Africa Youth Opportunity Report 2025: Young People's Economic Prospects

Africa adds 12 million young people to its workforce annually. Formal employment absorbs approximately 3 million — a 4:1 shortfall that is the continent's most consequential economic challenge and simultaneously its most significant investment opportunity.

The Interventions That Are Working

Coding bootcamps with employer partnerships consistently outperform both pure skills training and university computer science for technology employment pathways. Apprenticeships embedding young people in workplaces from early training produce stronger outcomes than classroom-based technical training. Youth entrepreneurship programmes with ongoing mentorship and market access support — not just initial grants — produce meaningfully higher business survival rates. These findings are robust and consistent; the challenge is scaling effective models rather than the numerous ineffective ones.