Leaders from both business and political divide have come to the agreement that awakening the entrepreneurial spirit of every young African is key to the continent’s future. This was made known during a webinar, themed Investing in Africa’s Future: Youth Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship, which had a range of private and public sector representatives to discuss the challenges young African entrepreneurs face. The event which was organized by The Tony Elumelu Foundation had in participation, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and a host of development leaders from across other major institutions in the continent. The webinar which coincided with International Youth Day 2020 highlighted ways of getting young people in Africa positively and productively engaged.
The webinar, themed Investing in Africa’s Future: Youth Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship, invited a range of private and public sector representatives to discuss the challenges young African entrepreneurs face, and more broadly the continent’s economic future, in light of the ongoing pandemic. The event was part of an ongoing series the Foundation has been hosting. The population of Africans aged 18-35 is expected to hit 830 million people by 2050, creating a youth bulge which experts predict could create a corps of young workers to fuel the continent’s long-term economic growth, but also poses immense job-creation challenges. Kickstarting the event, Ifeyinwa Ogochukwu, CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation warned that “Africa is the epicenter for the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time to come together and rethink and reimagine our commitment to young African entrepreneurs,” adding that “investing in our future means awaking the entrepreneurial spirit of every young person on the continent.”
Addressing the gathering, Wambui Gichuri, the Acting Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development at the African Development Bank said that “Africa is young, and we need to do whatever it takes to empower our youth because they are the future of the continent,” “Entrepreneurship is an essential part in addressing Africa’s employment challenge and where we need to put our focus.”
Representing Africa’s young people on the discussion panel was 22-year-old Leroy Mwasaru, founder of Greenpact, a Kenyan alternative renewable energy startup. An alumnus of the Elumelu Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Program, Mwasaru expressed a desire to see greater communication and sharing of lessons learned among small and medium enterprises. The Entrepreneurship Program, which offers job skills, mentoring and funding to African entrepreneurs, in 2019 agreed a partnership with the Bank, which has provided $5 million in seed capital for the initiative. The Bank’s Director of Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development, also on the panel, praised the role of such partnerships in creating jobs on the continent:
“The Bank’s investment enabled the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship program to scale up and reach an additional 1,000 entrepreneurs in 38 African countries,” said Director Martha Phiri. “Let us give skills to our youth and also provide them with the necessary support to prove their business concepts, so that they can start, grow and scale their businesses in order to create jobs – not just for themselves, but for others.”
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Phiri also mentioned the Bank’s AfricaVsVirus ideathon, which will provide training, mentoring and investment opportunities to African youth who developed the most promising solutions to address COVID-19 pandemic related challenges. Joining Gichuri, Phiri and Mwasaru on the panel were: Shoroke Zedan, Chairperson, World Skills Egypt; Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, Founder of Wecyclers Nigeria and Ebube Emodi, Tony Elumelu Foundation Events Manager and Executive Associate.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry