Kenya 2021

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

Strengthening Private Sector Resiliency and Budget Engagement in a Post COVID-19 Environment

$1,036,677

To strengthen the ability of Kenya’s county chambers of commerce to represent small and medium businesses in a post-COVID-19 environment; to expand private sector participation in the budget process by engaging the county and national government; and to mobilize the private sector to be champions for ethics and integrity. The Center will enhance the Kenyan private sector’s participation in democracy by building the capacity and sustainability of chambers that are Centers of Excellence to represent and serve their members and engage county governments in the budgeting process, and by supporting the private sector to promote business ethics and integrity to combat corruption.

Debunk Media Limited

Debunking Media

$122,555

To enhance young people’s access to creative and insightful news content through data-driven journalism in Kenya. The organization will use its online news platform to positively impact the media environment by providing timely, accurate and in-depth news content, analysis, explainers, and opinion stories on key issues that affect democratic space. The organization will use focus group research and paid-for analytics services and audience engagement in physical events such as screenings and Q&A sessions to increase citizen input.

Emerging Leaders Foundation

Enhancing Youth Participation in Political Processes: The Good Politician

$80,000

To enhance youth participation in political processes. The project will implement a training and mentorship program for youth aspirants, community mobilisers and civic innovators ahead of the 2022 general election to enhance meaningful and strategic participation and promote democratic ideas and values in the county assemblies. Participants will receive in-depth practical knowledge and skills-training on values-based leadership.

International Budget Partnership Kenya

Enhancing Public Participation in the Budgeting Process

$100,000

To enhance meaningful public participation in monitoring budget implementation through capacity building and public awareness raising. The organization will provide continuous and embedded technical support to budget facilitators and budget champions in three regional hubs in North and South Rift, Western and Nyanza, and Coast. It will also support advocacy campaigns to push for access to information on budget implementation and create spaces for learning and sharing experiences on budget implementation across counties.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

Magnifying The Visibility Of Youth Leaders

$750,000

The objective of this project is to enhance the skills of Kenyan youth to gain influence within the political establishment and to serve in civic and political leadership roles. To accomplish this, the Institute will first hold capacity-building trainings to increase the technical skills of Kenyan youth. It will then work with a local partner organization to support youth as they adapt a national youth manifesto to their local contexts. Subsequently, the Institute will make use of its experience with Kenya’s political and civic leaders to help build relationships between them and this project’s youth beneficiaries. Finally, it will partner with a local youth-focused publishing and multimedia company to highlight youth community engagement in political and civic activism.

Mzalendo Trust

Enhancing Citizen Awareness, Legislative Accessibility and Transparency for Greater Accountability

$175,000

To promote the transparency and accountability of the Kenyan parliament and sub-national legislatures (county assemblies) and to strengthen citizen and civil society engagement with elected representatives. The organization will track parliamentary and county assemblies’ developments through its robust citizen engagement platforms; increase civic awareness on legislative, electoral, and constitutional reform issues through round table meetings, short video explainers and workshops; and coordinate civil society engagement around political developments, legislation, and regional parliamentary monitoring organizations.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

Strengthening Financial Accountability at the County Level and Electoral Integrity at the National Level

$1,250,000

To foster greater public financial accountability and transparency at the county-level in Kenya, the Institute will partner with the Kenyan think-tank, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and local civil society organizations (CSOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs) in three counties to analyze government spending and fiscal reporting, identify areas of misappropriation, and determine gaps for public oversight and action. The Institute will brief representatives of government and civil society to deepen their knowledge of corruption and its impact on service delivery, enhance cross-sector engagement on anti-corruption issues, and strengthen the capacity of citizens to advocate. In addition, to promote electoral integrity ahead of the 2022 general elections, the Institute will build the capacity of political parties to plan and execute more systematic and credible election monitoring processes.

Open Governance Institute Limited

Enhancing Youth Participatory Budgeting

$70,000

To enhance youth participatory budgeting and increase engagement in local governance processes. The organization will conduct trainings and awareness raising activities to create safe and secure spaces for youth to engage in planning, budgeting, and policy priority setting. The trainings and advocacy activities will improve youth analytical capacity and promote evidenced-based debates. The organization will leverage the Open Government Partnership to increase participatory governance and accountability through multi-stakeholder forums and tracking of commitments made by the government.

Pilot Media Initiatives

Promoting freedom of speech through Political Satire Media

$84,910

To foster an informed democratic society while developing the local media sector. The organization will launch a 12-episode TV show that will use comedy and political satire as a tool for awakening public interest and engagement in contemporary issues facing Kenya in the lead up to the general election in 2022. The organization will use focus group research and media consumption data to ensure programming is data-driven and audience-led.

Solidarity Center (SC)

Promoting Labor Rights for Marginalized Workers Phase IV

$703,560

To protect the rights of informal economy workers, the Center will support trade union efforts to organize informal economy workers, build rights advocacy skills for journalists from marginalized regions, enhance the capacity of informal economy workers through training and certification, equip partner union activists with comprehensive research skills, and expand unions’ awareness on migrant worker rights and advocacy for safe migration mechanisms.