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Upskilling Young People to be Entrepreneurial in the age of Technology is Critical
Africa’s young people are undoubtedly one of the continent’s greatest resources. As other regions battle with ageing populations and declining birth rates, Sub-Saharan Africa can lay claim to a median age of 19.7 with around 70% of the population under the age of 30. Those young people are increasingly well-educated and connected.
Didi Onwu, Managing Editor at The Anzisha Prize
But all that potential means nothing if they aren’t getting the opportunities needed to fulfil it. And in many countries, it’s clear that they aren’t. In South Africa, the continent’s most advanced economy, the unemployment rate sits at 63.9% for those aged 15-24 and 42.1% for those aged 25-34 years. In Nigeria, meanwhile, the rate among people aged 15-34 is around 42.5%. And in Kenya, lobby group The Youth Congress claims that seven out of every 10 unemployed people are aged 35 and under.
While there are a number of interventions that could, and should, be made to help reverse those figures, perhaps the most important is to ensure that young people have the skills they need to be entrepreneurial. Indeed, research has shown that innovators can create significant wealth and have considerable developmental influences on society.
It’s even more critical at a time when technology is accelerating so fast that jobs can quickly become redundant.
“Fostering entrepreneurship among young people not only enables them to create their own opportunities and employment for other young people,” says Didi Onwu, Managing Editor at The Anzisha Prize, an organisation born out of a partnership between African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation that seeks to increase the number of job generative entrepreneurs fundamentally and significantly in Africa. “It can also help them recognise and pursue employment opportunities that they might not have been able to otherwise.”
Yes, entrepreneurship really is a skill
Before digging into exactly what kind of skills can help foster entrepreneurship among a whole continent’s worth of young people, it’s worth pointing out that there’s a pervasive myth that needs to be busted. Over the years, glowing profiles of entrepreneurs (particularly in the tech space) have convinced many that entrepreneurs are born rather than made.
But, as Onwu points out, that’s simply not true.
“The idea of the brilliant innovator turned billionaire makes for a good story,” she says. “But dig a bit further and you’ll see that most successful entrepreneurs were given the tools they needed to succeed from a very young age.”
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, for example, was given extensive time with his high school’s computer at a time when having one was still a rarity. His mother also sat on the board of a non-profit with then IBM chairman John Opel, and helped the then fledgling company score a contract with the computing giant which ultimately proved crucial to its future success.
“While we can’t give every prospective young African entrepreneur a family connection, we can help them develop critical entrepreneurial skills that will serve them well in the future,” says Onwu.
The right skills matter most
While there are obviously a number of hard skills, such as those that concern technological proficiency, which are important to being an entrepreneur, the really valuable ones are a little more intangible. And equipping young people with those skills requires more than a straightforward curriculum.
Take network building, for example. While you could teach the basics in a course, establishing real networks takes time and consistent effort. The same is true for pitching to investors for funding. Other skills, such as mastering the fear of failure, can only be learned through practice.
“It’s something that we thought hard about when we redesigned the fellowship programme from the ground up a few years ago,” says Onwu. “We wanted to ensure that our fellows were holistically building a broad range of entrepreneurial skills throughout their fellowships and beyond.”
Fellows are, for example, given access to communities of fellow entrepreneurs, introduced to a wide network of stakeholders and business experts, and provided with the opportunity to shadow successful entrepreneurs in their sector. It’s an approach which makes a great deal of sense when you consider that research has shown that exposure to innovation has a significant positive impact not just on the kind of innovation that young people produce, but also on their overall ability to be innovators.
Upskilling, now and forever
It should be absolutely clear that Africa needs its young people to be equipped with entrepreneurial skills if they are to meet their full potential in an age of accelerated technology. And, as Onwu points out, efforts to ensure that this is the case need to be made at every level of society.
“While we’re incredibly proud of the work we do at the Anzisha Prize, along with our partners, no single organisation can provide all of Africa’s young people with the skills they need to thrive as entrepreneurs,” she says. “It needs buy-in from governments, NGOs, the private sector, and a variety of other stakeholders.”
Moreover, these efforts cannot simply be short-term and instead need to be sustained over a prolonged period.
“The factors that make upskilling Africa’s young people to be entrepreneurial so important now aren’t going away anytime soon,” she concludes. “It’s therefore critical that all efforts are made to ensure that any initiatives aimed at building entrepreneurship are sustainable and capable of adapting to a constantly shifting business and technology environment.”
Meta, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy (FMCIDE), has launched the Llama Impact Accelerator Program to foster AI-driven solutions across critical sectors in Nigeria.
The eight-month program will support early-stage startups developing AI innovations using Meta’s open-source Llama models. Target sectors include Agriculture, Security & Safety, Healthcare, and a wildcard category for other high-impact applications.
