The President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has urged African leaders to increase investments in African youths in order to ensure a fulfilling future for the youths and position the continent’s economies on the path of sustainable growth.
Adesina, gave this charge during the Africa Day Celebration which commemorates the establishment of the Organization of African Unity on May 25, 1963 last Thursday at the sidelines of the 2023 AfDB Annual Meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and reiterated the call on Saturday, 27th May, during the Inauguration Lecture of the new President of Nigeria in Abuja.
He stressed that although he was not against migration but did not also believe that the future of the African youth lies in Europe, Asia or anywhere else in the world.
The banker said: “I believe the future of Africa’s youth lies in an African growing wealth, growing equitably, able to create jobs with a decent living, wage and social protection for all our young people.
“If we think and we know that the young people are our best assets then we must invest in our young people”, Adesina added.
The development finance expert noted many countries on the continent had youth empowerment programmes which have not added value to the lives of the African youths, pointing out thatwhat the youths need is not empowerment in that sense but that what they need is investment which the leaders must start doing for the young people.
While recalling that the AfDB has created new Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks that will be spread across the continent, Adesina promised that through the initiative the development finance institution would help young people start businesses and turn their innovative ideas into successful enterprises.
To achieve this goal, he urged African leaders to risk their resources and support the youth to foster sustainable growth of their economies.
The AFDB President clarified: “That is why we at the bank are supporting and working to make sure that we can have the skills, the entrepreneurship, the capacity around our young people so that Africa can have youth-based wealth.
“It is time to have youth-based wealth in Africa. And to have that we need to have financial institutions on board and that is why the AfDB is taking the leadership of this issue.
“Our future is a bright future. As Africans our future will be brighter if we invest in our young people. They are not only going to make us proud today, they will make us proud tomorrow”.
“And as we think of Agenda 2063, I will not be here, I don’t know how many people will be here, so let’s have an agenda that can bring the hope of the future to the present’’, Adesina added.
According to him, it is in furtherance of the young people’s support that the bank is “also investing and setting up what is called the African Pharmaceutical Foundation Technology Foundation (APTF).
“That will allow Africa to navigate complex issues with access to technology, for making or producing medicines and vaccines, so we can protect ourselves.
“We must know, we must have the know-how, we must have the capacity to develop drugs and medicines that fits our peculiar profile. That is how we develop our pride”, the AfDB’s President stressed.
