Africa must drive skills development for its youth to participate in the digital economy

Digitisation in Africa has accelerated exponentially. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Africa was in the midst of far-reaching digital transformation . However, the worldwide market for digital exportable services is a $3 trillion market, yet Africa’s share is less than one percent. One of the reasons why Africa’s share of this market is so small is a lack of digitally advanced skilled persons in the continent.

With more than 12 million African youths joining the workforce each year, Africa is home to the youngest working population globally and could supply the next generation of this workforce. In fact, over 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030, resulting in almost 650 million training opportunities, according to the IFC Digital Skills in sub-Saharan Africa study.

Adding to this, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the already overwhelming demand for digital professionals, from cloud computing to security and data protection specialists. Though there is vast potential for broadscale innovation and development, much needs to be done to empower all citizens to take advantage of the opportunities of a digital economy.

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Partnerships will yield results for our youth

Capturing this potential requires an investment in narrowing the digital skills gap. This will not only require significant investment, but also a reimagining of partnerships between stakeholders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Not only does the skilling challenge impact individuals—it has a systemic effect on the ability of African companies, industries, and communities to find talent and thrive in a more digital economy. As it stands, employers across the region identify an inadequately skilled workforce as a restriction on business growth. Even prior to the pandemic almost 90 percent of African CEOs were concerned about the availability of key skills, according to PwC .

Changing both the way people are educated and trained, and the way companies hire and support employees throughout their careers is critical to addressing this challenge. A report by ODI found that digital-enabled interventions and programmes aimed to equip youth with 21st-century skills should consider designs grounded in creative and participatory approaches and be tailored to young people’s local contexts.

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We are making progress

There are many innovative and inspiring projects across Africa engaged in skills development initiatives. Microsoft continues to partner with nonprofits in the region to drive sustainable and scalable growth by building the capacity and capability of governments to address the skills gap.

Launched in 2018 in partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB), the Coding for Employment programme aims to upskill 50 million youth and create 25 million jobs by 2025, in hopes of preparing African youth for tomorrow’s jobs while unleashing the next generation of African digital innovators. The Coding for Employment programme is at the centre of the African Development Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative, and recently hit a 130,000-enrollment milestone among young people across Africa on its eLearning and Digital Nigeria platforms.

In Nigeria, through the Coding for Employment initiative and our partnership with Tech4dev and the Ministry of Youth, we are providing access to digital skills for every young person in Nigeria for employability, entrepreneurship, independence, inclusion, and meaningful job opportunities.

Mindful of the gender gap in STEM, the Women Techsters Initiative is aimed at training five million women across Africa by 2030 in coding and deep tech skills. The objective is to grow and support a community of tech empowered girls and women across Africa who will have equal access to decent job opportunities as well as build and scale their ideas into tech-enabled businesses to aid Africa’s economic growth.

If we can continue to build on initiatives and programmes such as these, I am optimistic that, together with our partners, we can make a tangible impact in promoting digital literacy and digital skills development to support Africa’s role in the digital economy.?