Empowering Young Africans

An African proverb says “a child that we refuse to build today will end up selling the house that we may build tomorrow.”

The moral of this is clear. Unless we invest in our children and young people today, they might become a threat or a burden in the future.

As the international community commemorates World Population Day on July 11, Africa’s growing youth population should be recognised as a ‘powerful force for change’ that requires greater investment today.

Judging by the current challenges confronting young people, the extent to which African countries are investing in the youth is unclear.

More young people

According to the Africa Regional Review for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) the continent is experiencing substantial demographic shifts, which have seen about 21 million persons a year being added to the population since 1994.

Africa has the youngest population and will remain so for decades in a rapidly ageing world. 

By 2050 “the median age for Africa will increase to 25, while the average for the world as a whole will climb to about 38”.

The fertility rate on the continent is decreasing gradually and the new generation of young people will probably have fewer children than their parents. This demographic shift will also mean fewer elderly people and children to support than previous generations.

Undoubtedly, demography will greatly shape Africa’s position in the global markets for labour, trade and capital.

The phenomenon is what economists call a ‘demographic dividend’, which they argue is a one-time window of opportunity to create wealth and economic growth.

                                 

The Future They Want

But failure to invest in this demographic also comes with its own challenges.

Maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS are the two main causes of death among young women aged 15 to 24 years in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nearly everywhere, adolescents are inhibited from freely exercising their right to, for example, comprehensive sexuality education, contraceptives and sexual and reproductive health services.

In many African counties, more than 40 per cent of young women aged 20 to 24 were married by age 18. Also in the countries with high child marriage rates – Niger, Mali, CAR, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Madagascar, Uganda, Senegal, Malawi, Cameroon and Libya – many girls are married off by age 15.

That is why investment in Africa’s youthful population from multiple angles, and primarily from the public and private sectors, is essential for realising the demographic dividend.

In his message for the World Population Day commemoration, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehim says “we know that healthy, educated, productive and fully engaged young people can help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and are more resilient in the face of individual and societal challenges”

Africa’s largely youthful population makes up the next generation of workers, parents, and leaders and their challenges can no longer be ignored. Getting the best from the increased youth bulge in Africa can only be assured when appropriate health and development plans, policies and programmes are put in place and adequately implemented.

This piece was written by Adebayo Fayoyin, the Regional Communications Advisor for the UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office.

2014 World Population Day: World Cities Will Be Home To Two-thirds of Global Population By 2050

A United Nations report released ahead of the 2014 world population day says two-thirds of the world's 7 billion people will live in urban areas by 2050, an increase of 2.5 billion, and at least 40 megacities will have a population of at least 10 million.

That proportion is expected to jump, so that more than six billion people will be city dwellers by 2045 while More than 10 million inhabitants will occupy Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Mexico City and Sao Paulo by 2050.

Indeed, urbanization, combined with overall population growth, will boost the number of people in cities by 2.5 billion over the next three decades, with much of that growth in developing countries, especially in Africa.

India, China and Nigeria will make up 37 percent of the projected growth in the next three decades, with India adding 404 million city residents, China 292 million, and Nigeria 212 million, by 2050.

The key challenge for these countries will be meeting the needs of their growing urban population with basic services like education, health care, housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy and employment.

"Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century," said John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division in the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

According to the United Nations, the trend will pose infrastructure challenges for Africa and Asia, where 90 percent of the urban population growth is expected, the U.N' s World Urbanization Prospects report said, noting Africa and Asia will face numerous challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations, including for housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy and employment, as well as for basic services such as education and healthcare.

The world's rural population, now 3.4 billion people, will decline as urbanization increases, the report says.

Millicom Launches Mobile Education Service "EduMe" In Rwanda

Millicom, the international telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa has launched of its EduMe English service, a low-cost mobile English language learning course that is available exclusively to Tigo’s customers in Rwanda by subscription or on demand.

EduMe English is a new and unique way to learn English on any mobile phone, offering the student the opportunity to decide when and where to learn. EduMe English is the first product to be launched by EduMe, Millicom’s global educational service using mobile and internet technology to provide access to high quality education in Africa and Latin America.

Following the launch of EduMe English in Rwanda, EduMe English is due to launch in El Salvador and Tanzania in the coming months.

Additionally, EduMe Tutor, a phone- and Skype-based English language tutoring service, has been launched in beta mode in El Salvador with a live service following shortly.

