- Africa Must Turn Demographic Growth into Jobs and Enterprise — Sammy Gyamfi
Africa’s ability to convert its rapidly expanding population into sustained economic growth will depend on whether governments, businesses and the global diaspora invest adequately in jobs, education, technology and entrepreneurship for young people, Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has said.
Speaking at the EMY Africa, Africa Rising Symposium in London, Mr Gyamfi described the continent’s youthful population as one of its most valuable economic assets, but warned that the same demographic expansion could become a major source of instability if opportunities fail to keep pace with population growth.
Citing the Mastercard Foundation Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026, he said Africa was home to approximately 532.00 million people between the ages of 15 and 35, with the youth population expected to continue expanding well into the 2070s.
The scale of that demographic shift could give Africa a large labour force, a growing consumer market and a deep pool of entrepreneurial and technological talent.
However, those gains are not automatic.
“If we harness the potential of this youthful population, Africa becomes the world’s next great engine of productivity and creativity. If we fail them, what ought to be a demographic advantage may well become a demographic crisis,” Mr Gyamfi said.
His warning reflects a central challenge confronting African economies: millions of young people enter the labour market each year, but formal employment, affordable finance and productive enterprise opportunities are not expanding at the same rate.
Where economies fail to create sufficient jobs, the consequences extend beyond unemployment.
Persistent exclusion can weaken household incomes, reduce the tax base, increase pressure on public services and intensify migration. It can also contribute to social frustration and political instability, particularly where educated young people see limited prospects for advancement.
Mr Gyamfi argued that Africa’s development problem was increasingly one of opportunity rather than talent.
Young Africans, he said, possess the ambition and skills required to support industrialisation, digital transformation and private-sector growth, but many remain constrained by limited access to capital, mentorship, technology and markets.
He called on governments to improve skills development, strengthen enterprise-support policies and build economic systems that allow young people to move from education into productive employment.
That requires closer alignment between school curricula and labour-market demand, particularly in digital services, engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, renewable energy and other sectors capable of creating large numbers of jobs.
Access to finance also remains critical.
Young entrepreneurs often struggle to secure credit because they lack collateral, formal financial records and established business histories. High borrowing costs and short repayment periods can further discourage investment in new ventures.
Improving financial inclusion will therefore require more than expanding bank lending. It may involve credit guarantees, venture-capital funds, concessional finance, business-development services and stronger links between entrepreneurs and regional markets.
Mr Gyamfi also urged Africans in the diaspora to contribute more actively to the continent’s economic transformation.
Beyond remittances, the diaspora can provide investment capital, mentorship, technical expertise, international business connections and access to new markets.
Such engagement could help young African businesses overcome information and financing constraints while accelerating knowledge transfer in technology, management, research and advanced manufacturing.
The economic case for youth investment is significant.
Africa is expected to account for a growing share of global labour-force expansion over the coming decades, at a time when several developed economies are confronting ageing populations and worker shortages.
That demographic divergence could strengthen Africa’s position in global production and services, but only if young people are healthy, educated, skilled and connected to productive sectors.
Without those investments, rapid population growth could intensify pressure on housing, transport, healthcare and education while expanding informal and low-productivity employment.
The result would be slower income growth and rising fiscal demands rather than a demographic dividend.
Mr Gyamfi’s intervention therefore places youth policy at the centre of Africa’s broader industrial and economic strategy.
The continent’s mineral resources, agricultural potential and expanding markets remain important, but their long-term value will depend on the human capital available to develop them.
Africa’s youthful population is not, by itself, an economic advantage. It becomes one only when institutions create the conditions for young people to work, innovate, build businesses and participate meaningfully in economic growth.
