Ime Archibong, Vice President, Product Partnerships at Facebook, in this piece, says Africa’s young population could be its greatest asset in an age where many other regions in the world are aging as a result of declining birth rates
Many things have been said about the future Africa and its potential.
It has been called the Opportunity Continent, the Next Frontier and Africa rising. All these are true.
For
me the excitement comes in how Africa can, and will one day lead in the digital
economy, not only creating a better future for its young people, but for people
across the entire continents, whether here in Africa or elsewhere in Europe and
US.
Africa’s young population could be its greatest asset in an age where many other
regions in the world are aging as a result of declining birth rates.
As the world’s human population grows from 7.4
billion people to 8.2 billion people between now and 2025, 40% of that growth
will come from Africa, and with more than 628 million people aged below 24,
this young, dynamic and innovative population will become one of the most
powerful engines of growth the world has ever seen.
Personally, I’ve always been so inspired by the creativity and talent across my
home continent – whether it’s creating mobile phone apps which makes motorcycle
taxis safer and more convenient, like in the case of Safe Motos in Rwanda and
now DRC, or building technological solutions to solve agricultural challenges,
like Plantheus, a recent graduate of Facebook’s (www.Facebook.com)
NG_Hub Accelerator Program, we see people, especially youth, building solutions
daily to local problems and needs.
As
eager and early adopters of technology, we’ll likely see the next wave of
global digital innovations and apps coming from the continent and taken to the
rest of the world.
Adoption of social media, mobile phones and mobile money are enabling Africa
and its youth to leapfrog to the next wave of digital technology. This infrastructure
is the foundation upon which so much innovation in Africa is built and will be
built over the next five years.
At
Facebook, we’re committed to empowering young people to build their digital
skills and harness them for the future – whether they are digital builders,
developers or product innovators.
In the month of UN Youth Day, I’m delighted that we will be recognizing just
some of these talents from across the region. Bringing together over 40
Facebook Community Leaders, SMBs, Entrepreneurs, Developers and Content
Creators from across Sub-Saharan Africa, under the banner of ‘Celebrating Icons
of Change and the Future of the Continent’ – celebrating the positive impact
they are having in their community, something which is important to us here at
Facebook.
Our commitment across the region remains strong, and Africa continues to be
important for us, with this building on many partnerships, programs and
initiatives already in place to help develop digital and entrepreneurial skills
among young people. Whether it’s training SMBs through digital boot camps,
helping interested youth to acquire digital marketing skills and placing them
in employment, training women in leveraging digital solutions to grow their
business, or bringing together 52,000 Developers from across 17 countries
through our Developer Circles (http://bit.ly/2MbZe3t)
program, we are excited to play a part in supporting the next generation of
start-up founders, investors, developers and change makers.
As one of my favourite African proverbs says “For tomorrow belongs to
the people who prepare for it today”, and we look forward to that tomorrow
in the years to come.
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