The scheme, known as Zinduka Graduate Enterprise Programme, is a partnership with Absa Bank Kenya Plc and Co-operative Bank Group and will enable students to gain access to affordable accommodation via unsecured housing loans and start-up capital.

The programme is expected to support between 5,000 and 10,000 new enterprises annually, with eligible graduates accessing business loans ranging from Sh200,000 to Sh500,000.

Kenya has approximately 500,000 students enrolled in universities, but fewer than 40,000 university-provided beds, leaving 460,000 students in informal, unregulated makeshift accommodation that is unsafe, poorly serviced, and more expensive than they appear.

In addition, only an estimated 15 percent of graduates secure formal employment, leaving the majority to create their own livelihoods, often without business skills, a financial track record, or access to startup capital.

“The formal job market is only able to absorb about one in 10 graduates. This means the vast majority must create their own opportunities through entrepreneurship rather than rely on formal employment,” Edward Kirathe, chief executive, Acorn Holdings Ltd, said.

“Zinduka bridges a critical gap by connecting a student’s journey from securing their first home away from home to accessing the capital needed to launch their first business. It is a pioneering model that no housing company in Kenya, and arguably across the continent, has implemented before.”

In the first stage, the student and parents are listed on the unsecured loan as co-borrowers, enabling the students to generate a credit record that banks can use to assess their creditworthiness.