Women entrepreneurs are incredible engines for job creation

Job creation is a major issue for the African continent, with its young, growing population. Between now and 2035, African nations will have to create 18 million new jobs every year just to keep pace with the rapidly growing population. That’s almost 50,000 new jobs every single day, simply to maintain employment at its current level. And, for many women on the continent, it is this specific challenge that sparks them to become entrepreneurs in the first place. The contribution they can make to job creation is significant. As an example, the agriculture sector and the artisan enterprise sector are the two largest employing sectors on the African continent, and both are dominated by women. Women grow this continent’s food and their hands produce the artisan crafts that employ local people within the community. The challenge is to help these women to build businesses that can grow to become significant employers of other people, right along the value chain. And importantly, to create opportunities for the next generation of young people to become the successful entrepreneurs and job creators of the future.