Recently, I hosted a Webinar exploring whether the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the world’s most youth and women-friendly trade agreement as organized by Liberty Sparks. The African youth’s developing entrepreneurial and economic contribution to the continent’s prosperity agenda is being increasingly recognized. While the trade agreements recognize the importance of the youth in its development agenda, nowhere in the world is the employability and entrepreneurial challenge of the youth starker than in the African continent. More than 200 million youth across the continent are staring at an uncertain future such that the promise of the AfCFTA without efforts to empower the group will likely remain a far-away dream. The African Union and individual member countries of the AfCFTA must recognize, and urgently so, the power of the youth to reinforce the continent’s explosive economic growth potential under the agreement.

Africa has, over time, received criticism for its unsustainable demographic growth, where 60% of the population consists of individuals below 25 years, with African youths expected to constitute 42% of the global youth. For policymakers in the African continent, within the current dispensation, this represents more mouths to feed, more bodies to keep healthy, and millions of young and eager job seekers on the line, waiting. For nations seeking to capitalize on the AfCFTA, this should represent the front and center of the continent’s development agenda. Put into perspective, the majority of businesses in agriculture, industry, information technology, and sustainability between 2021 and 2023 have been spearheaded by Africans under the age of 35. From now on, it is safe to assume that more youths across the continent will shoot their shots at being part of Africa’s development agenda. Thus, it suffices to imagine the potential of a population of adequately equipped millions of youth across the continent to respond to the fourth industrial revolution.

Here is the Lesson

Youth unemployment and underemployment across Africa are the highest globally, with the gap between the skills needed in the labor market and those prevalent among the youth being significant. The African education system has failed to prepare students for the skills required to compete globally in the fourth industrial revolution. Promising nations such as South Africa are ranked third globally in youth unemployment. The world bank estimates that 70% of Africa’s working population will be between 2015 and 2035, with those aged between 15 and 24 contributing six million annually. Concerns about the attractiveness and competitiveness of the labor force, with poor education, limited access to resources, cultural variety, and underdeveloped infrastructure, are worrying. While African nations have responded by investing in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs, most programs cannot pass a simple cost-benefit analysis test. Research has cited high program attrition and failure to evolve with changing market demands as the leading flows in the recent spinoff of the African education system. Equally, tertiary education has increased across sub-Saharan Africa, although it still fails to equip the youth with relevant skills to compete effectively. With many university programs across the continent continuously emphasizing memorization and rote learning, the gap in critical thinking and problem-solving skills will undermine the promise of the AfCFTA.

Re-imagining the Learning Curve

It is upon African countries to continue to prioritize literacy across Africa to foster youth participation in AfCFTA’s development agenda, even in the informal sector. It can not be lost on nations that improving the overall education system requires investing in the most fundamental pillar, the teacher, including listening and delivering on their requests. The teaching career needed the attention and respect attached to other professions, high grossing, so to speak, including engineering and medicine, among others. With 29% of the youthful African population taking up roles in new businesses formally and informally, nations must continue to inspire literacy to position the youth alongside the AfCFTA promise. That said, basic skills only will not be enough for the AfCFTA to benefit from and empower the continent through the youth. However, the current population presents a potential group that will contribute to Africa’s growth and development if adequately trained and empowered.

“For the Africa continental Free Trade Area to achieve its promise for Africa and her youth, the burgeoning young population cannot continue to be seen as a mere recipient of human development infrastructure.”

Therefore, African nations and the African Union must look beyond the short-term challenges and invest in developing these growing resources of young workers. A literacy level of 70% among the youth is worth capitalizing on by establishing a youth-friendly ecosystem for Africa’s supply chains. A competent and agile African youth human resource will generate desired business growth goals alongside improvements in infrastructure that the continent is targeting. Creating entrepreneurship hubs, apprentice programs, business networking paces, and leveraging on the AfCFTA for ease of trade to pan-African markets is urgent. This will provide already educated youths the exploratory opportunities to discover their interest and develop the potential for faster economic growth.

For the millions graduating annually, policies for ease of creating start-ups and boosting manufacturing and exports would include them in the global shifts towards a more interconnected world. A comprehensive approach to dealing with constraints that prevent young people and the private sector from seizing opportunities in a globalized and financialized world is needed across the continent. Bridging the digital gap by investing in reliable power and internet to remote areas would further enable the youth to access opportunities. Having transparent structures on governance to ensure increased youth participation in decision-making will further help AfCFTA members understand the challenges affecting the youth and respond to skill needs for them to actively participate in the development agenda. For the Africa continental Free Trade Area to achieve its promise for Africa and her youth, the burgeoning young population cannot continue to be seen as a mere recipient of human development infrastructure.