Opinion
Africa: Large youth demographic is a dividend, not a time bomb – If we get the basics right
This type of responsible investing approach is governed by the “double bottom line” and prioritizes positive, inclusive social impacts and human capital development as key pillars, alongside financial performance to develop both talent and opportunities.
Investing in areas such as skills building and education offers an additional route to develop a productive labor force, armed with the right tools to give Africa a foothold within a globally competitive market.
Some global industry leaders are already visibly paving the way for others to follow. For example, the rise of the tech sector led the Rockefeller Foundation to launch its Digital Jobs Africa initiative to catalyze new, sustainable employment opportunities and skills training for African youth. In addition, the Mastercard Foundation’s Youth Learning Program through its notable education partnerships connects disadvantaged youths in sub-Saharan Africa to economic and employment opportunities. These are just two examples of private sector efforts preparing young people in sub-Saharan Africa to engage in the economy and lead change in their communities.
Similarly, in an effort to help shape the next generation of great business leaders, the Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation has granted full scholarships that have allowed more than 120 talented Egyptian men and women to pursue postgraduate education at top global institutions since 2007. The only condition on the scholarship is that each recipient returns to Egypt to work in their chosen field for at least 2 years following the completion of their studies in order to actively contribute to the country’s development.
Through our African transportation unit, Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire of the Kenya – Uganda railway, a major facilitator of intra-regional trade, Qalaa Holdings supports a management and skills training program. To date the program has helped to positively impact over 6,000 community members in Kenya with plans to roll out a similar program in Uganda.
The RVR management trainee program was launched recognizing that most local universities do not train effectively for the railway industry. Against this backdrop, RVR takes on board fresh engineering, business, finance, IT and other necessary fields on a 12-month training program with the promise of employment. The youth who joined the program from across East Africa 2 years ago are now some of the youngest skilled railway operators in sub-Saharan Africa.
The program offers an ideal example of how the private sector can train effectively for the job market.
Ghada Hammouda is chief marketing officer at Qalaa Holdings (formerly Citadel Capital), an African leader in infrastructure and industry whose business units operate in the energy, cement, transportation and logistics and mining sectors
