Dr. Akinwumi Adesina AfDB’s President maintains it is time to Develop Youth-Based Wealth to Bolster a Better Comprehensive Nigerian Economy

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank
Photo Credit: XYZ

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– AfDB’s Group President let out…this at the Presidential Inauguration of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) program in Abuja on past Tuesday. The drive is timely, strategic, and transformative and would create the ecosystems to help more competitive entrepreneurs powered by digital technologies.

“Yes, we gather to inaugurate the initiative, but what we are inaugurating is more than it. We are inaugurating hope for the youth. We are inaugurating platforms that will enhance the ability and capacity of Nigeria’s youth to thrive. We are inaugurating the creation of millions of jobs. We are retooling Nigeria to compete more in an increasingly digital world. We are creating hope for a new Nigeria, driven by the power of the youth,” Dr. Adesina told.

“It is time to create youth-based wealth for Nigeria. Youth-based wealth will rapidly expand the creation of jobs, expand the fiscal space with new sources of taxes, and support a more inclusive Nigerian economy, now and well into the future.’ That is why, shortly after I was elected AfDB President, we inaugurated the Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy. We expect that the program will create 25 million new jobs by 2026, focusing on practical and high-impact solutions,” he said.

Adesina said the prospect is here, and every facet of life is digitally remade. When you think digital, think global. He continued that based on estimations, the digital global health size of Africa would improve from 217 billion dollars in 2022 to more than one trillion dollars by 2031, a remarkable growth.

“The size of Africa’s digital economy will rise from 115 billion dollars today to 712 billion dollars by 2050. And most of this growth is already driven by four countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt,” he said …that various components, encompassing the immediate growth in the youth population, drove the evolution of the digital economy. And these digital directions clasp tremendous commitment to enable develop tremendous jobs. “For example, estimates by Endeavour (2022) show that expanding digital infrastructure by 10% will lead to a 2.5% annual growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa.

Furthermore, expanding access to the internet in Africa from the current 33% to 75% can help create 44 million jobs, including three million jobs in online services by 2025,” he said.

He said Nigeria has already glimpsed the power of digital technologies, tools, and platforms. And that Nigeria now has five out of the 11 digital companies that have attained the level of a unicorn with a market valuation of one billion dollars. He listed the companies to include Jumia, Interswitch, Opay, Flutterwave, and Andela, mainly in fintech. Adesina said Nigeria’s poor and fragmented cargo transport system was gradually transforming, thanks to Kobo 360, a digital logistics platform.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent