News: Elumelu Sets $100m for Start-ups as AfDB Targets 25m Jobs

African Development Bank (AfDB) job for youths strategy got a boost as Tony Elumelu Foundation sets aside a $100 million jobs fund targeted at talented young Africans in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

This comes on the heels of the MOB Group plans to create 25 million jobs for youths in the next 10 years with $5 billion facility.

Tony Elumelu, chairman, Heirs Holdings, was among the panelists at the “jobs for African youths” session at the ongoing annual meetings of the AfDB holding in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

Other panellists at the session include: Ibrahim Mo, chairperson, Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Uhuru Kenyata, president, Republic of Kenya; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Thomas Silberhorn, parliamentary state secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development; Germany; Aldnwunmi Adesina, president, AfDB Group, and Carlos Lopes, executive secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Elumelu, who recognises that the youths are Africa’s greatest assets, used the platform to seek for a collective approach in reducing the rate of youth unemployment, adding, “Government alone cannot create the jobs for the youths"

The panellists sought among others key issues bothering on how to leverage Africa’s opportunity to create sustainable jobs for youths in agriculture; how Africa can launch an industrial transformation agenda that promote inclusive growth and create sustainable jobs for youths; how Africa can leverage its opportunity to create sustainable jobs for youth in ICT and the needed skills for Africa’s structural transformation and how these skills can be developed.

Ibrahim Mo said, “The problem with youths’ job creation is that of governance and focus. Only 2 percent of African youths embrace agriculture. The question now is who is going to bail Africa if not the youths. As a continent, we are very good at wasting our natural resources. We have to look at the issue of education and training in line with the needs of the economy.

“The solution to youth un employment requires a collective effort from both the private and public sectors. Government alone cannot tackle unemployment All of us have to be involved. I believe that the solution is in SMEs financing. Africans are now embracing agriculture -we need to find a way of encouraging them,’Mo told the audience.

“For the youths, we need economic transformation policies that will ensure effective states. We have identified a huge skills gap that does not allow the youths respond to market demand:’ Lopes said.

“Most of the new jobs for youths are created by SMEs. We have to find jobs not only the academics but also for the non-academics. Entrepreneurs should tie their programmes towards jobs creation for youths:’ Silberhom said.

Source: Business Day