SPECIAL REPORT
business environment and lack of finance . Special economic zones , industrial parks , and export-processing zones combined with active foreign direct investment promotion can circumvent country deficits in infrastructure and human capital , as well overcome pervasive governance problems . They can also be useful bridges to connect to global value chains .
There is also a need for urgent measures to match the continent ’ s growing population and youth unemployment , which they likened to a “ ticking time bomb . Any efforts in this direction ?
African countries need to harness the brain power of Africa ’ s young , dynamic population to spur a technological revolution , economic transformation , and competitiveness of the continent for shared prosperity . Between 2017 and 2050 , 2.2 billion more people will be born globally - and more than half of them will be in Africa .
The African Development Bank is doing a lot to support young people across the continent to achieve their dreams and create the next generation of full employed working people , not to mention , a selection of young and enterprising billionaires .
This is why the Bank launched the “ Jobs for Youths in Africa ” Initiative last year , our flagship program aimed at addressing youth unemployment in Africa . Its goal is to stimulate the creation of 25 million jobs over the next 10 years . Through this initiative , we will help to mobilise $ 3 billion in support of young entrepreneurs in Africa , with a focus on business incubation . The initiative will help to create skills enhancement zones to foster strong links between skills , jobs and industrial development .
Having been inspired by the success of the IITA Young Agripreneurs ( IYA ) Programme , the African Development Bank also launched a flagship program to build entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector , the “ Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Initiative ( ENABLE ) Youth ” initiative .
The goal is to support the creation of profitable and vibrant agribusinesses by young graduates between the ages of 18 and 35 . Over the next five years , ENABLE Youth seeks to empower 10,000 agripreneurs in 30 countries , thereby creating 300,000 enterprises and 1.5 million jobs . African countries have shown great interest in the ENABLE Youth initiative and over 30 countries have expressed interest in the program . To date , the Bank has also approved ENABLE Youth projects in ten countries for a total amount of over $ 800 million .
We are aware that finance is vital for Africa ’ s long-term agricultural and agribusiness transformation . This is why the African Development Bank places significant emphasis on developing affordable sources of financing for startups by young African entrepreneurs through a number of vehicles such as the Agriculture Fast Track Fund ( AFT ), the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance ( FAPA ) and the Boost Africa program .
The African Development Bank recognises that Public Private Partnerships ( PPPs ) are powerful levers for change and it is looking forward to strengthening partnerships with the private sector to support the education and skills agenda . For example , in Nigeria , the African Development Bank administered a $ 40 million non-sovereign loan to Afe Babalola University in 2016 to finance an industrial research park , a post-graduate school , a central library , a 400-bed teaching hospital , student hostels , and a smallscale hydropower installation .
In order to advance Information Communication and Technology ( ICT ) solutions to find solutions to Africa ’ s development challenges and to strengthen industrialisation , the African Development Bank has launched the first phase of its Coding for Employment Flagship initiative which will establish 20 Coding Centres of Excellence in five countries ( Nigeria , Rwanda , Kenya , Côte d ’ Ivoire and Senegal ).
The African Development Bank is also working with Microsoft and Facebook to support universities to develop an ICT curriculum and training program that matches graduates directly with ICT employers and nurtures digital skills . Up to twenty universities will benefit from this intervention over the coming two years .
By 2025 , the African Development Bank aims to support countries to establish a total of 130 ICT Centres of Excellence and train 16 million youth in computational thinking across Africa .
Since 2016 , the African Development Bank has invested more than $ 200 million in technology parks in Ethiopia , Cape Verde , and Senegal . In 2017 , the Bank supported the establishment of a Rwanda Innovation Fund to promote the innovation economy in Rwanda and the East African Community ( EAC ) region . The fund is an investment vehicle focused on funding tech-enabled SMEs and to develop entrepreneurial / innovation ecosystem capacity .
These and other measures will address the “ ticking time bomb .” The solution is in our hands . Africa cannot afford ‘ triangles of disaster ’, in which unemployment , poverty , and environmental degradation compete with each other in a deadly race to dereliction . The victims of such triangles of disaster are , overwhelmingly , Africa ’ s youth . That is to say , Africa ’ s future .
That ’ s why Africa wants its young people to stay and become part of a successful Africa , and not risk their lives as recruits to extremist terror groups or on the Mediterranean on an unsafe journey towards an uncertain future in a new land . •
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