Akinwumi Adesina, former president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has urged African countries to invest in education, skills development and entrepreneurship to transform the continent’s growing population into a productive economic asset.
Gatekeepers News reports that Adesina made the call on Monday while delivering a keynote address titled ‘African Next: Building the Demographic Advantage to Economic Advantage’ at The Seyi Tinubu Colloquium.
He said Africa’s demographic advantage would depend on how effectively governments developed the capabilities of young people, stressing that population growth alone could not guarantee economic prosperity.
“Much of the last century, Africa was built largely through what lay beneath its soil. Its oil, its gas, its gold, its platinum, its copper, its lithium. They are important, but we are seen primarily as a source of resource extraction,” he said.
“Those resources remain important, but Africa now has another extraordinary opportunity, an extraordinary resource, our people. And increasingly, the world is looking at Africa through another number, our population. But numbers alone do not create prosperity. Capability does.”
The former AfDB president said Africa was experiencing rapid demographic and technological changes, with its population expanding, cities growing and technology reshaping how young people learn, work and interact with the world.
He noted that Africa was projected to account for approximately one-quarter of the global population by 2050, describing the trend as an opportunity for the continent to strengthen its economic competitiveness as other regions grapple with ageing populations.
Adesina, however, cautioned that the continent could not reap the benefits of its demographic growth without deliberate investments in human capital.
“I use that term asset class very deliberately. An asset is something that we invest in, we build it, we protect it, we improve it. And if you manage it well, it generates returns. A population whose people are healthy, educated, skilled, creative, and productive is an economic asset,” he said.
“When that capability is deliberately developed and connected to opportunity, it becomes something much more powerful. It becomes what I call a demographic asset class.”
‘Young People Are Not Liabilities’
Adesina warned against viewing Africa’s growing population as a burden, arguing that the real challenge was the failure to equip young people with relevant skills and connect them to productive opportunities.
“People are not liabilities. Young people are not liabilities. A young growing population is not a liability. Don’t you think Africa’s population is growing too fast and too much. I say why don’t you go ask them in China? Ask them in India. Your population becomes a problem when you don’t skill the population,” he said.
He stressed that African countries needed effective systems to develop human potential and ensure that young people could contribute meaningfully to economic growth.
According to him, failure to invest in skills and create opportunities would prevent the continent from fully benefiting from its youthful population.
The economist also highlighted the role of technology in expanding opportunities for young Africans, particularly by enabling them to develop products and services for customers across international markets.
“A software developer right here in Lagos can build a product for a customer in London, in New York, now in Singapore,” he said.
Adesina maintained that investing in young people’s skills would enable them to establish businesses, create employment and compete more effectively in the global economy.
He said Africa’s ability to translate its demographic advantage into economic prosperity would ultimately depend on how well governments invested in their people and connected their capabilities to meaningful opportunities.
