The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $100 million to establish the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, aimed at empowering young entrepreneurs and promoting inclusive growth.
AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while delivering the 14th Convocation Lecture of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), themed “Advancing Africa’s Positioning within Global Development and Geographical Dynamics.”
Adesina said the initiative would provide Nigerian youths with financial and technical support, including business development services, equity and debt financing.
“The key to addressing unemployment is entrepreneurship,” he said. “Africa currently leads the world in entrepreneurial activity, with 22 per cent of its working-age population starting a business, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.”
He cited agriculture, retail, services, and technology as key sectors driving innovation and job creation, boosted by the expanding digital economy, which is projected to contribute $712 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2050.
Adesina noted that Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt have become centres of tech innovation, led by youth-driven startups in health tech, agri-tech, and e-commerce.
He also announced a $614 million fund under the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme to support SMEs in Nigeria’s creative and digital sectors. The initiative is expected to inject $6.4 billion into the economy and create over six million jobs.
Despite these strides, Adesina lamented the education gap in Africa, particularly when compared to countries like Japan. While nearly all Japanese youth complete secondary school, only 43 per cent of African youth do. Similarly, just 10 per cent of African youth pursue higher education, compared to 60 per cent in Japan.
“This educational gap is limiting Africa’s preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution, especially in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and cloud computing,” he said.
He revealed plans by the AfDB and the African Union to launch a $300 million African Education, Science and Technology Innovation Fund to bridge these disparities.
Earlier, Prof. Attahiru Jega, former INEC Chairman and Chairman of the event, described Adesina as a distinguished ambassador of Africa. He praised AfDB’s role in unlocking Africa’s development potential and promoting sustainable growth.
Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Olufemi Peters, said Adesina was selected as convocation lecturer to inspire Nigerians with his extensive development experience. He announced the conferment of an honorary doctorate degree on him in recognition of his achievements.
