KECTIL Youth Community Kenya (KYCK)

Overview

The KECTIL center in Kenya implements program at the intersection of youth leadership development and systems change; developing individual capabilities while creating mechanisms through which young people can influence policy, build enterprises, innovate and take action in their communities.

Our Vision

We envision a Kenya where young people are not viewed simply as beneficiaries of development programmes, but as leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, citizens and partners in shaping the country's future.

About Us

KECTIL Youth Community Kenya (KYCK) is a youth-led leadership and social impact community that identifies, connects and nurtures talented young people with the potential to create positive change in their communities and across Kenya.

The community is part of the global KECTIL movement. In Kenya, the community provides young people with opportunities to develop leadership capabilities, engage with policymakers and other stakeholders, strengthen entrepreneurial skills, develop innovative solutions to social challenges, and translate ideas into practical community action.

Our approach is built on a simple principle: young people should not only be prepared to become future leaders; they should be supported to lead and create solutions today.

What We Do

Developing young leaders who turn ideas into action

KECTIL Youth Community Kenya connects leadership development, civic participation, entrepreneurship and social innovation.

We create spaces where young people can:

• Develop ethical, accountable and purpose-driven leadership skills.
• Participate meaningfully in public policy conversations.
• Engage policymakers, businesses, civil society and communities on issues affecting young people.
• Identify barriers to youth employment, entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Connect emerging entrepreneurs with experienced business leaders and mentors.
• Develop innovative solutions to community and societal challenges.
• Build networks and collaborations across counties and sectors.
• Turn knowledge and ideas into practical community projects.
• Contribute evidence, ideas and recommendations to policy and development conversations.

The community's work is particularly focused on creating an enabling environment in which young people can learn, lead, innovate, build enterprises and influence decisions that affect their future.

Youth Public Policy Dialogues & County Youth Town Halls

KECTIL Kenya facilitates public policy dialogues that bring together young people, communities, civil society organisations, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss policies affecting youth opportunities and economic development.

The programme is designed to ensure that young people—including those in rural and underserved communities—have a meaningful voice in defining the policies that affect their livelihoods and future.

The programme examines practical policy questions around employment, entrepreneurship, innovation, agriculture, education and skills development, access to finance, local economic development and the regulatory environment for businesses.

Rather than limiting youth engagement to consultation, KECTIL seeks to move from youth voice to evidence, recommendations and action. Youth participants help identify policy and regulatory barriers, develop recommendations and contribute to policy briefs and advocacy through county-level youth policy think tanks.

This work creates a bridge between young citizens and decision-makers while helping policymakers better understand the practical conditions young people and entrepreneurs face.

Entrepreneurship Mentorship & Business Networking

KECTIL Kenya brings together emerging and established youth entrepreneurs to facilitate mentorship, knowledge exchange, networking, and business connections.

The programme provides opportunities for young entrepreneurs to learn from people with practical experience of building businesses, understand market opportunities and challenges, and explore how Kenya can create a more supportive environment for youth-led enterprises.

The community also documents stories of thriving and socially impactful youth enterprises to inspire a stronger culture of entrepreneurship among young people.

This entrepreneurship work is complemented by practical capacity-building. KECTIL Kenya has previously organized training for young social entrepreneurs on areas such as grant development and funding proposals, helping young innovators strengthen their ability to mobilise resources for their ideas.

Innovation training on Design Thinking and Intellectual property

KECTIL Kenya equips young people with design-thinking and innovation as well as training on Intellectual property. These approaches enable them to develop practical responses to complex social and economic challenges and understand how to protect their ideas.

The programme uses a structured methodology to help young people move from identifying a problem to generating multiple ideas, testing possible approaches and developing innovative projects or business concepts. The stated objective is to graduate young people capable of applying a scientific methodology to developing solutions to real-world challenges.

This approach has already generated practical youth-led initiatives. More than 60 young people had received design-thinking training and 10 projects had been generated, including ECOBANA, a youth-led enterprise producing sanitary towels using banana fibers, and The FABS programme, which developed a curriculum supporting intellectually challenged children and their caregivers.

Over 260 innovators and entrepreneurs in Nairobi, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Kisumu have been trained in the basics of Intellectual Property, with support from the Global Alliance for Intellectual Property and Qualcomm.

Youth Leadership, Governance & Civic Engagement (Gold Warrior Award 2026 — Warriors for Good Awards, Youth and Good Governance)

KECTIL Kenya increasingly uses leadership development as a pathway to stronger civic participation and accountable governance.

Its leadership curriculum engages young people around governance, accountability, corruption, civic responsibility, social justice, critical thinking and problem-solving, while encouraging participants to apply what they learn through community projects.

The community's recent work has included civic education and youth participation initiatives designed to encourage young people to understand and exercise their civic voice, including engagement around elections and public decision-making.

This work was recognised in 2026 when KECTIL Youth Community Kenya received a Gold Warrior Award for Youth and Good Governance at the Warriors for Good Awards.

Male Promise Keepers – 1,000 Males for Zero GBV

KECTIL Kenya has also mobilised young men through the Male Promise Keepers Campaign – 1,000 Males for Zero Gender-Based Violence.

The initiative encourages men to make a public commitment to reject violence, protect and support women and girls, challenge harmful gender norms and demonstrate responsible leadership in their families, communities and institutions. The campaign connects youth leadership with gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Our Model of Change

KECTIL Kenya's model connects four stages:

Develop leaders → Create platforms for dialogue → Equip young people to innovate and act → Influence communities and systems

We believe that sustainable youth development requires more than training. Young people need access to networks, mentors, opportunities, decision-makers, practical tools and platforms through which they can apply their knowledge.

For this reason, KECTIL Kenya combines leadership development with policy engagement, entrepreneurship, mentorship, innovation and community action.

Why Partner With KECTIL Kenya?

KECTIL Kenya offers partners a platform for reaching and working with young leaders who are already interested in solving community and national challenges.

For funders, development organisations, government institutions, universities, businesses and civil society partners, the community provides opportunities to collaborate around:

• Youth leadership – developing ethical, skilled and purpose-driven young leaders.
• Youth employment and entrepreneurship – strengthening the ecosystem around young entrepreneurs and innovators.
• Policy and civic engagement – creating meaningful channels through which young people can contribute to policy development and public dialogue.
• Social innovation – supporting young people to design practical responses to social, economic and environmental challenges.
• Mentorship and networks – connecting emerging leaders and entrepreneurs with experienced professionals, institutions and potential partners.
• Community impact – supporting youth to move from learning to implementation through community projects and locally relevant solutions.

The community's 2024 programme design specifically called for expanded networks, partnerships and collaborations to increase impact, while its advisory structure includes responsibilities around identifying funding partners, developing proposals and strengthening programme sustainability.