Youth For Sustainable Development -Machakos

What Youth For Sustainable Development -Machakos does

Youth for Sustainable Development (YSD) Machakos Chapter is a women- and youth-led community-based nonprofit founded in 2018 and headquartered in Machakos County, Kenya. The organisation operates seven core programmes targeting marginalised youth — Dream Makers (mentorship and employment linkages for ages 18+), Digital Skills Training, Early Intervention (school-based), Youth-Led Social Accountability (civic engagement across 20 health facilities in four sub-counties), Wellbeing Initiatives, Business Development Solutions (entrepreneurship, launched 2026), and Active Citizenship. YSD applies formalised methodologies — Community-Driven Systems Change, Human-Centred Design, and the Skills Builder Framework — as its operating stack rather than proprietary software. Approximately 600 youth per year flow through Digital Skills cohorts alone, with graduates placed into employment (e.g., Accounts Assistant at Semara Hotel) or scholarships (e.g., UK Master's degree).

Name

Youth For Sustainable Development -Machakos

Legal name

Youth for Sustainable Development (YSD)

Website

https://ysdkenya.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

Keywords

• Youth empowerment programmes
• Digital skills training
• Community development services
• Social accountability initiatives
• Youth mentorship programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Machakos County

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Funder Contributions: YSD operates as a grant-funded nonprofit. Primary funding comes from Firelight Foundation supporting the Dream Makers Programme and Youth Resilience and Belonging project. Additional programme funding has come from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership for youth-led social accountability initiatives. The organisation also receives support from Imaginable Futures through the Firelight Foundation partnership.
2. Donations and Philanthropic Contributions: YSD accepts monetary donations from individuals and organisations through M-PESA and PayPal for specific programmes including the digital skills training centre fundraiser. Physical item donations of laptops, tablets, and digital devices are also accepted for the digital training centre.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Youth for Sustainable Development - Machakos is a community-based nonprofit that delivers a portfolio of free youth empowerment programmes in Machakos County, Kenya, including one-on-one mentorship and employment linkages (Dream Makers), hands-on digital literacy training (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, digital marketing), school-based career and skills development (Early Intervention), youth-led civic accountability at health facilities, entrepreneurship support (Business Development Solutions), mental wellness activities, and community-based Active Citizenship events on environmental conservation.

Product overview

Youth for Sustainable Development (YSD) is a women- and youth-led community organization offering a portfolio of empowerment programmes for marginalized youth in Machakos County, Kenya. The organization operates seven core programmatic offerings: the Dream Makers Programme (youth mentorship for ages 18+ covering soft skills, digital skills, and employment linkages), the Digital Skills Training Programme (hands-on computer and internet literacy), the Early Intervention Programme (school-based career and skills development), Youth-Led Social Accountability (civic engagement for health system accountability), Wellbeing Initiatives (mental wellness through hikes and peer support clubs), the Business Development Solutions Programme (entrepreneurship support), and Active Citizenship (environmental conservation and civic participation). Together these programmes form an integrated approach to youth empowerment spanning social, economic, and political dimensions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dream Makers Programme A youth mentorship programme for young people aged 18+ delivering one-on-one mentorship, soft skills, life skills, financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, digital skills, and links to employment and attachment opportunities. Offered free of charge to marginalised youth in Machakos County.
• Digital Skills Training Programme Hands-on digital literacy training delivering 15 hours per week (3 hours daily, Monday to Friday) covering computer basics, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, internet skills, digital marketing, and job readiness. Delivered free of charge at YSD's Digital Training Centre in Machakos County to cohorts of 50 young people.
• Early Intervention Programme School-based programme providing students with skills identification, educational and career pathway exploration, mentorship, digital and life skills training, and active citizenship development using the Skills Builder Framework. Delivered through partner schools via an Expression of Interest Form in Machakos County.
• Youth-Led Social Accountability Programme enabling youth to hold public officials and service providers accountable for quality, equitable, and accessible health care and social protection through community scorecard approaches, awareness campaigns, and stakeholder dialogues across 20 health facilities in four sub-counties of Machakos County.
• Wellbeing Initiatives Wellness initiative comprising out-of-town wellness hikes and the Mental Wellness Self-Care Club, providing safe spaces for youth to build resilience, engage in wellness activities, and connect with peers for emotional support.
• Business Development Solutions Programme Structured programme for young entrepreneurs covering business profiling, intensive training, business plan pitching, and post-programme follow-up to develop sustainable and competitive businesses in Machakos County.
• Active Citizenship Programme promoting sustainable practices, environmental conservation, youth-led initiatives, and social accountability through climate awareness, tree planting, clean-up drives, and leadership forums at community venues across Machakos County.

