The African Economic Research Consortium’s (AERC) 60th Biannual Research Workshop commenced yesterday at the Radisson Blu Upper Hill, Nairobi, attracting a diverse group of participants from Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. The opening session, chaired by Dr. Patrick Njoroge, the immediate former Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, emphasised the importance of harnessing the potential of youth and technology to generate employment and drive sustainable economic development across Africa.
The plenary session, themed “Youth, Demographic Dividend, Migration, and Economic Opportunities in African Economies,” was rooted in AERC research projects. It provided an invaluable platform for researchers to engage with policymakers and private sector leaders from various African nations.
Representing Hon. Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning in Kenya, Dr. Rose Ngugi, Executive Director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), highlighted Kenya’s governmental efforts to address youth unemployment. She noted both the opportunities and challenges of the demographic dividend, stating, “We need timely and actionable policies to reduce the huge unemployment gap across the continent. There is no better development plan than investing in our youth who are our future. Their continuous increase in numbers is a double-edged sword. It can be beneficial for inclusive growth and sustainability or a ticking time bomb on a quest for highly productive livelihoods if not appropriately harnessed by African governments. African governments can proactively harness demographic dividend benefits when young people have adequate employable skills and access to decent employment.”
Professor Victor Murinde, the Executive Director of the AERC, in his opening remarks, underscored AERC’s commitment to evidence-based research aimed at shaping policies that improve economic opportunities for the youth and leverage the benefits of the demographic dividend and migration. “Africa is grappling with the complex issues of creating jobs, migration, and demographic dynamics. The labour market aspect of this year’s plenary underscores the importance of job creation and poverty reduction in Africa,” he said, adding that AERC has a long tradition of researching these interrelated issues to generate new ideas and transformational policies.
Professor Aly Ahmadou Mbaye, Vice Chancellor of the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, stressed the importance of enhancing productivity in the informal sector to capture the demographic dividend. “Productivity affects international competitiveness and we need to close the mismatch in the informal sectors to balance unemployment and also be able to compete on global levels. The demand for employment is still very high in Africa, and this general trend is compounded by the fact that the proportion of the young population is high, leading to people turning to the informal sector for jobs,” he noted.
Professor Mbaye further emphasised that the informal sector’s role in providing jobs for the youth is crucial but underutilised. He called for evidence-based policymaking to convince governments to focus more on this area.
Economic opportunities for African youth, women, and the wider population can expand by leveraging technology, implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and improving educational quality for inclusive growth. Engaging youth in productive sectors through the development of employable skills was highlighted as a key strategy for boosting economic development.
The plenary session also featured presentations by eminent economists: Prof. Imran Rasul from University College London on “Tackling Youth Unemployment in Africa,” Prof. Lant Pritchett from the University of Oxford on “Investing in Human Capital/Education for a Demographic Dividend,” and Blaise Gnimassoun from Université de Lorraine and Université Paris Nanterre on “Migration Policies in Africa’s RECs.”
A high-level policy panel discussion, moderated by Ms. Maggie Mutesi of Africatalyst, set the stage for frontier research by leading academics on the opportunities, risks, and challenges that affect youth, and how African economies can harness the demographic dividend and migration for sustainable development.
Today, the workshop continues with concurrent sessions featuring 63 presentations of research proposals, work in progress, final reports, and interim PhD thesis reports. These sessions cover a wide range of topics within AERC’s thematic research programme, including poverty, income distribution, labour markets, macroeconomic policies, finance, resource mobilization, trade, economic integration, agriculture, climate change, and natural resource management.
Notable suggestions emerging from the ongoing discussions include prioritising human capital development to enhance youth skills for employability and entrepreneurship, widespread TVET provision, and aligning educational curricula with STEM-related courses to spur innovation and create jobs in the digital space, manufacturing, and the AI-driven future.
As the workshop progresses, it is clear that the AERC continues to be at the forefront of generating research that shapes policy and fosters sustainable economic development in Africa.
