth Economy? We’re already building it: JAY4T’s Contribution to AACOSE Academia 2025

Exploring youth innovation at AACOSE Academia

AACOSE Academia is an important component of the Annual Africa Conference on Social Entrepreneurship (AACOSE), organised by the Institute for Social Transformation at Tangaza University. AACOSE Academia serves as a forum for academic contributions that bridge research and practice, providing a platform for scholars and practitioners to present empirical research that contributes to Africa’s social economy and development agenda by engaging in discussions on social entrepreneurship and the social economy.

This year’s conference was centred on the theme, Social Economy: Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Future for Africa. At AACOSE Academia 2025, I had an opportunity to present research addressing a question facing millions of young Kenyans and young Africans at large. How do we turn social innovation into sustainable livelihoods?

In Kenya, youth unemployment is a major challenge facing millions of youth, full of ideas, energy, and potential. But what if we stopped seeing youth as job seekers and started recognising them as solution makers? Just what if?

Being passionate about youth empowerment and social innovation, I chose youth and social innovation as the subtheme, and focused on important topics like the social economy, youth unemployment in Kenya, social enterprises and social innovation.

Why the social economy matters

Kenya’s social economy, just like the global social economy, covers a wide range of activities and organisations that prioritise social and environmental goals over their own profit, often focusing on addressing local needs and promoting community well-being.

Unlike the profit organisations, these entities prioritise people, purpose, and collective participation. For youths, this space gives something special: the chance to create meaningful work that also solves real social challenges like unemployment, poverty, hunger, etc.

Innovation in action: Youth-led social innovation in Kenya’s social economy

In this section, I focused on Ecobana Limited, a youth-led social enterprise tackling period poverty and unemployment, while also addressing environmental degradation, by manufacturing biodegradable sanitary pads from banana fibre.

Kenyan youth are full of innovative ideas. Many of them are already building businesses and coming up with relevant local and environmentally sustainable solutions. What they often lack is long-term support, mostly from the Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs). In my analysis, I found that Entrepreneur Support Organisations, which offer incubators, accelerators, and youth programs, tend to focus on short-term interactions like prize competitions, pitch events, hackathons, and award ceremonies, which are useful but insufficient for the development of these social enterprises.

Youth-led social enterprises don’t just need to be awarded and featured in articles. They need capital with patience, mentorship with depth, and support systems that understand their community-based models.

A better approach: Start with what we already have

I recommend that the youth embrace the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach. While one may need external support like funding, to successfully establish a social enterprise, we must first focus on what we readily have or what we can start with to develop the social enterprise.

The Asset-Based Community Development approach is whereby a community’s existing skills, natural resources, and knowledge are leveraged to create impact. Instead of focusing on what you lack, ABCD starts with what you have. An example is Ecobana, which uses banana fibre for its social enterprise. It’s not just about empowering, it’s sustainable.

What needs to change?

To make Kenya’s youth social economy thrive, we need:

ESOs to evolve from offering one-time or short-term support to developing social enterprises, to offering yearly long-term mentorships and funding partnerships.
Youth policies that reflect the reality of rural and informal innovations, not just urban innovations alone.
To start where we are. Instead of focusing on what youth lack, we should help them realise and leverage what they already have – skills, relationships, raw materials, and ideas that solve real community problems. I advocate for an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach.

My final take

Youth Innovation is not a gap – It’s a growing force. But we can’t just celebrate the wins. We must invest in the systems that make those wins possible and scalable.

As part of JAY4T, I’m committed to pushing the conversation forward. Let us match youth innovation with real, sustainable support.

About the author: Jesse Odippo

I’m Jesse Odippo, the Events and Communications manager at JAY4T – a non-profit membership organisation, which leverages and transforms the talents, skills and knowledge of Kenya’s youths into social enterprise co-creation for positive impact. I’m passionate about youth empowerment and committed to helping young people shape their futures through social innovation.

Presenting my research at AACOSE Academia 2025 was a defining moment in my journey as a youth advocate and communicator. I believe that real change starts with the community and I’m committed to helping youth realise the power they already have to lead the change.