Future-proofing Africa: From youth-led innovations to policy change for skills and entrepreneurship

Today, UNICEF joined forces with young people from across Africa to hold a unique side-event on youth-led innovations and policy change for skills and entrepreneurship at the first ever Africa Skills Week organized by the African Union in Accra, Ghana. Co-created and led by youth, this dynamic session brought together five young people from Kenya, Uganda and Ghana, with representatives from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in Uganda, employers association and UNICEF. The aim was to provide a platform for youth advocates and UNICEF-programmes graduates to share their experiences and express their aspiration for skills in Africa, highlight UNICEF’s priorities and programme solutions for young people’s skills development and entrepreneurship, and engage in constructive dialogue with key stakeholders. The session was moderated by Generation Unlimited (GenU) Young People’s Action team member Joshua Opey.

Two youth entrepreneurs kicked-off the session by sharing their journey to build skills, innovate and start a business. Janet Dete, a green entrepreneur from Generation Unlimited’s BeGreen programme in Kenya, told participants of how she gained leadership and social entrepreneurship skills which she used to build her own company. Now, her thriving business is recycling synthetic hair waste and creating jobs for her fellow youth from the Mathare community in Nairobi. Janet believes that waste can be a valuable resource if you apply innovation skills. Ida Na-Tei, who participated in the UNICEF Ghana Start-Up Lab, showcased how entrepreneurship support can go a long way in boosting technological innovation while upskilling other young women.

Building on these testimonies, UNICEF Deputy Representative Fiachra McAsey underscored that empowering youth supports socio-economic development because “every new business [started by young people] today has a social impact drive.” He called out “the need to invest in the potential of African youth,” with dedicated investments to support underserved young people, including adolescent girls and young women, young people that are living in remote areas, displaced, or living with disabilities.

Referring to what industries and employers expect from prospective employees, Mr. Douglas Opio, Executive Director of Federation of Ugandan Employers pointed out that, “Employers today are looking for much more than just technical skills. They want to see emotional intelligence, behavioural skills, skills such as analytical thinking, decision-making, effective communication – the set of skills that are known as 21st century skills.”

To ensure that young people learn these future-oriented skills, youth advocates urged policymakers to shake up the formal education systems to integrate innovative approaches for 21st-century skills. The panelists also touched upon the importance of developing progressive policies. The Director of TVET and Higher Education from MoES of Uganda, Dr. Safinah Museene, underscored that skills development policies need to have approaches that are future oriented, employer-led and demand driven. The government efforts in Uganda served as an example of integration of future-oriented skills into the education system.

“Young people are everywhere. In Africa we have them in school and also out of school. We need to reach youth wherever they are and to provide them with skills they need. Skills needed for tomorrow are not known now, but we are preparing young people for this unknown with skills like innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship mindset. The UPSHIFT methodology that we now have integrated within education system with the vocational qualification of ‘Social Innovator’ will help us to do so and reach thousands of young people, including those who are out-of-school through existing structures of education and training system. Today those who graduate UPSHIFT course in our institutions, they will get vocational qualification that is acknowledged and demanded by employers.”

With key stakeholders from public and private convened by young people in one room, the session reflected the importance of public-private-youth partnerships to create a supportive ecosystem for youth empowerment. Ghana GenU Young People’s Action team member Eunice Owusu-Quaning and Ugandan youth advocate Jamada Musa Kalinda appealed to policymakers to remain flexible and ready to quickly adapt to the fast-changing needs of the labour market globally and reiterated the mantra “Nothing for us without us” – echoing UNICEF’s commitment to involving young people in decision-making processes, urging governments to actively engage them as future leaders and visionaries.