Africa’s Youth: The Opportunity We Cannot Afford to Waste

The biggest challenge facing young people in sub-Saharan Africa today is not ambition, talent or energy. It is youth unemployment and inactivity.

The numbers speak for themselves. More than 72 million young Africans are currently neither in education, employment nor training, and the majority are young women. Each year, between 10 and 12 million young people enter the job market, but only 3.7 million jobs are created. Even where unemployment rates appear lower on paper, they hide a deeper crisis of underemployment, where millions survive on informal and precarious work with no real security or chance to grow.

Governments in the region are well aware of this challenge and are actively seeking solutions and partnerships that can change the story. This is where I find encouragement. At New Global Markets (NGM) we are working with organisations that are taking this on directly. From supporting second generation survivors of the Rwanda Genocide to helping them build livelihoods and dignity through enterprise, to retraining close to three million young people in partnership with the government of Tanzania, there is real progress taking shape.

If you are sitting in a European country worrying about immigration, the question is how do you stop it. The answer is simple. You invest in youth empowerment and job creation where people live. Desperation is what drives movement. Opportunity allows people to build and stay.

Africa’s youth are not a threat. They are the continent’s greatest asset if we make the choice to invest in them.

I am happy to share more about the partnerships, programmes and innovations we are seeing across Africa. Please reach out and let’s chat a conversation.