The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) has promised to recover sh300 million from its beneficiaries and financial intermediaries in the next 100 days as part of its Rapid Results Initiative (RRI).
The organization intends to do this by ensuring strict supervision of regional staff on follow-ups, loan monitoring and evaluation with a monthly reporting and review meeting for feedback, intensify pre-disbursement training to enhance sustainability of the fund and rehabilitate 100 failed enterprises and put beneficiaries back to business.
In addition, they intend to list defaulting financial intermediaries with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and take legal action on defaulting financial intermediaries.
Speaking during the launch of the initiative, Youth Fund Chairman Ronald Osumba said this will see the organization improve service delivery and undertake a series of high impact activities that will deliver tangible results for youth entrepreneurs across the country.
The 100 days Rapid Result Initiative will focus on four key areas; Products and Services, Processes, Partnerships and People, he said.
Youth Fund also hopes to reduce the loan processing period from two months to two weeks. It intends to do this by inspecting application forms against checklist at point of receipt to avoid delays and introduce service level agreements between departments involved in the loan processing to guarantee timelines.
The ambitious initiative intends on increasing loan uptake from sh20 million to sh60 million per month. They will achieve this by enhancing sensitization of their programs at grassroots, encourage those who have completed their first loan to apply for second enhanced loan and reduce turnaround time to encourage applications.
There are a total of 13 deliverables under the initiative. Others are re-engineer existing products and introduce impactful, demand driven products with a focus on value chain, facilitate 1000 youth to take employment opportunities abroad, support young entrepreneurs access new and existing business opportunities, negotiate 10 supply contracts for youth enterprises, strengthen communication and partnerships with their key stakeholders and revise service charter in consultation with customers.
In addition, they will implement job evaluation report to raise staff enthusiasm, automate processes, develop and launch interative website and run zero deficit budget.
Established in 2006, Youth Fund prides itself in having disbursed loans worth sh11.7 billion to 886,313 youth across the country.
The RRI commences on August 15th and will end on 22nd November 2016.
