Executive Summary

• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are an essential component of Kenya’s economic landscape, contributing significantly to employment generation,
economic growth and overall development in the country.
• SMEs contribute to over 90% of Kenya’s total labor force, employing approximately 14.9M Kenyans in various sectors of the economy.
Context and • Approximately 60% of SMEs in Kenya say access to skilled talent is critical for their growth, yet they struggle to offer competitive salaries to attract the right
Challenge talent.
• Research shows the biggest challenge for SME recruitment is a lack of practical skills and work experience amongst graduates.
• Employers prefer to hire candidates with prior work experience, leaving recent graduates in a never ending conundrum – they are unable to gain experience
without a job and unable to secure a job without experience.

To address these challenges, the Africa Technical Apprentice Network (ATAN) proposes to set up an initiative that will:
1. Establish partnerships with local universities to identify technical degree graduates.
2. Match qualified graduates with SMEs for apprenticeships
4-Part 3. Offer skills training, mentorship and on-the-job practical work experience for apprentices.
4. Facilitate connections for apprentices and alumni to the ATAN Platform – a one-stop shop that encourages networking, offers on-demand skills training and
Intervention offers job matching opportunities throughout the apprentice period and for two years post program completion.
Description • Expected short-term impact: skills development through hands-on-training, increased employability amongst program graduates and increased workforce
productivity as a result of graduates brining in fresh skills and knowledge to the workplace.
• Expected long term impact: Reduced youth unemployment through an alternative pathway to gain skills and increased incomes, ultimately boosting economic
growth.

• Seeking $250,000 to pilot the African Technical Apprentice Program; with this funding, we will:
Ask/next • Build a team that will position the program for scalability and success in the design phase
steps and • Establish partnerships with universities, SMEs and SME support organizations
opportunity • Identify the first cohort of technical degree graduates to pilot the apprentice program
• Implement the program across identified counties over a 12-month period
 Agenda

1 The Problem: Talent Supply & Demand Gap

2 Landscape & Opportunities

3 The solution: The African Technical Apprentice Network (ATAN)

4 Feasibility & Sustainability

5 Design Implementation Plan and Next Steps

2
section
There are five key stakeholders that play a key role in influencing Kenya’s unemployment rate

Graduates Universities Employers Business Associations Business Support

Organizations

Description • 18 – 35 years university • Public and Private universities • Formally registered • Promote the highest standards of quality • Develop and facilitate
degree holders that offer technical degree enterprises in Kenya and efficiency in Industrial Training skills training curricula
courses • Build and advocate policy for a conducive • Match qualified
business environment, facilitate candidates with job
networks, enable market linkages etc. opportunities in their
• Advocate for industry specific policy fields of study/interest

Segments • Women • University degree holders • Small businesses • State Corporations • SME Support
• Men • Medium-sized enterprises • Business associations Organizations
• Persons With • Large Enterprises • Industry specific associations • Job placement
Disabilities agencies

SMEs Large Enterprises

Examples • Food Science and • University of Nairobi • Grain • Melvin Marsh • The National Industrial Training • Ajiry
Technology • Jomo Kenyatta University of Industries Int. Ltd Authority (NITA) • Brighter Monday
• Accounting Agriculture and Technology Limited • East African • Kenya Private Sector Alliance • Shortlist
• Information Technology • Meru University of Science • Mini Bakers Breweries (KEPSA)
• Engineering and Technology Ltd • Unga Group • Federation of Kenya Employers
• Tom Mboya University College (FKE)
• The Cereal Millers Association
(CMA)
4
Youth: There are 68 registered universities with an average of 50,000 graduating each year; most
struggle to find a job that aligns with their qualifications and aspirations
Level of Learning Examples of Learning
Institutions

Secondary School
• Form 1 – 4 • The Kenya High School
# of learning institutions # of students enrolled • Goal is to obtain the Kenya Certificate of • Starehe Boys Centre
Secondary Education (KCSE) Certificate • Sheikh Khalifa School
4,500,000 • Minimum grade C- required to qualify for • Maseno School
admission to university Bachelors degree • Kianda School
14000 68 4,000,000 program

