Agriculture, finance, oil and gas, and telecommunications are widely seen as the driving forces behind Africa’s economic growth in the immediate term. The continent’s population statistics present an intriguing and enlightening portrait.
When it comes to unleashing Africa’s full economic potential, who makes up around 60 per cent of its population it is in the hands of the continent’s young people.
Whether Africa’s youth population growth will be a blessing or a curse to the economy relies on the retaining power of young entrepreneurs and sustainable business practices for this demography. Governments in Africa need to collaborate with businesses to guarantee that their enterprises have the potential to develop the region’s productivity and competitiveness; not just to stay up but to lead industry-wide changes in their respective sectors.
Where do you think African businesses will be in 2100?
High-performing; low-performing; stagnant; flourishing; increasing urbanisation, increasing GDP, increased working population, declining wage growth, increased consumer demands? No, what’s your thought?
Hundreds of millions of additional jobs could be created in Africa by 2100 across a wide range of industries. Many organizations are eager to expand their operations in Africa to take advantage of this booming market because of the high growth rate.
When African businesses do not have a structure/model, sound business practices, or business continuity plans, their efforts are mostly in vain.
When it comes to business, global trends like technology convergence and supply chain innovation are transforming the environment. However, African companies that are fighting to stay relevant and competitive have had to deal with considerable hurdles as a result of these changes. Many business leaders are being forced to rethink their business models or even leave the market altogether due to these difficulties.
To ensure Africa’s long-term prosperity, we need to encourage a new generation of talented and socially-conscious young people to join the workforce, and this can only be done through businesses that use sustainable business practices.
There are several companies that are contributing to this “geographic web” by adopting strong business policies and practices. However, how widespread are these techniques in the sector or how specific are they to solidifying the sustenance of small local businesses?
How we can support a business case for sustainable business in Africa.
- Using Local Business Networks in Africa to agree on sector-specific standards and practical instructions can help improve business survival rates and long-term viability.
- General measures for business continuity (education and workable frameworks for easy implementation are urgently needed here), including regular open communication in the workforce, measuring and tracking business impacts and risk management.
- All levels of the workforce should be supported. Investments in training and capacity building are needed for all players in the ecosystem.
- Making use of digital tools that are accessible to everybody and ensuring that people are properly trained to use them.
- Aiming to inspire and motivate other budding African businesses by sharing success stories of accomplishing good business practices in the simplest way to be understood. As Chimamanda would say “Sometimes it is the simplest of language that captures the most complex of things”.
As young African entrepreneurs strive to maintain the finest business standards, the government has an important role to play in Africa’s economic development. As Citizens demand accountability and policy changes, Africa’s overall governance will hopefully improve the ease of doing business and negatively impact Africa’s Aspiring Young population trooping out of the continent, in Nathan Evans’ baritone voice, “♪We’ll ♩take ♩our ♩leave ♩and ♪go!”
