Encouraging youth economic participation through Shared Growth
Africa’s greatest resource and potentially its sharpest competitive advantage in the global economy is its young
and growing workforce. Half of Africa’s population is under 25 years of age. By 2040, Africa is expected to have
the largest workforce in the world, 40% of which will consist of young people.
But the economic growth the continent has enjoyed in recent years has not created enough opportunities for its
young people to use their talents to earn sustainable livelihoods. Unless young people are given the chance to
access the right education and training, or employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, Africa’s
development potential will not be realised in full; and its young people may become a source of social and
political instability.
Africa has 600 million young people, of which 72% are unemployed or vulnerably employed. Another 11 million
youth are expected to enter the African labour market every year for the next decade, according to the
Mastercard Foundation.
Representatives at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa have been set the challenge of finding ways of
achieving inclusive growth, particularly for young people. There will, for example, be a panel discussion,
“Leading for the Future”, that will focus on “How can the world’s youngest continent exploit this endowment to
build a new generation of leaders capable of driving success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?”
At Barclays Africa, we believe some of the answers lie in our philosophy of Shared Growth, a recognition that we
must use our expertise and resources to find sustainable, commercially viable solutions to the challenges of
inequality, poverty and unemployment. Shared Growth initiatives focus on education, enterprise development
and financial inclusion.
We have chosen these three pillars because they are critical to human development. Young people need skills
that enable them to secure their future; entrepreneurs need access to opportunity, skills training and capital in
order to grow their businesses, create employment and grow the economy; and people need access to reliable
and affordable financial services and products. These are areas where we can help improve lives and fulfil our
principle of stewardship – leaving the communities where we operate better than when we found them.
We have set ourselves a specific objective of preparing young people across the continent with the requisite
skills to be competitive in the workplace. Our ReadytoWork programme provides them with free education and
training programmes, online and in workshops, with accredited institutions.
So far, the programme has been rolled out to nine countries and helped equip 205 366 young people with
people, money management and entrepreneurial skills.
ReadytoWork seeks to address the challenges under discussion at the WEF meeting on Africa which include
reinventing job-ready training, advancing digital fluency and other key skills, and reforming education and
training systems. In addition to ReadytoWork, Barclays Africa is investing
R1.4bn in education over the next 3 years. Between 2016 and 2018 we will have provided over half a billion rand
in university scholarships across all our markets, providing opportunities to thousands of deserving students.
While many of the key pieces are in place, government, business leaders and educators need to work together
to set out a shared vision and the necessary policies and programmes to prepare African youth for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution and ensure their competitive advantages become sustainable livelihoods. In its draft June
2016 strategy document, the African Capacity Building Foundation cites a study on the capacities needed to
implement the African Union’s Agenda 2063 development plan, which says that Africa has a projected gap of as
many as 4.3 million engineers and 1.6 million agricultural scientists and researchers. In most African countries,
the gap between the actual number of professionals in critical technical areas and the minimum required
number is as high as 70%.
Until there is a better match between the needs of the economy and young people’s skills, they will continue to
struggle to find jobs. Enterprise Development is critical to employment creation and economic growth. It is
therefore imperative to build a culture of entrepreneurship and to support the development of small businesses
and their integration into the African market. Almost half the labour force in Africa is employed by small
businesses. These businesses are especially important in low-income communities, where they provide informal
work to those who lack the qualifications or experience to secure formal employment.
Small businesses also help diversify economies away from reliance on a single commodity, making them more
resilient in the face of economic headwinds, and help broaden the national tax base.
Our Shared Growth enterprise development programmes not only offer entrepreneurs business support and
training, but also access to markets, without which they cannot succeed.
As a financial institution we are in a unique position to connect small businesses with large corporates. We have
created a portal that links 59 000 small and medium enterprises to 7 000 corporate buyers where last year over
R30 billion worth of tenders was advertised. Last year we agreed to R1.38 billion worth of mandates for SMEs
who are doing business with corporate partners and provided training to thousands of SMEs.
The last pillar of Shared Growth is providing access to financial services, an important means of facilitating
economic activity. Technology has reduced the cost of providing banking services. New digital platforms are
being designed for those who – until now – have not had access to formal financial services. Already we have a
network of 10 013 ATM’s across the continent and are constantly expanding our network of branches and
service points.
In its 2017 Inclusive Growth and Development Report, the WEF observes: “A coordinated global initiative is
required to transform inclusive growth from aspiration into action – into a new global growth agenda that places
people and living standards at the center of national economic policy and international economic integration.”
At Barclays Africa, we believe our Shared Growth philosophy goes a long way to achieving this. We look forward
to continue collaborating with governments, our corporate partners, communities and other stakeholders to
create more opportunities for inclusion and to grow the African economy.
Sazini Mojapelo is Head of Citizenship at Barclays Africa