Ghana Msibi
Africa does not lack young potential. What it lacks are enough pathways to help young people contribute meaningfully to the economy.
The continent’s youth population is often described as one of its greatest assets, and rightly so. But demographics alone do not create prosperity.
A young population becomes a dividend only when young people are able to participate meaningfully in the economy, not only as employees, but as innovators, entrepreneurs, suppliers, business owners, employers and contributors to growth.
Too often, Africa’s youth challenge is framed mainly as an unemployment problem. It is that, but it is also something deeper: a systems problem. Education, skills development, leadership development, entrepreneurship support, access to finance, market access and business networks are too often treated as separate interventions.
Yet for a young person trying to move from learning to earning, and from earning to building, these are part of one economic journey. This is particularly relevant for South Africa.
According to Statistics South Africa, almost half of the country’s working-age population is between the ages of 15 and 34, yet young people continue to carry a disproportionate share of unemployment and economic exclusion. In the first quarter of 2026, the unemployment rate was 60.9% among those aged 15 to 24 and 40.6% among those aged 25 to 34. More than four in ten young people aged 15 to 34 were not in employment, education or training during the same period.
These numbers should concern all of us: governments, business leaders, educators, financial institutions, communities and young people themselves.
They should also force Africa to confront a difficult question: are we trying to solve a new economic challenge with an old framework?
For decades, the conversation has focused largely on employment: how to create jobs, how to prepare young people for the workplace and how to improve employability. These questions remain important. Employment matters. But if our ambition is only to help young people find jobs, we may be solving yesterday’s problem.
The deeper question is whether Africa is creating the conditions for young people to build businesses, create value and contribute meaningfully to the economy, rather than simply preparing them for employment.
It is difficult to say we want young people to participate meaningfully in economic life while many pathways into the economy still measure them primarily by what they lack: collateral, credit history, formal networks, work experience or years of trading history.
If young people are assessed only through traditional lenses, we risk overlooking what they are capable of building.
The challenge is therefore bigger than employment. It is about whether Africa is developing people who can contribute meaningfully to the economy or whether we are perpetuating dependency.
That shift is fundamental. Africa’s development agenda cannot depend solely on the hope that enough jobs will be created. It must also be built on the belief that young people can solve problems, build enterprises and generate employment for others.
This is why youth development should not be viewed as a social initiative. It is an economic imperative.
The African Union has noted that Africa has the youngest population in the world, with more than 400 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35, and that this requires increased investment in economic and social development if the continent is to benefit from its demographic dividend. The African Development Bank has also highlighted that Africa’s youth population is expected to double to more than 830 million by 2050.
But potential on its own is not enough.
Youth development needs to begin earlier and go deeper than traditional employment readiness. Before a young person starts a business, applies for funding or enters the workforce, they need confidence, exposure, leadership, financial literacy, entrepreneurial thinking, networks and access to opportunity.
Many young people are also taking on financial and family responsibilities earlier, which means they cannot wait passively for traditional pathways to open.
YLED illustrates this point. Its profile references personal and employability skills, leadership skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, with the programme preparing young people for participation in academia, employment, self-employment and community engagement.
FNB’s continued partnership with YLED for the Youth Entrepreneurship Dialogue also reinforces the value of bringing emerging youth entrepreneurs, industry leaders and ecosystem enablers together around support, networks and opportunity.
Africa does not only need young people who can enter the economy. It needs young people who can shape it, build within it and ultimately create opportunities for others.
Matric Live, the winner of the 2024 FNB App of the Year Awards, demonstrates what becomes possible when these pathways connect. The platform supports Grade 10 to 12 learners through interactive video lessons, gamified study tools, mock exam simulations and AI-enabled academic support.
More importantly, it shows how a young entrepreneur identified a real educational challenge, applied digital skills to solve it, built a business around that solution and created value for other young people in the process.
That is the difference between producing job seekers and developing people who can create value, build enterprises and create opportunities for others.
This is where the broader ecosystem matters. Youth development cannot be left to government alone. It should not sit only within corporate social investment programmes. It cannot be treated as a once-off campaign, a seasonal priority or a narrow employment-readiness exercise.
Africa needs a sustained approach that connects education, skills, leadership development, access to finance, enterprise support, market access and entrepreneurial opportunity.
Young entrepreneurs are not charity cases.
They are potential contributors to growth. This is not charity. It is shared value. When young people become economically active, they create businesses, employ others, serve communities, pay suppliers, generate innovation and build value. When they are excluded, dependency deepens and the cost is carried by families, communities, businesses and the state.
At FNB, this thinking increasingly shapes our approach to youth development. Whether through youth entrepreneurship support, skills development partnerships, funding readiness, platforms such as App of the Year, or initiatives such as YLED – the focus is on strengthening pathways that help young people move from capability to enterprise and from enterprise to economic contribution.
For Africa, the question is bigger than youth unemployment alone. Do we view our young population as a challenge to be managed, or as a generation of builders whose potential must be unlocked?
The answer will determine whether Africa’s demographic dividend becomes a source of long-term prosperity or a missed opportunity.
Youth development is not an initiative. It is an imperative.
Africa’s future will not be determined by the size of its youth population. It will be determined by whether that generation is equipped to create value, build enterprises, create opportunities for others and help shape the continent’s future.
Ghana Msibi, FNB Business CEO.
