Youth development in driving economic growth in Africa

June 2th, 2022 – Youths can play a significant role in driving economic growth, it is critical that youths in Africa are informed and engaged with the global vision to positively impact economies and enhance sustainable development. They can lead African economies into development if their talents are honed and their minds are well sharpened.

According to ILO The Lab – Market systems development for decent work report on getting African Youths Working, “At present, 800 million people on the continent are under 25, representing 60% of its total population. These youths will be entering the labour market in growing numbers and putting intense pressure on systems that are already struggling to keep up”. Youths have the energy, creativity, knowledge and skills to create positive impact, however there are significant challenges to the phenomenon of youth development in Africa and these include: impact of globalisation; population explosion and youth bulge; the internet, digital communications and social media; climate change and environmental degradation and an increase in global security threats. In addition, female youths are disproportionately excluded from labour markets; six out of every ten young Africans not in education, employment or training are women. Women have to navigate additional responsibilities that limit their time, nearly 80% have married and given birth to children by age 25.

To foster youth development and help them overcome these challenges, it is important to recognize that they can be leaders now, even though there is still room for growth, find out what they are good at and challenge them to take it to the next level via skill and entrepreneurship development. The development and growth of the global economy can be attributed to many factors including youth development and entrepreneurship as this enables improvement of living standards, wealth and job creation. Youth Entrepreneurs help drive change in economies via innovation, creation of new markets with their products and services thereby contributing to national income, growth of other sectors and over-all economic development. However, for youth entrepreneurs’ businesses to thrive better, it is important that they build their capacity to manage these businesses, learn from other people’s successes and failures, engage in trainings to develop adequate skills for business and guidance via mentorships.

Mentorship and Entrepreneurship development play a pivotal role in helping youths become more aware of what to expect and how to overcome hurdles and skill gaps, and build their capacity to become better at jobs or running their own businesses. Enabling Youth entrepreneurs to access market opportunities will provide the opportunities necessary to accelerate economic growth despite the barriers that have grown more daunting especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. Youths’ involvement in every sector should be supported in order for them to tap into several reservoir of opportunities. Governments in African countries should ensure to have an enabling ecosystem in place to ensure that youths have the capacity to realize the opportunities for quality jobs particularly through entrepreneurship and self-employment.

More…https://guardian.ng/opinion/youth-development-in-driving-economic-growth-in-africa/

Written by The Guardian