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered key partner and partner.

• Qubit Institute of Technologykey partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Qubit Institute of Technology partnered with YSD to bridge the digital divide through digital skills training. In the second half of 2025, over 109 youths acquired digital literacy skills through this strengthened partnership, covering computer basics to professional LinkedIn profiles.
• Usawa Agendakey partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Usawa Agenda is a Kenyan not-for-profit organisation promoting educational justice through research, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement. In 2023, following a partner capacity assessment, YSD was selected as Usawa Agenda's collaborating partner for the Literacy and Numeracy assessment in Machakos County, leading to the publication of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FLANA) Report.
• Machakos UniversitypartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMachakos University is listed as a key partner organisation of YSD, collaborating on youth empowerment and development initiatives in Machakos County.
• Rotary Club of Athi KapitipartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerRotary Club of Athi Kapiti partnered with YSD on wellness initiatives, contributing to youth mental health and wellbeing programming in the Machakos region.
• Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities (YARO)key partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerYARO is YSD's counterpart youth-led organisation in Ghana under the MOMENTUM partnership. Both organisations led social accountability activities to improve adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health services and conducted collaborative learning exercises to contribute to the global evidence on youth-led social accountability.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Plan International Kenya: Established INGO implementing youth empowerment, gender mainstreaming, and child rights programmes across multiple Kenyan counties. Broader and better-resourced than YSD but operates in overlapping thematic areas including youth participation, leadership, and SRHR, making it a comparable incumbent for funders operating in Kenya.
• FHI 360 Kenya: International development organisation implementing USAID-funded health, education, and youth programmes in Kenya, including adolescent SRHR and youth civic engagement. Comparable in technical areas to YSD's Youth-Led Social Accountability work but operates at significantly greater scale as a global INCUMBENT.
• Save the Children Kenya: Major international NGO delivering child and youth development, education, and health programmes in Kenya, including youth-led accountability and adolescent-friendly health services. Comparable in mission focus on marginalised children and youth and a frequent co-funder or competitor for the same institutional grants.
• Mercy Corps Kenya: Global humanitarian and development organisation with substantial Kenyan operations spanning youth empowerment, livelihoods, and good governance. Comparable in target population (marginalised youth) and themes (economic empowerment, civic voice) but at a much larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Generation Kenya: Youth employment programme operating in Kenya that delivers short, intensive vocational training (including digital and customer-service tracks) and links graduates to employer placements. Closely comparable to YSD's Dream Makers / Digital Skills Training pathway from skills to employment for marginalised youth.
• Restless Development: Youth-led development organisation operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, placing young people at the centre of community change and civic accountability. Directly comparable in mission, youth-led methodology, and East Africa footprint to YSD's Dream Makers and Youth-Led Social Accountability programmes.
• Well Told Story: Kenyan non-profit that develops youth-facing media, research, and programmes on livelihoods and civic engagement for young East Africans. Closely comparable to YSD in being a Kenyan youth-focused organisation using communication, storytelling, and behaviour-change approaches to empower young people.
• Africa Youth Trust: Pan-African non-profit dedicated to youth policy, civic participation, and capacity-building of youth-led organisations across the continent. Comparable to YSD's Leadership & Governance and Active Citizenship thematic areas, and a relevant peer for CBOs seeking continental-level funder introductions.
• Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities (YARO): Named counterpart of YSD under the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership partnership, leading youth-led social accountability activities for adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Ghana. Operates the same model as YSD's Youth-Led Social Accountability programme and is the closest direct peer referenced in YSD's own materials.
• VSO Kenya (Voluntary Service Overseas): International volunteer-involving organisation with active Kenyan programmes focused on youth employability, civic participation, and inclusion of marginalised groups. Comparable to YSD's focus on skill development, active citizenship, and mentorship of young people.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ysdmkschapter
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@YsdMachakos
• Facebookfacebook.com/ysdmachakoschapter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-for-sustainable-development-kenya
• Instagraminstagram.com/youthforsustainabledev_mks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Youth For Sustainable Development -Machakos