The African Union Commission cautions that the future of Africa’s economic growth and the future of millions of Africans, is in jeopardy, if the underlying issues that hinder development are not adequately addressed. With Africa expected to double its population over the next 25 years and the working-age population expected to grow by approximately 450 million between 2015 and 2035, the African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Ambassador Kwesi Quartey says it is critical to urgently address the lack of education and mismatched skills, as major causes of rising numbers of unemployment.

The Deputy Chairperson underscores the need to find linkages between education, training and the labour market, especially as the African Union focuses on the theme of the year “Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in the youth.” He notes that institutions of higher learning in Africa need to review and diversify their systems of education and expand the level of skills, to make them relevant to the demands of the labour market. Ambassador Kwesi states that realizing growth in technical fields that support industrialization, manufacturing and development in the value chains will remain stunted, if the youth are not facilitated and adequately prepared for the job market.

“Our institutions are churning out thousands of graduates each year, but these graduates cannot find jobs because the education systems are traditionally focused on preparing graduates for white collar jobs, with little regard to the demands of the private sector, innovation or entrepreneurship,” he states. He further adds the need for Africa to make deliberate efforts to have “Every child in school by 2020” to ensure each African child has great start and foundation in life.”

The Deputy Chairperson urges the private sector to invest in the value chains in agribusiness. With Africa’s agricultural market projected to reach 1 trillion dollars by 2030, and the human population projected to reach 2.7 billion in 2060, Ambassador Kwesi notes that growing labor force presents significant growth opportunities and an expanded consumer market for Africa.

“Agriculture is a sector where the role of both, the public and private sectors is much needed to contribute towards our continental goals, such as eradicating poverty and hunger, boosting intra-African trade and investments, industrialization and creating jobs for our growing population. Let us support our small scale farmers and the Small and Medium size entrepreneurs,” he adds.

The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), envisages investments of 360 billion dollars by the year 2040, with priority investments of over 67 billion dollars by 2020. These investments are aimed towards key infrastructure sectors of energy, trans-boundary water supply, transport, information and communications technology (ICT). In this regard, Ambassador Kwesi encourages the private sector to invest in the energy sector to reduce the overall cost of doing business in Africa. “If we look at infrastructure, reducing the costs in the agriculture sector relies on investing on quality and integrated rural infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, roads, rails and the ports. To realize these infrastructural projects, Africa needs a reliable, sustainable and affordable energy sector,” he adds.

With an estimated 364 million Africans between the age of 15 and 35 years, Africa has the world’s youngest population. This provides an immense opportunity for investing in the next generation of African leaders and entrepreneurs. Key pillars of Agenda 2063 and the Common African Position, have given primacy to youth development, science, technology and innovation as critical aspects of socio-economic development of the continent. Through the private sector development strategy, the African Union encourages investments such as creating and supporting business start-up incubation centres across Africa, as foundations for mentorship and sharing of valuable business insights, to help youth and women entrepreneurs.

The Deputy Chairperson observes that there remains a huge untapped potential that can be capitalized with the establishment of ICT parks and eCommerce.

Courtesy: African Union Commission.