Africa needs a new generation of young game-changing entrepreneurs

When this year’s Africa Competitiveness Report was published and distributed at the World Economic Forum earlier this month, it made for both interesting and sobering reading. On the one hand, the report notes that Africa has a growing population of educated young people, but on the other, admits that there are not enough engines of job creation to ensure they will all have access to employment in the future. The solution, according to the report, lies in ensuring the African continent focuses its attention on increasing competitiveness, pushing forward structural reforms that can boost productivity, and create jobs and opportunities for young people. Whilst this is undoubtably a political and economic step in the right direction to providing the right environment for countries to grow and people to thrive, it’s not enough on it’s own to create a new generation of young people that can take the continent forward to the point where it can fulfill its true potential. We need to create an environment where young people can start to think more entrepreneurially, be given the tools and resources to create their own sustainable businesses, and be encouraged to take their socio economic destinies into their own hands through their entrepreneurial ventures. In particular, Africa’s young women need to be encouraged and supported to realize their own futures through the building of a new and exciting generation of women-owned and operated businesses.