The Youth Income Opportunities Cluster of Action (YIOCA) provides the base that makes it possible for the implementation of the other three interconnected clusters of action identified under the ABEDEV Strategy 2025 – 2029, ‘Busia for People: Waking Institutions to serve the People’. The main aim of the YIOCA is to mobilise the youth of Busia county through provision of income generating opportunities within a resilient and sustainable framework of the circular economy to support themselves and their families financially even as they engage in civic work.
Earning an income should improve their personal welfare and facilitate their commitment to the civic engagement work that follows through the other three clusters of action. It should also attract other youth to develop an interest in undertaking similar work and thus join ABEDEV to help pursue our strategic objectives. As the base upon which our civic work lies, the YIOCA makes it possible for our three clusters of action to take off on a sound footing. It does so by not just mobilising the target youth but also responding to their most immediate needs prior to availing them to engage in the equally demanding civic work from our Civic Awareness, Citizen Participation and Citizen-led Accountability Clusters of Action.
The table below summarises some of the indicative activities, outputs, and outcomes of the YIOCA. The activities are what the YIOCA facilitator of action and volunteers are expected to undertake frequently. The Chief Facilitator of Action is expected to follow up on the activities by referring to the key outputs and indicators emerging from them.
| Indicative Activities | Key Outputs | Indicators | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Identifying the economic sectors with most promise for youth income generating opportunities in Busia County |
● Market and value chain analyses in Busia County ● List of opportunities on important value chains |
● No. of value chain and market analyses carried out |
|
2 |
Identifying the economic activities most attractive to the youth in Busia County |
● List of youth-friendly economic opportunities in Busia County |
● No. of youth-friendly economic/business opportunities identified
|
|
3 |
Identifying value chains for the sectors with most promise for youth income generating opportunities and economic activities most attractive to the youth |
● List of opportunities for youth income in Busia County |
● No. of economic/business opportunities identified. |
|
4 |
Mobilising and attracting youth in Busia to engage in economic activities offered by the ABEDEV |
● Bespoke civic awareness manuals and IEC material |
● No. of youth mobilized for economic activities.
|
|
5 |
Providing leadership and managing ABEDEV activities supporting youth income generation. |
● Reports of youth income activities undertaken. |
● No. of activities undertaken to create youth income opportunities. |
|
6 |
Evaluating the impact and progress of youth income opportunities across Busia County. |
● Reports of the impact of youth income opportunities cluster of action |
● No. of impact reports produced. |
The YIOCA is expected to lead to increased youth mobilisation through income opportunities for civic engagement within Busia County. An increase in numbers of youth with civic awareness will lead to interest in good governance among the youth, which in turn will attract them to engage both in government decision-making processes and in scrutiny of government programmes, services and initiatives. This will lead to reduced wastage and improved performance by the County Government, thereby uplifting the lives of ordinary people.