President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African leaders to create greater economic opportunities for its youth to stay home and live a meaningful life.
Adesina disclosed this at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy, stressing that the future of African youth does not lie in migration to Europe, but in a prosperous Africa.
He said, “The future of Africa’s youth does not lie in migration to Europe; it should not be at the bottom of the Mediterranean; it lies in a prosperous Africa. We must create greater economic opportunities for our youth right at home in Africa. That’s why the African Development Bank has launched the Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative, with the goal of creating 25 million jobs within 10 years, with a focus on agriculture and ICT.
“We must turn rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity. This requires new agricultural innovations and transforming agriculture into a sector for creating wealth. We must make agriculture a really cool choice for young people. The future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will come initially from agriculture,” he added.
According to the AfDB Chief, the new spring in the bank’s step for Africa’s development comes from its high five priorities — Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. He stated that these high five would help to achieve 90 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals for Africa and 90 percent of Agenda 2063.
“Africa needs innovation. This is crucial for access to energy, because 645 million Africans do not have access to electricity. Africa cannot develop in the dark; Africa needs an energy revolution,” he said.
That is why the Bank is investing $12 billion over the next five years in the energy sector as well as to leverage up to $50 billion, to address this challenge.
“We are investing in unlocking Africa’s renewable energy potential, especially innovations on solar power. Our goal is to connect 130 million households to grids and 75 million households to off-grid solar systems within ten years. To light up and power Africa is the biggest deal of the century. Even insects migrate from where it is dark to where there is light. No wonder Africa’s youth – our assets – take huge risks migrating to Europe, looking for a better life.”
He further explained that the AfDB is investing in skills development in computer sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics to prepare the youths for the jobs of the future, adding that the Africa as a continent must also avoid what is called the ‘triangle of disaster’ – a deadly combination of extreme rural poverty, high youth unemployment and environmental climate degradation.
Adesina also explained that consumer spending in Africa is projected to reach $1.4 trillion in the next three years and business-to-business spending to reach $3.5 trillion in the next eight years.
While urging the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to look at Africa as a huge investment opportunity, he noted that the continent is reforming, making itself open for business, adding that it accounted for 30 percent of global business and regulatory reforms in 2016.