Jesse Odippo

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.