Vulnerable and unemployed youth living in slum areas in Kenya constantly live in survival mode. But there is no amount of outside intervention that will systemically transform slums into thriving, resilient communities – that change must come from within.     

While most organisations offer skills training or grants, Emerging Leaders takes an innovative approach of offering “tangible hope”, “mindset change”, and transferable skills. They believe that each human is bursting with potential that can lead them out of poverty, with entrepreneurship as a path to build self-worth While these are not typical development approaches, we believe that each human is bursting with potential. It is only by liberating that potential that youth will recognize they can lead themselves out of poverty. Entrepreneurship is a path to build self-worth and end poverty. 

In this project, Emerging Leaders will reach 18,000 vulnerable youth using both direct and Train The Trainer methods. 70% of them will set up businesses to prove to themselves they can lead. And 30% of them will double their monthly income to at least the minimum wage through their own initiative. 

Emerging Leaders does not currently have a model to consistently deliver mindset change at scale in this context. Alongside impacting thousands of youth and their communities, this project will also be to show how to scale mindset change among vulnerable youth.