12000 3,500,000 TVET

• National Polytechnics • Kenya Coast National Polytechnic
3,000,000 • Diplomas (3 years)
10000 • Kabete National Polytechnic
3,000,000 • Certificates (2 years)
2,500,000 • Artisan Certification (1 year)
8000 10,482 • St. Therese Vocational Training Centre
2,000,000 • Vocational Training Colleges
• Kangemi Vocational Training Centre
6000 • Diplomas (2 years)
1,500,000 • Certificates (1 year)
4000 • Public/Private Technical Training Institutes • Nairobi Technical Training Institute
1,000,000
562,500 • Diploma (3 years) • Rift Valley Technical Training Institute
2000 500,000 • Higher Diploma (2 years)
2,423 562,100 • Certificate (2-6 months)
0 68 0
University
Universities University
• Masters Degree (1-3 years) • University of Nairobi
Technical and Vocational Education Technical and Vocational Education and Training • Doctorate (3+ years) • Kenyatta University
and Training (TVETs) (TVETs)_ • Riara University
• Undergraduate (4 year programs)
• Diploma courses (1 -2 years) • Jomo Kenyatta University of
Secondary School Secondary School Science and Agriculture
5 Source: https://www.knbs.or.ke/download/economic-survey-2023/
 Institutions: Unemployment is higher among university graduates

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Employers: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises account for 40% of Kenya’s GDP and are very well
positioned to fill the job-skills gap.
Employer Segmentation Description Sector Examples
Large businesses
• Annual turnover exceeds KES • Telecommunications • Safaricom
Total 7.41M 800 Million • Agriculture • East African Breweries
8,000,000
• 100+ employees • Manufacturing • Bata Shoe Company
• Tourism & Hospitality • Grain Industries Ltd
7,000,000 650000 • Financial Services
• Fast Moving Consumer
6,000,000 Goods
Medium-sized businesses
• Maximum annual turnover of • Manufacturing • Umoja Footwear
5,000,000 40% KES 5 Million – 800 Million • Agribusiness • Winnie’s Pure Health
contribution to • Accounts for 0.2% of MSMEs in • Retail • Botanic Treasures
Kenya’s GDP the county • Construction • Mini bakers Ltd
4,000,000 • 50 – 99 employees • Electronics
6500000 • Financial Services
3,000,000 Small businesses
• Maximum annual • Manufacturing • Safi Organics
2,000,000 turnover of KES 500,000 – • Agribusiness • Limafrica & Agrisolutions
5 Million • Retail • Philmafaith General
1,000,000 • Accounts for 11% of • Construction Enterprises
Kenya’s GDP
250000 • 10 – 49 employees
0
Number of
businesses Micro businesses
• Accounts for 12% of Kenya’s • Manufacturing • Sydsel Africa
Micro businesses Small businesses GDP • Agribusiness • EagleFly Technologies
Medium-sized businesses • Maximum annual turnover of • Ayact Investments
~KES 500,000
7 • Less than 10 employees
 Current employment statistics in Kenya

Employment in the modern and informal sectors, went up from 18.3 million in 2021 to 19.1 million in 2022.
A total of 816.6 thousand new jobs were generated in the economy in 2022. Employment in the modern
sector recorded a growth of 3.7 per cent in 2022 compared to an increase of 5.9 per cent in 2021. In 2022
a total of 113.7 thousand jobs were created in the modern sector. The total number of self-employed and
unpaid family workers within the modern sector was estimated to have increased by 2.7 per cent to 168.1
thousand in 2022. Employment in the informal sector which remains the main source of employment for
the working population rose by 4.6 per cent to record 16.0 million jobs.
 The Demand Gap: Reasons why graduates are struggling to find entry-level employment, and
challenges that employers are experiencing as they look to hire talent.

Supply of Talent (graduates) Demand for Talent (employers)

• Employers want to hire people with work experience • Struggling to find the right talent where they are located

• Universities don’t teach soft skills like communications, time • Cannot afford to pay qualified talent what they are asking for
management and analytical thinking.
• High job turnovers
• Existing university career centers focus on advertising internship
What are the largest or fulltime job opportunities and don’t teach how to write a CV • Onboarding new hires is expensive
and how to prepare for an interview.
barriers? No guarantee new hires will add value
•

• LinkedIn and other job sites – still difficult to find jobs that match • SME supporters have created in-house talent programs – but
requisite skills these aren’t long term solutions

• Alumni networks, connections from school professors, network • Inject resources to train new hires – but this doesn’t guarantee
How have they tried to referrals – most often are not forthcoming employee retention
solve these barriers?

9 Sources: Interviews with SMEs, SME supporters and youth entrepreneurship/employment programs