Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has urged African leaders to prioritise investment in education, healthcare, skills development, technology and entrepreneurship to unlock the economic potential of the continent’s growing youth population.
Adesina said Africa’s demographic growth would become an economic advantage only if young people acquired the knowledge, skills, good health and opportunities needed to contribute meaningfully to economic development.
He made the call while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural Seyi Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos on Monday, where he spoke on the theme, “Africa Next: Building the Demographic Asset Class.”
According to him, Africa must move beyond viewing its growing population as a statistic and begin treating its young people as valuable assets capable of driving innovation, creating businesses, generating employment and strengthening the continent’s global competitiveness.
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He noted that Africa was projected to account for about one-quarter of the world’s population by 2050, describing the projection as an opportunity for the continent to play a greater role in shaping the global economy.
However, he warned that population growth alone would not guarantee prosperity without deliberate investment in human capital and an enabling environment for young people to thrive.
“Numbers alone do not create prosperity. Capability does,” Adesina said, stressing that the critical question was not how many young people Africa would have, but how much knowledge, expertise and productive capacity the continent would develop in them.
The former AfDB president described education as an investment in national wealth creation, arguing that developing human intelligence, creativity and problem-solving skills was as important as investing in roads, railways, electricity and other physical infrastructure.
He said quality education, technical training and research institutions would equip young Africans to address emerging economic challenges and compete effectively in global markets.
Drawing from his personal experience, Adesina recalled how his father’s investment in his education transformed his life and opened opportunities that might otherwise have remained beyond his reach.
He said the experience reinforced his conviction that investing in the education of millions of African children could transform nations and expand their economic possibilities.
Adesina also emphasised the importance of healthcare, nutrition and social protection in developing a productive population, noting that young people could not reach their full potential without good health and adequate support systems.
On technology, he urged African youths to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), not merely as users of technologies developed elsewhere, but as innovators capable of creating solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.
He also expressed optimism about efforts to roll out an initiative aimed at helping young entrepreneurs overcome financing barriers, build sustainable businesses and create jobs.
Adesina commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for recognising the importance of investing in young Nigerians, citing student financing, tertiary education and skills development initiatives as elements of building the country’s future productive capacity.
He urged policymakers to ensure that such investments translated into measurable improvements in young people’s capabilities and economic opportunities.
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The former AfDB chief maintained that Africa’s demographic advantage could only yield lasting benefits when governments invested in people, removed barriers to productivity and connected skills with capital, technology and markets.
He also called on young Africans to take responsibility for their development by investing in education, acquiring relevant skills, embracing technology and pursuing innovative business ideas.
Adesina said Africa’s future would depend not simply on the size of its population, but on the ability of its leaders and institutions to develop the potential of its people.
He urged governments to deliberately build human capacity, expand opportunities and support enterprise to ensure that the continent’s growing youth population contributed to sustainable economic growth and global competitiveness.
