By Olakunle Agboola – With 70% of Africa’s population under the age of 30, the continent is presented with a great opportunity and, possibly, a great challenge. Nevertheless, young Africans today are taking drastic actions that not only have an immediate impact, but will also determine the future of the continent for decades to come.
The role of African youths is drastically changing as the continent is faced with myriad of problems such as employability and entrepreneurship opportunities. The strength of any society is within the strength and resolve of its youth – what investment are young people making in this great continent today?
I have had the privilege of being invited to speak at different platforms across Africa and have met and engaged with fellow young people who know less about Africa but more of what’s happening in the US and in Europe. African youths follow European football and clubs more than the local league. They can mention ten European footballers and clubs in a tow but will find it difficult to mention just three players or clubs from the local league. Musical legends in America easily comes to mind, while five musical artists from Zimbabwe or Togo is out of mind. There are matters such as the thousands of lives of my fellow Africans lost at Liberian sea when trying to leave the continent for greener pastures. There are thousands of African youths arrested and detained in Liberia with no hope of seeing their family again. Youth unemployment is still on the rise with gross mismanagement of government institutions and resources. Xenophobia among Africans is not on constant check coupled with terrorist attack in Kenya, Cameron, Uganda and Nigeria. The general restlessness and frustrations of young African people is becoming unbearable on a daily basis.
There is no problem with youths engaging in discourse at a global level, but it is more important for them to exert more of their time and energy on issues that affect their continent and their people. The youths must wake up to take ownership and responsibility for their problems and challenges, rather than allowing other nations, organizations and institutions to do so on their terms. The question is; are young Africans creating a future in which generations after them can be proud of?
With regard to employability, according to the African Development Bank report, by 2050 Africa will be home to 38 of the 40 youngest countries in the world, with median populations under 25 years of age. This will result in an estimated 10-12 million new people joining the labour force each year. These statistics clearly indicate that a considerable amount of investment must go into human development to unlock a demographic dividend. What innovative policies and programmes are on ground to ensure that this growth will not result to a demographic time bomb for Africa?
We are in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution with advanced technology. The concern is if Africa is ready with sufficient skills and workforce to drive innovation in this direction. There is currently a mismatch between industry demands and the education curriculum which hasn’t been addressed for a very long time. Education institutions might need to wake up and update their curricula to align with the direction in which the world is going or else they will continue to be an onlooker, chunning out from the Universities irrelevant qualifications that is not beneficial to the continent. Also it might be a timely disaster, if educational experts are not becoming more proactive about the educational system and reforms that can align African Universities to compete globally.
It is becoming more worrisome the rate at which young educated Africans are leaving the continent to seek more opportunities abroad. The grass is not always greener on the other side, however, as leaders of other nations are also facing domestic challenges and therefore not prioritizing immigrants. It will become a great necessity for educational institutions to include entrepreneurship and leadership courses at all levels of education, to better equip and address the issue of high unemployment and poor leadership, which has hampered the growth of the continent for too long.
The population of the continent ought to be a great advantage of becoming less reliant on importing products for consumption outside the continent. According to the African Economic Outlook 2017 report, Africa’s growing population is expected to generate a rise in consumer spending from $680 billion in 2008 to $2.2 trillion in 2030. This increased spending has the potential to lead to greater prosperity.
The growth in Africa’s population presents a huge opportunity for entrepreneurial innovations and ideas to be implemented. It does, however, require strong political will to enable the right environment to be created to encourage these ideas and for entrepreneurs to be supported in their different stages of growth, from start-up, early stage and growth stage right through to becoming large corporations.
The prosperity of Africa is in the hands of the youth and it starts by coming together to resonate African value system for thinking, planning, implementation, accountability, integrity and collaboration. It is up to young Africans to shapen the narrative of this great continent for future prosperity.
Executive Leadership Conference at Sheraton Hotel Ikeja, Lagos
The Diaspora community in Nigeria most especially Top Business Executives will have a unique opportunity to experience a comprehensive insight into what it takes to become an African leader of distinction, presented by global leadership experts in Lagos on Saturday 29th February 2020 at Sheraton Hotel Ikeja, Lagos.
The event is a gathering of top business executive in Nigeria, organized by The Circle Media Plus Nigeria and Onyi Anyado Media house London. This is proudly supported by African Voice Newspaper UK.
The transformative power of young business executive is visible beyond politics. In the face of the 21st century challenges, Africa has displayed its ability to leapfrog: also thanks to its youth’s innovative ideas, we have seen a growing number of projects leveraging on social media, and technologies to advance change. For instance, in Rwanda, drone delivery services have reduced the transit time of an emergency blood supply from at least three hours to around 30 minutes or less. In Nigeria, digital applications have been developed to monitor the implementation of government’s projects through initiatives like Follow the Money. In Zimbabwe, Sangulani Chikumbusto has invented the world’s first green power generator, designed and built an electric powered vehicle and a hybrid helicopter using materials from his country (alumina and steel).
Nurturing such talent means that we should invest in both ad hoc training and real-life experiences. Along with leadership training initiatives of encouraging top business executive to invest in young talents so that they can live up to their full potential. When we come together, we form powerful networks and draw inspiration from one another. This is the reason for Executive Leadership Conference.
Scope
To gain a deeper understanding of the correlation between leadership and entrepreneurship.
To gain the critical knowledge and tools you need to make smarter decisions for your organization and yourself.
To critically assess how culture affects organizations and learn how to create an environment that promotes advancement of people.
To expand your leadership capacity and create an environment that fosters emotional intelligence.
To learn the skills and tactics to assess and refine new business ideas that aim to create value for a consumer, company, or organization.
To learn leadership coaching strategies to help your team navigate business challenges and maximize performance.
To learn skills and strategies to help your organization successfully transform itself to meet the ever-changing needs of your marketplace and customers.
To evolve your leadership style to lead better and motivate others to accomplish your company’s goals.To secure a competitive advantage for your organization by developing strategic business management skills.
To explore the symbiotic relationship between decision making and leadership skills.
Date: Feb 29th , 2020
Venue: Sheraton Hotel ( Banquette Hall ) Ikeja , Lagos
Time : 9 am – 4pm
Ticket : N30, 000 Only
N 25,000 for First 50 Business Executive to register on Eventbrite with this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/executive-leadership-conference-tickets-75559320963
Do call Tola +2347062607080 for your payment
Breakfast and Lunch guaranteed
For partnerships, Sponsorship or inquiry, please do call+234070626070800815 180 1254Or send email to tcmaproduction@gmail.comwww.thecirclemediatv.com
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