The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, says Africa’s youth bulge is a demographic asset that has to become an economic asset through rigorous investment in human capital development and financing.
The former Nigerian agriculture minister said youths in Nigeria and other 51 countries in Africa don’t need freebies under the guise of empowerment schemes but capital to fund their ideas and translate same into enduring wealth.
“In the case of young people and the japa syndrome, it’s a big loss for us,” Adesina said during an exclusive interview aired on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday.
“Young people don’t need freebies; they don’t need people saying: ‘I just want to give you an empowerment programme’.
“They have skills, they have knowledge, they have entrepreneurship capacity, they want to turn their ideas into great businesses.
“What young people need is not those empowerment programmes; they need capital, they need you to put your money at risk on their behalf,” he added.
The economist lamented the migration phenomenon known as ‘Japa’ in Nigeria, saying that it is a big loss for Nigeria and the African continent.
“We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35,” he said, warning that Africa should not turn what should be its demographic asset into “somebody else’s problem” due to the inability to believe in young people and invest in their ideas for continental prosperity.
“I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe; it doesn’t lie in America, it doesn’t lie in Canada, Japan or China; it should lie in Africa growing well, growing robustly and able to create quality jobs for our young people,” he said.
Adesina said Africa’s youth population was not a problem for the continent because India and China’s population has not been a problem for them. “It is what you do with your population; how you skill them up.”
The AfDB boss said if young people in Africa are skilled with good jobs and social protection, these would turn to prosperity for the continent because the demography has high purchasing power. He said in a world of rising tariffs, it is important for Africa to build consumption as part of its gross domestic product (GDP).
‘Banking System Failed Youths’
The AfDB boss said the financial system in Africa was not designed to support young people on the continent.
“The whole of the (banking) system is not designed for young people. The commercial banking system and the financial system failed young people in Africa.
“We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35. Where is the financial market for them? Why is it suddenly a surprise to us that they are leaving? It’s because you are not putting anything down for them.
“We must recognise that the young people are our biggest asset; the demographic asset has to become an economic asset and to do that, you have to put down capital.”
Adesina said to support young people in Africa, the AfDB created the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Bank to support their business plans and to address institutional failure around financing.
He said the AfDB just approved $100m to set up the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank to “mobilise $2bn of investment for more than 38,000 businesses of young people in Africa”.
“You cannot turn your demographic asset into somebody else’s problem. We have to put our money behind our young people to create opportunities for them.
“They don’t need N5,000, N10,000. You want to create youth-based wealth. If you don’t, who are the people who will pay the taxes in the future? Where are you going to get the capital mobilisation in the future? You have to therefore invest in the same demographic so you can reap in the future,” he submitted.
Credit: CHANNELS TV
