What youth are really demanding

On June 25th, a tide of Kenyan youth swept across the country. They weren’t just chanting. They were unveiling a truth that has long lingered beneath the surface.

To the outsider, it may have looked like just another protest. But to those of us who work in development – who watch systems, not just scenes – what unfolded was something deeper. It was a cry for opportunity, a revelation of how the education and training systems in Kenya and across the region are failing our youth. Their voices exposed not only economic frustration, but the structural gaps that continue to block pathways to meaningful work.

Across Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and beyond, young Kenyans took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands. And while much has been analysed through a political lens, allow us to look again — this time through the lens of livelihoods, aspirations, and economic inclusion.

In the crowd, you could trace two prevailing realities.

First, the youth from the fringes — those for whom food, shelter, and security are daily battles. Some are part of informal networks and gangs, not by choice but by survival. They are angry.

Not just at the State — but at a world that has taught them their lives are disposable. For them, life is a day-to-day negotiation with survival — meals are not guaranteed, jobs are scarce, and school was a door that either never opened or slammed shut too early.

Content creators

Second, the young, self-taught entrepreneurs, content creators, and jobseekers from low to middle-income homes. They’ve studied. Tech-savvy. Hustled. Their families have scraped together enough for a degree/diploma, a smartphone, maybe even seed capital for a business. Yet even with education, they find themselves stuck —locked out of finance, business networks, and opportunity. Their parents are exhausted. Their own optimism is dimming.

These two worlds merged on the same streets — united not by ideology, tribe, or language, but by economics and unmet promise. One young woman, in a viral TikTok, asked: "You told us to go to school. We did. But now what? Where’s the way forward?"

Her question is the real protest.

Over 70% of Kenya’s population is under the age of 35. More than 800,000 young people enter the labour market each year, but less than 10% are absorbed into formal employment.

The rest navigate underemployment, unstable hustles, and informal gigs - without access to skills, finance, or networks. According to the World Bank, youth unemployment in Kenya stands at over 35%.

This isn’t unique to Kenya. In Uganda, nearly one million youth enter the job market annually, yet fewer than 20% are absorbed. In Tanzania, despite political commitment, gaps persist in aligning skills to the economy. What we are witnessing is not just frustration - it is the heartbreak of a generation locked out of its future.

But there is good news. Across East Africa, youth-focused initiatives are pointing to pathways that work.

In Kenya, the PropelA programme is piloting dual apprenticeships that link youth with industries, blending practical experience with learning.

In the DRC, PROMOST reaches thousands in fragile regions with technical training and business support. Uganda’s now-closed U-LEARN programme invested in rural youth enterprise, leaving behind lessons. Back in Kenya, the Ajira Digital Program has equipped thousands with digital skills and connected them to online work.

Civil society

These programmes show that it is possible to create opportunities for youth. Young people have started businesses, found work, and expanded their horizons. But these successes are too scattered, too few and too small compared to the magnitude of the problem. What they offer is evidence, experience and possibilities. What’s missing is scale.

This is where governments must lead and learn with intent to scale. Not just in funding, but in vision: co-creating with private sector, civil society, and youth to design systems that empower rather than tokenise. Significant public investment, technical expertise, and enabling policies are essential if proven models are to become national blueprints — not pilot projects. Public institutions don’t need to reinvent the wheel. They need to multiply what already works.

The question is no longer what to do — it’s how.

How do we bring youth, private sector, and institutions around one table? How do we design platforms where young people are heard, trusted, and given real responsibility? Initiatives like PropelA or PROMOST show that when youth are trusted and supported, they rise to the occasion. They don’t need perfection — just patience, partnership, and belief.

Anirban Bhowmik and Barbara Kiambi are development practitioners working across East Africa on youth employment, economic inclusion, and systems strengthening