Empowering Kenya's new generation

  • Published

The odds are stacked against young people in Kenya. Three-quarters of those under 35 do not have jobs. Poverty and poor education have left 1.3 million youths unemployed - and studies suggest women are five times more likely to struggle to find work than men.

Susan Kayongo, 18, has benefited from a scheme - the Girls Empowerment Micro-franchise project - run by the International Rescue Committee in Nairobi. It is hoped this will become a blueprint to help thousands of young unemployed Kenyan women.

A hair product company has provided capital for Susan - and also trained her in business technique and kitted her out with stock. Now it is up to her to make the business work.

To see the enhanced content on this page, you need to have JavaScript enabled and Adobe Flash installed.

All images subject to copyright. Photography by Jonathan Kalan.

Slideshow production by Kelvin Brown. Publication date 15 November 2012.

Related:

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

More audio slideshows: