Imagine being a talented musician in Nairobi or a digital illustrator in Mombasa. You have the skills and the drive, but the path to a steady income feels like a maze designed to keep you out. In Kenya, where 75% of the population is under 35, this isn’t just a story, it’s the daily reality for millions. While the creative economy contributes a solid 5% to the national GDP, many young people find themselves trapped in a cycle of “hustling” without the security of a formal career due to systemic barriers like underpayment and a lack of legal protection.
To bridge this gap, a collaborative effort known as the Country Creative Arts Residence & Empowerment (CO-CARE) project was launched. Led by researchers from USIU-Africa and The Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA), with funding from the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and NIERA, this initiative was a rigorous, data-backed attempt to rewrite the rules of the game for youth across Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, and Kisumu.
The “Flipped” Secret to Success
For a long time, the traditional creative model entailed creating something, putting it out there, and hope someone buys it. CO-CARE decided to turn that on its head using what they call the “flipped creative model”. Instead of starting with the art, the model starts with the market. It begins by analyzing what local and global audiences want before moving to pre-production and content creation. By aligning talent with real-world demand, the initiative transformed “art for art’s sake” into a sustainable business strategy.
The Numbers Tell a Human Story
When the research team analyzed the results using a Randomized Controlled Trial, the impact wasn’t just statistically significant, it was life changing.
- A Major Income Boost: The most striking discovery was the impact on the wallet. On average, youth who went through the CO-CARE program saw their monthly income increase by KES 14,609 more than those who didn’t.
- Dignity in the Work: Beyond the cash, job decency scores jumped by 3.1 points. This means participants reported better working conditions, fairer compensation, and a sense that their work was leading somewhere.
- Owning the Rights: Perhaps the most empowering change was in legal literacy. Awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) soared from 59.1% to nearly 82%. Suddenly, these artists weren’t just creators; they were owners who understood how to protect their work from being exploited.
From “Hustle” to Enterprise
One of the biggest hurdles in Kenya’s creative scene is informality, with 84% of creative businesses operating without registration. Many exist only in the shadows, making it nearly impossible to access finance or government support. The CO-CARE training tackled this head-on, and the results were clear: business registration nearly doubled among the participants, rising from 10.8% to 20.3%.
Moving from an unregistered freelancer to a registered business owner opens doors to access to formal financial services from banks and Savings and Credit Co-operative Organization (SACCO). The initiative also leaned into the future: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rather than fearing it, 45.5% of the program’s youth began leveraging AI tools for content creation and information searches, helping them keep pace with global trends.
Why This Matters Right Now
Kenya is facing a “youth bulge,” with over a million graduates entering a strained labor market every year. We can no longer afford to view the arts as a “side gig”. The CO-CARE findings prove that when you combine creative talent with market intelligence and professional training, the result is a powerful engine for economic growth. The program also generated equitable income gains among men and female participants, supporting livelihood sustainability and inclusive economic empowerment in the creative sector. There is also a desperate need for “youth-friendly” government policies that make it easier and cheaper to register a business and protect creative work.
The Road Ahead
The CO-CARE initiative has provided a blueprint for what’s possible. By focusing on demand-driven research and practical empowerment, we can turn the creative sector into a powerhouse of decent, high-quality jobs. The future of Kenya’s economy isn’t just in its fields or its factories, it’s in the hands of the storytellers, the musicians, and the digital innovators who are now equipped to treat their talent as the valuable asset it truly is. It’s time to stop just “cheering on” our creatives and start building the systems that let them thrive.
The Team Behind the Data:
This study was prepared and led by a dedicated team of researchers and experts from USIU-Africa and NIERA:
- Amos Njuguna – Principal Investigator (USIU-Africa & Chairperson, NIERA)
- Jennifer Nyakinya – Project M&E Lead (NIERA)
- Salome Asena – Project Administrator (USIU-Africa)
- Kevin O. Akumu – Project Statistician (USIU-Africa)
Get in Touch:
Email:info@nieraglobal.org | Website: https://nieraglobal.org/
Key References
- International Labour Organization. (2024). Global employment trends for youth 2024: Decent work, brighter futures (20th anniversary ed.). International Labour Organization.
- Ketley, R. (2021). New business models for financing the creative sector research. Financial Sector Deepening Kenya.
- NIERA & USIU-Africa. (2024). Artistic Pathways for Youth Employment in Kenya: Policy Brief No. 5/2024-2025.
- NIERA & USIU-Africa. (2024). Endline Survey Report: Artistic Pathways for Youth Employment in Kenya.
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2024). Creative economy outlook 2024. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.