Leaders in the East African Community (EAC) have a responsibility to create and offer a conducive environment for youth to tap opportunities that come with the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The Minister of Youth and Culture, Rosemary Mbabazi, made the call on Tuesday, November 9, during the ongoing YouLead summit 2021 in Arusha, Tanzania.

She was delivering a keynote address on behalf of President Paul Kagame whom she represented at the high-level meeting.

The summit is the region’s largest youth gathering in the bloc.

This year's edition is set to highligh the importance of collaborative efforts to boost investment and trade for Africa’s burgeoning youth population.

"It is very critical to highlight that, Africa being a youthful continent, young people are instrumental when it comes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals for each and every country,” Mbabazi said, in the presence of policymakers, development partners, private sector as well as academia.

They represent precious assets that no country can afford to ignore because they bring energy, talent and creativity to the world that enables countries to innovate, grow and prosper, she added.

The Minister’s remarks were aligned with the theme of the day "Role of Youth in driving African Economic Integration Agenda under AfCFTA”.

Almost 60 percent of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, and 19 of the world’s 20 youngest countries are in Africa.

But, she decried, "Despite making up a significant percentage of the continent’s population, young people’s participation in cross-border trade and trade governance is still very limited in Africa.”

Link to sustainable development

Africa’s youthful population can be harnessed to achieve Africa’s sustainable development.

For instance, she said, the International Trade Centre (ITC) report of 2015, ‘youth are 1.6 times more likely to start a business than those above 35 years old.’

However, young entrepreneurs in Africa continue to face a wide range of bottlenecks that constrain their capacity to participate and benefit in international trade, Mbabazi added.

"As we continue to nurture the young people, we must acknowledge that they need key technical skills to become more competitive in the process of realizing the African Continental Free Trade Area and also, they encounter various challenges related to financing and ease of movement."

She recommended that African governments, development partners must continue to mentor the youth, create a conducive environment, policies and programs that enable them to position them to drive AfCFTA and African development in general.

Pandemic in context

In the current tragic situation of Covid-19 pandemic that has affected almost all sectors of the African continent and the the entire World, many youth economic and social businesses have also been slowed down, she pointed out.

This, Mbabazi said, means youth must be challenged with innovative solutions that are resilient and able to cope with COVID19 short- and long-term impact.

She also described the AfCFTA as one of the greatest achievements of 21st century Africa during the hybrid summit that convened over 10000 participants from across Africa.

"Intra Africa trade is one excellent way to bring our continent closer and to significantly create more wealth within and more opportunities for our youth,”

She added, "However, we must also realize that this agreement will only be fully leveraged when African young entrepreneurs take its full advantage.”

The trade bloc opens a new, bigger window for the creative, innovative and hardworking Africa entrepreneurs to grow and scale.

But entrepreneurs will need various skills including adaptability, scalability, and responsiveness to tap into its potential.

The Minister called on the young folks to leverage on such a huge opportunity through existing structures such as Private Sector Federations.

She stressed that youth need to be at the forefront and seize opportunities provided by the elimination and reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers amongst African Countries that agreed to be members of the bloc, as part of the efforts to deepen the economic integration and prosperity as a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive.

"Time is now for the youth to start seeing green pastures in Africa and leverage innovation and creativity to build the Africa we want.”

Mbabazi, who represented President Paul Kagame, pledged Rwanda’s continued support to young entrepreneurs in the region and across the borders.