DIDI ONWU | Africa's youth take bull by the horns and start businesses

There are countless reasons why young African people are opting for entrepreneurship as a career. One of these is the fact that there are simply not enough jobs. In fact, the African economy is not creating jobs equal to the supply of the available labour force.

According to the World Economic Forum, 77% of Africa’s population is below the age of 35. The African Development Bank (AfDB) predicts there will be 850-million young people on the continent by the year 2063 and they’ll constitute over half of the working age population by then.

Over 7-million young people wanting to enter the job market each year have no choice but to either suffer unemployment, work in the informal sector, be underemployed, or start a business and create employment. 

Across the continent, many young people are building their own businesses. They’re solving problems in their communities through the creation of employment and economic opportunities for themselves and their peers. 

Many of these young entrepreneurs have strong stories to tell, some of which have been documented by Africa’s premier entrepreneurship initiative the Anzisha Prize, as can be seen from the examples that follow.

Breaking down stereotypes and barriers

After graduating, and finding no prospects amid deep poverty, Masello Mokhoro, 23, from the Free State, decided to become a job creator. She faced hardships in accessing land for her business, but she persevered because she has a deep passion for the natural environment, community, and socioeconomic change. 

It was the combination of this passion and the hardships that confronted her, particularly in the agricultural sector, which informed her decision to establish Starlicious Enterprises, a broilers and piglets agribusiness that serves her immediate community and surrounding areas. 

Masello employs permanent and seasonal employees. She also mentors young university students in agriculture about the business side of the industry.

Food security through technology

Nigeria has in the past two decades faced high food insecurity. Eneyi Oshi is a 22-year-old technology entrepreneur whose innovative web and mobile platform Farmisphere distributes farm produce from her other business, Maatalous Nasah. It goes to urban dwellers across the country. The business also sells farming equipment to small-scale farmers who operate from their backyards. Eneyi’s goal is to end food insecurity on the continent through these innovations and to end high joblessness among the youth in the process.

Making a living off the land

It is estimated that 2.1-million people (14% of the analysed population) in Kenya are experiencing elevated levels of acute food insecurity. Twenty-two-year-old Martin Ondiwa started Greenfarms which farms and sells fresh produce to consumers and vendors across Kenya. It was Ondiwa’s mother who noticed his love for being productive with the land and she gave him a few hectares to get him started on his farming career. The business continues to grow and employs young people on the farm and in the office.

Confronting severe economic hardships

With a passion for technology and artificial intelligence, Zimbabwe’s Munyaradzi Makosa tasked himself with the responsibility of solving Africa’s problems, doing so under some of the harshest trading environments in the world. The 21-year-old entrepreneur and tech enthusiast taught himself how to programme computers and to market his business and skills in this digital era. 

Munya and his three co-founders established Farmhut, an AI-enabled marketplace connecting Zimbabwean farmers to markets in and outside the country. Farmhut earns revenue through a subscription service to  farmers and vendors selling fruits and vegetables, and a chat bot advertising space for agricultural service providers. The business aims to expand across the SADC region in the next three years.

Helping young people access higher education

Tsantatiana Rakotoarimanga from Madagascar is a 23-year-old technology entrepreneur whose company, Dream Study Agency, through its online application Mapwess, helps students in Madagascar apply to universities abroad. The venture has assisted students from Madagascar, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Togo. To date, Dream Study Agency has been able to place 80% of its students in recognised worldwide institutions through its platform. It has signed nine agreements with nine universities in Mauritius and Rwanda. The company employs students as agents, allowing them to earn income through commission.

These efforts benefit the lives of young people and their communities, and contribute to economic growth. That's why the Anzisha Prize, created through the partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Africa Leadership Academy, identified these young entrepreneurs for their catalytic potential to ending the continent’s chronic joblessness and meeting the anticipated jobs demands highlighted in the AfDB report.

• Onwu is managing editor at the Anzisha Prize