Build to Last

With 1.36 billion individuals in Africa, two-thirds of whom are unemployed; an increase in unemployment of 0.35 percent year over year results in 6.6 percent total unemployment and a 2.45 percent population increase! Africa is facing a serious predicament that only you can resolve.

In 2020, Africa has 453 million gainfully employed persons out of a total population of 1.36 billion.

This means that almost two-thirds of our population is unemployed, despite the fact that our population is rising at an exponential rate of 2.45% every year. We are on the verge of a catastrophe with this enormous a population, which is projected to reach over 2 billion people by 2050, assuming we can sustainably engage our growing population.

The reality is that we have more youth and sufficient energy to self-destruct. The only thing that appears to be a feasible solution to Africa’s unemployment crisis is to increase job creation and improve Africa’s industrialization; nothing else will resolve the issue.

Developed countries get this right, which is why their economies appear to be doing well, but it’s a matter of confronting challenges with the appropriate remedies. Consider that the United States has 31 million small enterprises out of 400 million worldwide. That is a sizable fraction of all the countries on the earth, as you would agree. It is not coincidental that they have a functioning economy.

Africa must foster this; we must industrialize the continent for the benefit of future generations. We must develop new solutions. Take greater risks and conduct additional research.

We need to cultivate and support a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of creating a substantial number of jobs. Only in this way can we hope to avert the African continent’s impending doom.