EduMe will also launch an entrepreneurship course under its EduMe Business School brand to Tigo subscribers in Tanzania during the third quarter of 2014. The course is developed in co-operation with GSMA, the worldwide mobile industry body and will mark the introduction of the first purely mobile vocational business school in Africa.

EduMe English is developed by international experts in language learning and follows the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the globally-accepted framework for language learning.

EduMe English combines listening, reading and speaking training through text lessons, quizzes and audio sessions where students select courses that gradually increase in difficulty. 

These combine high quality content recorded by native English speakers with instructions in Kinyarwanda, the local language spoken by many Rwandans.

As the official language of Rwanda since 2009 and extensively used in business and education, there is considerable demand for accessible language tuition.

A launch event has already taken place in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, this week attended by the country’s Education Minister, Honourable Mathias Harebamungu, and Youth ICT Minister Honourable Jean Philbert Nsengimana.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, Millicom CEO and President commented “We are very excited to offer millions of people in Africa and Latin America the chance to educate themselves with the help of mobile- and internet technology. We are starting by offering English language training as this is a language that gives people more opportunities and connects people across the world. EduMe English is a groundbreaking new product where people can learn English anytime anywhere. Millicom is all about promoting a digital lifestyle and transforming lives: education is integral to this.”

Financial Investment And Commercialization of Family Farming Will Boost Agribusiness In Africa

Recently, I interviewed Grace Wanene, the co-founder of Agrinovations Enterprises, an agribusiness company in Kenya.  

Grace shared her view on how agriculture can be revitalized as a catalyst for growth in Africa and she say financial investment in agribusiness companies and commercialization of family farming for instance through producer groups will sustain agribusiness growth in Africa.

Excerpt: 

How flourishing is agribusiness in Kenya?

Agribusiness, as it relates to seed, fertilizers and agrochemicals, flourishing in Kenya. This is evident due to the large number of companies trading in seed and agrochemicals as well as the large number of new entrants into the field.

Companies that deal in agricultural technologies, especially greenhouse and irrigation technologies are also flourishing. There are several new entrants into this field as well.

The growth of agribusiness in your country: is it mainly through the government or private individual? 

Kenya’s growth in agribusiness has been fuelled mainly by private companies. Some government owned agribusiness companies such as the Kenya Meat Commision and New Kenya Co-operative Creameries Ltd are expected to be privatized soon.

For a list of government owned agribusiness companies see http://www.kilimo.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=12&Itemid=38

With particular reference Kenya, what do you perceive as the challenges facing agri-business in Africa and what are those unexploited agribusiness opportunities in your country?

Agribusiness opportunities in Kenya, especially those relating to agro-processing, haven’t been fully exploited. There are two reasons for this. First, most of Kenya’s farmers are small holder farmers and they usually cannot meet the demand for raw materials for processing industries. Therefore, the few processing companies who have succeeded in this area often have to enter into some kind of contract farming agreement with the farmers. Secondly setting agricultural up an agricultural processing plant is also rather costly.

Another unexploited opportunity is in produce aggregation. There are several companies who aggregate produce for export but few who do it for processing companies.

What is needed as a catalyst to sustain agribusiness growth in Africa and your country region (East Africa) in particular?

I will say financial investment in agribusiness companies and commercialization of family farming for instance through producer groups.

The world is going through a boom time in Agriculture. Why must Africa not be left out of this race? Why should African countries and investors focus more on agriculture entrepreneurship?

African countries should focus on agriculture entrepreneurship because subsistence and non-commercial agriculture hasn’t worked out so well so far. While the continent has a large amount of unused arable land (60%) it still has the lowest agricultural output. It is therefore more important than ever to commercialize small scale farming.

The agriculture sector has the biggest potential for growth due to the continent’s growing population and urbanization which will undoubtedly create more demand for food.

Most of those in agribusiness today are small scale farmers and much is needed for their effort to make their business more productive. What is the role of infrastructural facility in agricultural development? And what other things are needed to make agribusiness more vibrant in African nation’s economy?

Infrastructural development helps to increase farmer’s access to processors and markets. This way, the country is able to produce value added products which in turn fetch a better price.

In addition to infrastructural development, governments and private companies need to invest more in agribusiness.

By 2050, Africa will have 261 million more youth (age 15to 24) than today. Why is it important for young entrepreneurs to focus on agricultural entrepreneurship?

The continent’s growing population will only create more demand for food. Africa’s youth population could become an invaluable labor force for the agricultural sector. Young entrepreneurs should focus on agricultural entrepreneurship because no other industry has as much potential for growth and job creation as the agriculture industry.