The Mastercard Foundation partnered with IREX to launch the first Kenya Youth Advisory Group (KYAG) in 2025. This 15-member group was created to ensure young people's voices, lived experiences, and ideas help shape strategy, programming, and decision-making across the Foundation's Kenya Country Programs. Through the initiative, a diverse cohort of young leaders nominated by Foundation partners are equipped to contribute to policy dialogue, inform programming, and advance meaningful youth engagement across the Foundation's priority sectors — including MSME, Agriculture, Workforce Development, and the Digital Economy — in line with the Young Africa Works Strategy.

Young people in Kenya represent a dynamic and growing population, yet their perspectives are often underrepresented in institutional decision-making. This initiative was designed to bridge that gap by:

• Creating a structured platform for youth voice
• Strengthening youth–adult partnerships
• Embedding youth perspectives into program design and implementation

The KYAG model supports more responsive, inclusive, and sustainable development outcomes.

Members of the KYAG:

• Provide insights and guidance on strategy and program design to reflect the needs and experiences of young people in Kenya.
• Offer advice and feedback on initiative implementation and systems of change to ensure youth perspectives are included.
• Develop channels to reach young people and elevate their voices to inform Foundation decision-making.
• Contribute to the development, management, and evolution of the Foundation's Alumni Network in Kenya.
• Attend events and participate as speakers, panelists, or facilitators on occasion.
• Support information dissemination and build linkages with other youth networks.
• Participate in Foundation recruitment and selection processes, such as interviewing shortlisted candidates for key positions.

A Fully Operational Youth Advisory Group

• 15 youth members recruited with 70% female representation
• Inclusion of non-mainstream but critical voices, such as refugees and young people with disabilities

A Nationally Representative Cohort

Youth were drawn from across Kenya's regions, sectors, and communities — ensuring diverse lived experiences informed advisory work.

A Validated and Replicable KYAG Model

A structured framework was developed and aligned to the Foundation's Young Africa Works strategy, providing guidance on governance, recruitment, onboarding, and engagement. During the IREX-led trainings, KYAG members actively supported the vision and strategy building for the group from 2025 to 2027, ensuring long-term ownership of the group's direction.

Strong Institutional Readiness

Mastercard Foundation staff were trained in Meaningful, Inclusive Youth Engagement (MIYE), strengthening their ability to collaborate effectively with youth.

Investing in Youth Leadership

KYAG members participated in a series of structured trainings to strengthen their effectiveness as advisors:

• Onboarding and induction focused on advisory roles, expectations, and collaboration.
• MIYE workshops sought to build skills in inclusive youth engagement and safeguarding.
• Governance and strategy sessions helped define KYAG structure, priorities, and the group's 2025–2027 vision.
• Communicating for Impact training (January 2026) strengthened skills in storytelling, policy engagement, and thought leadership.

Through these trainings and engagements, KYAG members gained and strengthened skills in:

• Public speaking and storytelling
• Youth leadership and advocacy
• Networking and panel engagement
• Safeguarding
• Community engagement

Over the past year, KYAG members have moved from participation to influence — bringing youth perspectives into high-level conversations and helping shape more responsive programming.

KYAG members participated in 10 engagements across two categories: IREX-led capacity building training and Mastercard Foundation events.

IREX-Led Trainings:

• KYAG Induction Training (July 2025)
• KYAG Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Engagement (MIYE) Workshop (August 2025)
• KYAG Communication and Storytelling Workshop (January 2026)

Mastercard Foundation-Led Engagements:

• Africa Food Systems Forum
• Virtual Global Youth Day Celebration
• International Youth Day (August 2025)
• Interview of shortlisted candidates for KYAG consultant position (August 2025)
• Green Economy Focus Group Discussion (September 2025)
• PANA Comms Partner Convening (November 2025)
• YAG without Borders, Ethiopia (November 2025)
• Kenya Partner Communications Community of Practice Q4 Forum (November 2025)

Across these engagements, KYAG members served in a range of roles:

• Panelists at the Communications Community of Practice, International Youth Day, and PANA Comms Partner Convening
• KYAG Representative at YAG without Borders in Ethiopia
• Focus group participants on the Green Economy Focus Group Discussion
• Participants and attendees at International Youth Day and other Foundation events
• Interviewers for shortlisted candidates for the KYAG consultant position

In all these roles, KYAG members also served as thought leaders across various sectors, advising the Mastercard Foundation on communications, youth engagement, and programming.

KYAG members' engagement extended well beyond the events themselves:

Before engagements, members collected input from their youth networks on discussion topics, conducted independent research, and reviewed background materials shared ahead of sessions.

During engagements, members were active participants who formed networks with other young people and contributed substantive insights to discussions.

After engagements, members documented their learnings, shared them with other young people in their networks, and maintained the connections they had formed.

Opening external doors: KYAG participation has also created opportunities beyond the Foundation. Brian Munaita, a KYAG member, was engaged further by Acumen Africa, Graca Machel Trust, and ALX on entrepreneurship and business development for young people — demonstrating how advisory experience opens pathways to broader impact.

KYAG members provided targeted advisory input across multiple sectors:

• Green Economy: Demystifying green jobs for young people to encourage uptake of emerging opportunities.
• Creative Economy: Advocating for investment in creative careers and encouraging young people to explore them.
• Communications: Recommending that all communications be user and participant-generated to ensure messages are well received and understood by young people.
• Cross-sector: Continuing to work toward breaking the barriers that prevent young women and men from accessing available opportunities.

The KYAG's first year surfaced several critical insights:

• Youth engagement must go beyond participation to real influence
• Intergenerational collaboration is essential for impact
• Capacity building and mentorship are critical for sustained engagement
• Clear feedback loops are needed to ensure youth input shapes decisions

Based on their experiences, KYAG members offered the following recommendations to strengthen meaningful and inclusive youth engagement:

• Create a feedback loop to track whether youth ideas are documented and actioned by the Foundation.
• Increase representation of marginalized youth in Foundation engagements.
• Provide more pre-engagement preparation, including sharing background materials earlier and creating opportunities for consultation with other young people.
• Make engagements more participatory and interactive by incorporating digital engagement tools.
• Allocate more time for youth-led conversations and activities within Foundation events.
• Expand mentorship and networking opportunities for KYAG members.
• Hold regular KYAG activities including ongoing training and opportunities for engagement.
• Create youth-friendly communication platforms to reach young people where they are.
• Create opportunities for direct engagement with the Foundation on strategy and policy advisory.

Building on this foundation, the KYAG model offers a scalable and replicable approach for integrating youth voice into country programs. Future priorities include:

• Strengthening feedback loops between youth and decision-makers
• Expanding mentorship and learning pathways
• Increasing opportunities for youth-led engagement
• Deepening integration of youth voice into strategy and policy
• Scaling the KYAG model to other country programs within the Young Africa Works portfolio