Speaking at the launch, Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa at Meta, emphasized the initiative’s role in advancing Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. “We are thrilled to partner with FMCIDE in supporting local AI talent. Open-source AI should be accessible and relevant to national challenges,” she said.
The program will begin with a six-week incubation period, offering technical training and mentorship from industry experts, followed by six months of extended support, including access to technical resources.
Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, hailed the initiative as a “major step forward” in Nigeria’s AI development strategy. “AI will be a key driver of national growth, and this program equips innovators with the tools to tackle pressing issues,” Tijani stated.
The Llama Impact Accelerator aligns with Meta’s broader mission to democratize responsible AI access while fostering innovation in emerging markets.
In collaboration with academic and government stakeholders, the initiative is expected to accelerate Nigeria’s AI industry and drive impactful change.
Applications for the program remain open until June 27, 2025. More details can be found at llamaimpactssa.splashthat.com.
In an era where climate change, youth unemployment, and food insecurity loom large over the continent, a powerful new force is rising — young African innovators building a green future from the ground up.
At the just-concluded Africa PachiPanda Challenge 2024, organised by MTN and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Nigerian entrepreneur, Olabisi Rafatu Emmanuel, emerged as one of the continent’s top eco-champions, spotlighting the potential of purpose-driven innovation to rewrite Nigeria’s climate and development story.
While Moses Afopezi of Cameroon took home the top prize with AgricFresh, a smart solution combating post-harvest loss, Olabisi’s reusable menstrual products solutions as a waste transformation model earned her national applause and a seat at Africa’s sustainability table, emerging as the second-place winner.
Speaking during the announcement, MTN’s leadership underscored that this challenge goes far beyond accolades. “Together, we have the power to shape a greener, more sustainable Africa — one bold idea at a time,” Nompilo Morafo, Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, MTN, said.
The triumph comes at a time when Nigeria is grappling with the environmental menace of climate change in major urban hubs like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, even as the Nigerian government is clamouring for smart innovations to address climate change issues such as climate funding, carbon trading and just energy transition.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) recently reiterated calls for tech-based waste management solutions – making Olabisi’s innovation timely and impactful.
MTN says this is just the beginning. With plans to expand the PachiPanda Challenge to more countries and deepen support for eco-entrepreneurs, the telecoms giant is reaffirming its commitment to socio-economic development through green innovation.
As Nigeria sets its sights on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the PachiPanda story is a timely reminder that the answers may lie not in government halls – but in the dreams and drive of Nigeria’s young changemakers.
In what could be a turning point for Nigeria’s global tech ambitions, Zinox Technologies, a strategic integrated tech solution company and pride of Nigeria ICT ecosystem has been officially invited to represent Nigeria at VivaTech Paris 2025, one of the world’s largest technology and innovation events.
The invitation, extended in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is seen as a strategic endorsement of Zinox’s over two decades track record of delivering digital infrastructure, innovation, and enterprise solutions across the country for government, corporates and homes including some African countries.
The four-day event, taking place from June 11–14, 2025, is a major fixture in the global tech calendar, drawing startups, corporates, investors, and tech leaders from across the world. Zinox is expected to engage with international players at its assigned booth while showcasing flagship projects and solutions that reflect Nigeria’s evolving digital capacity.
“Zinox represents the kind of indigenous innovation the world needs to see more of — practical, scalable, and deeply rooted in local challenges,” said one of the international event leads, who confirmed their excitement about Zinox’s participation. “It’s a unique opportunity to place African tech at the centre of global conversations.”
From Local Execution to Global Attention
Zinox’s reputation has largely been built on its ability to execute high-impact, often mission-critical tech projects for both public and private sector players. The company is known for powering most government and corporate sector tech infrastructure rolling out the most integrated ICT projects and partnering global manufacturers with it’s iPower renewable energy solutions. Zinox is credited with transitioning Nigeria from analogue to digital democracy, amongst many other critical projects for companies like Chevron, Shell, FIRS, CBN, NPC, and educational institutions just to mention a few.
Its inclusion at VivaTech reflects growing international curiosity about Nigeria’s digital innovation and infrastructure story, particularly from brands that have built success indigenously.
Konga, the e-Commerce Engine, Joins the Spotlight
In an interesting strategic angle, Zinox will also showcase Konga, the composite e-commerce group it acquired in 2018. The move united two major tech forces under one umbrella and enabled a fusion of logistics, fintech, and commerce with Zinox’s core technology expertise.
Since the acquisition, Konga has benefited from infrastructural reinforcements, platform upgrades and supply chain optimization, becoming Nigeria’s most efficient digital marketplace.
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