Energize Africa aims to achieve the following:

• Mobilise Africa’s dynamic technical and professional youth with a passion for Pan-Africanism to support the delivery of AUDA-NEPAD flagship and priority projects for achieving Agenda 2063;

• Create a pool of highly qualified and competent youth committed to contributing to the operations and activities of Africa’s public and private sectors to ensure better capacity enhancements for African countries;

• Contribute to AUDA-NEPAD’s programmes and project implementation by ensuring adequate geographical and gender representation of well-capacitated young professionals in African Union institutions, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and across sectors in countries; and

• Enhance the role of the youth as the principal architect for sustainable human development and security in Africa as envisioned by the African Youth Charter

The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD in partnership with Afreximbank, co-launched the AUDA-NEPAD Energize Africa initiative on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 19 September 2022. 

The Energize Africa initiative recognises that Africa’s youth and women – making up more than half of the continent’s populations - must be at the core of Africa’s economic growth and inclusive development strategies. The initiative is about harnessing the youths’ creativity and innovativeness into the continent’s economic growth and development drive, whilst expanding income opportunities for the youth – through creation of jobs, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Energize Africa’s focus is on young professionals to enhance public sector efficiency; Innovation hubs to stimulate solution-focused research and development, and; Entrepreneurship opportunities for Africa’s youthful populations for improved socio-economic well-being.

Recognising that the continent with the highest percentage of entrepreneurs among working-age adults is Africa, AUDA-NEPAD has designed the Energize Africa initiative as a continental platform of youth professionals, institutions and facilities to strengthen innovative solutions, skills development, employment and entrepreneurship.

Energize Africa is an acknowledgement that youth are partners for the sustainable development, peace and prosperity of Africa, with a unique contribution to make to the continent’s present and future development.

Background and Context

The population in Africa is rapidly expanding and stands currently at over 1.4 billion making up an estimated 16.72% of the total world’s population. Over 41% of Africa’s population is under the age of 15 (UN, 2020). According to the United Nations, the continent is expected to double its population by 2050 to nearly 2.4 billion and needs to create at least twelve million new jobs annually to provide for the growing number of youths entering the job market. Therefore, it is an imperative and an urgent matter for Africa to identify and take bold actions to expand systemic  capacities to absorb the millions of youths entering the job markets. AUDA-NEPAD recognises that Africa’s youth and women – making up more than half of the continent’s populations - must be at the core of Africa’s economic growth and inclusive development strategies. This is the  fundamental factor that informed AUDA-NEPAD’s elaboration of the Strategic Framework for the Youth Programme in 2014. Placing Africa’s youth at the forefront has also informed many of the African Union (AU) Assembly decisions, also aimed at achieving the continent’s demographic  dividend.

The AUDA-NEPAD Energize Africa Initiative

ENERGIZE AFRICA is an AUDA-NEPAD initiative aimed at rallying private and public sector in a coherent and focused attention onto dedicated resource allocation, policy alignment as well as institutional and human capital capabilities specifically for our youth, translating into action the African Union Youth Charter proclamation “that the youth are partners, assets and a prerequisite for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity of Africa with a unique contribution to make to the continent’s present and future development”. This AUDA-NEPAD led initiative aims at catalysing and harnessing the available youths’ creativity and innovativeness into the continent’s economic growth and  development drive, whilst expanding income opportunities for the youth – through creation of jobs, innovation and entrepreneurship. It is 
also designed to fast-track capacity mobilisation and policy alignment for programme delivery and transformation – focusing on national and sub-national levels as well as in key economic sectors including technology, mining, tourism, e-commerce and finance services, agro- and food-industries, automotive industries, etc.

Energize Africa is underpinned by the spirit of Pan-Africanism, which within the socioeconomic diverse realities of Africa, recognises the shared values and goals in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063 ambitions and programmes. The Programme is set to directly respond to Member states’ needs and priorities, with implementation and tangible results/impacts in mind. The Programme is defined around three core components, namely:

Component One: Regenerating the Public Sector:

1. Strengthening supportive/enabling and context specific policy and legislative environment by deploying youth to provide capacity in sectoral departments at country and regional levels 

2. Strengthening public service delivery by deploying increased youth technological and emerging management and business skills and competencies

Component Two: Regenerating the Private Sector

1. Facilitating the setting up of purpose-driven Innovation Hubs in member states as well as context-specific support to strengthening existing ones

2. Creation of start-ups and building capacity of Start-up/Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) to innovate, deploy,  expand and grow through the acquired skills and experience.

3. Establishing networks of innovation hubs for knowledge and experience sharing, building social capital as well as exposing and broker partnerships and alliances

Component Three: Blended Public Private Partnership Programmes

1. Enhance capacity of MSMEs to enable them to grow as viable and competitive businesses including venturing into impact investments through venture capital and bring business solutions to the continent’s economic drive

2. Provide Institutional support to strategic priorities areas for research, innovation and technological development and commercialisation, through direct support to Standard Bureaus and Intellectual Property Rights Bureaus

Implementation Partnerships and Collaboration

The AUDA-NEPAD ENERGIZE AFRICA is a multi-partner, multiyear framework expected to galvanise integrated alignment,  coherence and inter-dependences across vertical (i.e. sub-national, national, regional and continental as well as connecting to global interests) and horizontal interests and capabilities (i.e. priority sectors and thematic areas). Several partners are already collaborating and supporting this
result-oriented strategic Initiative and the Launch event is also meant to attract many more collaborating and supporting partners and  stakeholders.

Coverage and Target Countries

All youth (15-35 years, as per the AU Youth Charter) within AU member states will be eligible, and attention will be given to the specific needs of each country and region– in the context of regional economic integration.

The high-level launch of Energize Africa

The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD in partnership with Afreximbank, co-launched the AUDA-NEPAD Energize Africa initiative on the margins of the 77^th United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 19 September 2022.

A dynamic team of panellists spoke to the initiative aimed at rallying coherent and focused attention onto dedicated resource allocation, policy alignment as well as institutional and human capital capabilities translating into action the African Union Youth Charter proclamation “that the youth are partners, assets and a prerequisite for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity of Africa with a unique contribution to make to the continent’s present and future development”.

The high-level physical launch was attended by more than 130 participants. Diginitaries and eminent speakers included: H.E. Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission;  Prof Benedict Okey Oramah, President and Chairman of Board of Directors, Afreximbank; H.E Hailemariam Desalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Ambassador Dr John N. Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State; Dr James Mwangi, CEO Equity Bank; H.E Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat; Dr Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); and Mr Sebastian Ashong-Katai, Ecobank.  Attendees also included Government Ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, development partner organisations, representatives from various UN agencies, academia and the AU Youth Envoy, Ms Chido Cleo Mpemba. Messages of support for Energize Africa were also received from Mr Jean Van Wetter, Director General of the Belgian Development Agency and Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Photos

View the complete Album on Flickr > CLICK HERE  

  

Videos

 

Introduction to Energize Africa		Message of support from Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
Message from Mr Jean Van Wetter, Director General of the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel)		Energize Africa Pre Launch Sept 19

Contact Us

Email | EnergizeAfrica@nepad.org