Whenever we talk about young people in Africa and the Arab world, the conversation often begins with problems.
Youth unemployment, poverty,lack of access to finance, skills gaps, migration, political exclusion, conflict, among others.
These are real challenges. But perhaps we have been asking the wrong question.
Africa and the Arab world do not have a youth problem. We have an opportunity problem.
Our young people are not a burden waiting for governments to solve. They are an enormous pool of talent, energy, creativity and ambition. The real question is whether our institutions, economies and leaders are creating enough opportunities for that potential to be put to work.
Africa alone is home to hundreds of millions of young people. This is often presented as a challenge, but it can also be one of the continent’s greatest advantages.
The same is true across the Arab world.
A large youthful population can become a powerful engine of economic growth when young people have access to education, skills, finance, markets and meaningful participation in society. Without those opportunities, however, a demographic advantage can become a source of frustration.
So the issue is not the number of young people we have.
It is what we are doing with their potential.
From asking for jobs to creating opportunities:
For years, the central question in youth policy has been: How do we create jobs for young people?
That remains important, but we need to think bigger.
How do we create young employers?
How do we connect young entrepreneurs to markets?
How do we help innovators access capital?
How do we equip young people with skills that match the economy of tomorrow?
How do we make agriculture attractive to a generation that is increasingly moving towards cities?
These are the questions that can change the economic future of Africa and the Arab world.
Africa has enormous opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, technology, tourism, renewable energy, logistics and the creative economy. The Arab world has developed significant capabilities in finance, infrastructure, technology, energy, tourism and knowledge-based industries.
What if we deliberately connected these strengths?
An African entrepreneur should not have to see the Arab world as a distant market. An Arab investor should be able to identify opportunities in Africa more easily. Universities should collaborate. Young innovators should work across borders. Businesses should form partnerships. Creative industries should exchange ideas and audiences.
This is how we can turn our historical relationship into a modern partnership for shared prosperity.
Uganda offers important lessons:
Uganda provides an interesting example of what deliberate investment in youth empowerment can achieve.
Under the leadership of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the Government of Uganda has introduced and supported a number of programmes aimed at improving livelihoods, expanding access to finance and bringing more young people into the productive economy.
The Youth Livelihood Programme, for instance, was designed to support young people to establish income-generating activities. The Parish Development Model has also sought to move households from subsistence into the money economy by strengthening production, value addition, financial inclusion and access to markets.
These initiatives reflect an important principle: youth empowerment cannot remain a slogan. It must reach the ordinary young person.
I commend President Museveni and the Government of Uganda for recognising that the country’s young population must be part of Uganda’s economic transformation.
But empowerment does not end when money reaches a beneficiary.
A young person may receive capital but still fail because they cannot find a market. Another may receive training but have no access to affordable financing. Another may have a good business idea but lack mentorship and the networks needed to grow.
That is why our approach must evolve from simply providing support to building opportunity ecosystems.
Young people need finance, yes. But they also need skills, mentorship, technology, markets, business networks and an environment in which they can grow.
Africa must turn its demographic advantage into a production advantage
Across Africa, we need to change how we see young people.
They should not only be viewed as beneficiaries of government programmes. They should be seen as producers, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, employers and decision-makers.
A young person should not spend years being prepared to look for a job. We should also prepare them to create one.
That means investing in technical and vocational education, digital skills, entrepreneurship, science and technology, agriculture and access to affordable capital.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 recognises the importance of youth empowerment, employment, education, skills and entrepreneurship. The challenge now is turning these commitments into opportunities that young people can actually feel in their daily lives.
A policy document cannot employ a young graduate. A conference cannot finance a small business. A speech cannot open a market.Implementation can.
What Africa can learn from the Arab world — and vice versa:
The Arab world has its own vast youth opportunities.
Countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Morocco have invested in technology, infrastructure, tourism, entrepreneurship, renewable energy and knowledge-based industries.
Africa should not seek to copy these countries, just as the Arab world does not need to copy Africa.
