UpToYouToo runs projects in Nairobi, one of the largest cities in Eastern Africa and the capitol of Kenya. We work in the violent ghettos of the Eastlands to help youth create jobs and discover and expose the rough talent present. We are not a big development organization but like to see ourselves as a lean & mean production house for development issues.

Youth groups get entrepreneurship training through YIKE. In the past three years 600 youth in those groups got trained to set up their own business or organization.
Ragz2Records is the studio in the ghettos especially founded to nurture and develop talent from the underprivileged areas to reach you. The Ragz label will soon release the Goreala album, one of Nairobi’s fiercest rappers.
In 2006 we started a video project to create music videos and commercials next to the studio. UpToYouToo helped organizing the cultural program of the World Social Forum in Nairobi.
In Holland we make theatre projects about development. We actively support EEN, the Dutch branch of the worldwide call for an end to poverty by the GCAP coalition.

You can find everything on our vision & mission, history, our employees and board.

Strategic Plan 2008 - 2010

Annual Report 2007

Annual Report 2006

Annual Report 2005

Ghetto Youth Entrepreneurship
The International Labor Organisation estimates about 88 million youth are unemployed in the world. This is 47% of the total of 186 million unemployed. One billion people will become of working age within the next decade. At the same time the World Bank concludes that the vast majority of people who escape from poverty do so by starting their own business.

Research shows that youth entrepreneurship can only exist if potential youth entrepreneurs have access to more than (micro-)credit. They also need to know how to manage a group, finances, acquisition and marketing. In order to promote entrepreneurship skills training and business counseling are essential. UpToYouToo believes training youth self-help groups in order to become economically viable is a key component of the task to reach MDG 1; halving poverty by 2015. 2006 marked the 3rd year in which UpToYouToo supported Youth Initiatives Kenya financially and strategically.

Mainstreaming of Ghetto Entertainment
UNECA research has shown that Africa generates only 0.4% of global information and entertainment content on the web and mass communication outlets. If South Africa's contribution is excluded, the figure is only 0.02%. There is a need for Africa to export information and knowledge; to participate and promote African cultural heritage, including the film sector and music industry.

Mainstreaming African content in global entertainment and audiovisual industries is about getting Africa represented in a highly Anglo-American domain. UpToYouToo sees an overlap in content mainstreaming and connecting youth worldwide. Ragz2Records Studios was founded to serve artists from the ghettos whilst becoming financially independent by producing commercials for companies.