Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has emphasised that young Africans require meaningful financial support to realise their potential—not tokenistic handouts masquerading as empowerment.
Speaking in an interview aired on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’, Adesina described Africa’s youthful population as a valuable demographic dividend that must be converted into tangible economic growth through strategic investment in education, skills, and enterprise.
Touching on the growing trend of emigration, popularly referred to in Nigeria as ‘Japa’, the former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture expressed concern over the scale of youth migration.
“The ‘Japa’ wave is a massive loss to Africa,” he said. “Our young people are not looking for freebies. They want opportunities to transform their knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial drive into thriving businesses.”
He criticised short-term empowerment schemes that offer limited cash handouts, saying they fail to address the real needs of young innovators.
“What they need is access to capital and a system that believes in their potential enough to invest in them,” he stated.
With over 465 million Africans aged between 15 and 35, Adesina stressed that the continent cannot afford to neglect its youth.
“Africa must not turn its greatest asset into another region’s gain,” he warned.
He further argued that the future of African youth should be anchored within the continent, not in Europe, North America, or Asia.
“Their future lies in an Africa that is vibrant, dynamic, and capable of generating quality jobs,” he said.
Contrasting Africa’s experience with countries like India and China, Adesina explained that large populations only become a burden when not properly harnessed.
“It’s all about how you equip your population. Skill them up, provide decent employment, and they become a powerful force for prosperity,” he said.
Adesina criticised the existing financial systems across Africa, calling them outdated and unresponsive to the needs of young entrepreneurs.
“The banking sector was never built with young people in mind,” he asserted.
“How can we be shocked that they’re leaving, when we’re not offering them meaningful financial pathways?”
In response to these challenges, the AfDB has established the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Bank, designed specifically to fund youth-led ventures and address the gap in youth-focused financing.
In Nigeria, the bank has just approved $100 million to set up the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, with the aim of mobilising $2 billion to support over 38,000 youth-led businesses.
“We can’t rely on N5,000 or N10,000 giveaways,” Adesina said. “If we don’t create sustainable wealth among our youth now, who will be the taxpayers and economic drivers of the future?”
He urged African governments and institutions to invest in the continent’s youth not out of charity, but as a strategic necessity for long-term prosperity.
