Tony Elumelu, Founder of the Tony Elumelu foundation on Thursday urged African leaders, private sector operators and development partners to focus efforts on developing youth on the continent as this presents a quickest strategy to drive the much needed development.
Elumelu was speaking at a session on ‘Digital Economy for Africa’ at the ongoing 2018 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington.
Elumelu said that Africa’s young population presents huge opportunities for digital economy which could be tapped for faster development.
“We have 60 per cent of our working population at the age of 30 and we have 65 per cent of our economy in the informal sector,” he said.
“This presents quite interesting opportunities for digital economy.”
Elumelu whose foundation mentors and funds young entrepreneurs said African youths are enthusiastic, hardworking, but are usually set back by the inability of government to put in place the enabling environment for them to thrive.
His comments came a day after President Buhari reportedly called Nigerian youths lazy and uneducated.
“In my interactions with young Africans, I have seen people who are determined, energetic, hungry to succeed and make a difference and are extremely intelligent, but the environment makes it difficult for them to succeed,” Elumelu told the audience.
“You can’t talk about digital economy in Africa without fixing critical infrastructure. Digital connectivity is a major issue in Africa and you can’t fix it if you don’t have reliable access to electricity. So, if we want to truly address the issue of digital economy in Africa, these challenges have to be fixed.
“Secondly is the issue of governance. Governments need to understand that if we prioritise the young ones and make the operating environment conducive, they would be able to optimise the required intellects, they would do well and we would be able to solve some of the problems in the continent. So, regulation is major, intellectual property is very important, incentivising investors are all factors that will help us address these issues.
“For the entrepreneurs in Africa, I will say let’s not look at the challenges, but the opportunities. There are lots of opportunities in the continent and we need to look at these opportunities. Let’s fix policy issues and all these issues I have identified and investors will come to Africa.
He noted, however that there was need for the government to provide the necessary environment for such opportunities to be harnessed.
Elumelu further told the audience which comprised mainly young people said African leaders must be consciously model economic growth path to focus on the people.
He however, advised the youths to follow their passion, which according to him, would help them succeed in their dreams effortlessly despite the huge challenges they face.
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Washington DC