We should learn from each other.
Africa brings a young and expanding population, vast agricultural potential, natural resources, creative talent and emerging markets.
The Arab world brings significant experience in investment, infrastructure, finance, technology and access to international markets.
The opportunity lies in combining these strengths.
A young African entrepreneur may have the idea and the market but need capital and technology. An Arab investor may have capital and technology but be looking for new markets and reliable partners.
That is where Afro-Arab cooperation can become practical rather than merely diplomatic.
Building an Afro-Arab youth bridge:
Imagine a young entrepreneur in Kampala being connected to a business partner in Cairo.
Imagine a technology startup in Nairobi finding an investor in Riyadh.
Imagine a young creative in Benghazi collaborating with a filmmaker in Lagos.
Imagine a student in Dakar accessing a research opportunity in an Arab university.
Imagine agricultural producers in Africa connecting to markets across the Arab world.
Imagine young people from both regions working together on climate change, technology, peacebuilding and entrepreneurship.
These are not impossible ideas.
They are opportunities waiting to be organised.
The Afro-Arab relationship should therefore not be measured only by the number of meetings held between officials. It should also be measured by the number of young entrepreneurs connected, businesses created, jobs generated, ideas exchanged and lives transformed.
The role of institutions must change too:
Youth organisations must also be willing to look critically at themselves.
This is why institutions such as the Afro-Arab Youth Council must move beyond convening young people and become platforms that connect them to opportunities, markets, knowledge, capital and decision-makers.
Our work cannot end when a conference closes or when the last photograph is taken.
We must build bridges. Bridges between young people and governments.Between entrepreneurs and investors. Between universities and industry.Between innovators and markets.And, most importantly, between the young people of Africa and the Arab world.
The AAYC’s vision of strengthening cooperation among African and Arab youth around peace, unity and development must be translated into practical opportunities.
The young person in Kampala should be able to see a pathway to Casablanca.
The entrepreneur in Benghazi should be able to find a partner in Nairobi.
The innovator in Cairo should be able to explore a market in Kampala.
The student in Dakar should be able to discover an educational or research opportunity in the Arab world.
That is what meaningful youth cooperation should look like.
Let us stop defining young people by what they lack:
There is another mindset we must change.
Too often, when we talk about young people, we list what they do not have.
They lack jobs.They lack capital.They lack experience.They lack opportunities.But that is only half the story.Young people also have ideas.They have energy.They have creativity.They have technology. They have ambition.They have networks.They have businesses.And they have solutions.
Our responsibility is to create the conditions that allow those strengths to flourish.
We should invest in young people not simply because they need assistance, but because our economies need their contribution.
A young entrepreneur who builds a successful company can employ others.
A young scientist who develops a new solution can strengthen national competitiveness.
A young farmer who embraces technology can contribute to food security.
A young creative who builds an international audience can contribute to the creative economy.
A young peacebuilder can help prevent conflict.
And a young leader who serves with integrity can strengthen our institutions.
The choice is ours.
The choice facing Africa and the Arab world is not whether we have enough young people.
We do.
The question is whether we have enough vision, investment and political will to unlock their potential.
If we get it right, our youthful populations will not be a source of anxiety. They will become one of our greatest competitive advantages.
If we fail, unemployment, exclusion and frustration will continue to undermine the enormous potential of our two regions.
I remain optimistic because I have seen what young people can do when given the opportunity.
I believe in Africa.
I believe in the Arab world.
And, above all, I believe in our young people.
So perhaps we should stop asking what is wrong with our youth.
Instead, we should ask what is missing from the systems around them.
Let us build the financing.Let us open the markets.Let us expand access to knowledge and skills.Let us strengthen partnerships. Let us give young people a genuine seat at the decision-making table.And let us build an Africa and Arab world where a young person’s birthplace does not determine the limits of their ambition.
Our youths are not our problem to solve. They are our opportunity to unlock.
The author is the Secretary General, Afro-Arab Youth Council (AAYC)
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