According to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, a rise in GDP must convert into job creation for youths in order to ensure continent-wide growth.
He gave a lecture on the African Economic Outlook on the margins of the current 2024 Annual Meetings. The AfDB president, speaking at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, condemned the pursuit of GDP growth, stating that the quality and impact of growth on job creation are crucial. Advertisements Adesina stated: “We must ensure that our progress benefits the youth and women.
We don’t need GDP. “It doesn’t matter what the GDP is. “We have to make sure that it is creating quality jobs for our people.” Adesina recognised youth unemployment as a critical concern, stating that Africa could not afford to have 477 million young people under 35 without jobs.
He stated, “I’ve said it: migration to Europe is not Europe’s responsibility. “This is our problem. “We cannot have 477 million young people under the age of 35 and provide nothing for them. “We must invest in our young people, in their skills, talents, entrepreneurship, and give them tools.”
The AfDB boss expressed interest for programmes like as Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks and Special Agricultural Processing Zones, which aim to structurally restructure agriculture.
Adesina also underlined the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area to enhance industrial manufacturing and trade within Africa, reducing reliance on exports from outside the continent. He stated that “trade among ourselves in a free trade zone must be backed by industrial manufacturing to avoid being competitively poor.”
We require centralised infrastructure for export-oriented industrial manufacturing in order to grow our manufacturing share of GDP.
Concerning financial methods, Adesina advocated for enhanced domestic resource mobilisation, a stronger private sector, and a shift from commercial creditors to concessional financing.
He called for additional blended funds to drive the continent’s growth and thanked states for their strong support for the AfDB’s capital expansion.
According to him, this is critical to retaining the bank’s triple-A rating and getting long-term, low-interest financing for Africa. Adesina emphasised governance, openness, and accountability as critical to Africa’s success.
He stated that Africa has $6.8 billion in national capital assets in 2018, which, if handled honestly and properly, could considerably speed the continent’s transformation.
Africa’s future seems promising, but we must address governance challenges and ensure that our resources are fully exploited for the benefit of our people,” Adesina stated.