How is youth innovation being harnessed to shape the future of African cities?

By 2020 1.3 billion people are expected to be living in African cities.  That is about 1 billion more than today and is due in the main to the young people arriving in urban areas in order to find work.

As Africa’s urban population increases, cities will have to develop new ways in which to create jobs while at the same time dealing with the environmental, social and political challenges that urbanization brings with it.

The development of Africa’s cities must take into account the demands of the young people that will populate them and therefore it is important that they have a hand in creating them. Many young people will be taking advantage of a Fair Go casino login, which could be a good thing.   The young innovators in Africa are already involved in determining the future of these cities and if they are encouraged in this endeavor, they will likely be able to find some real and lasting solutions to the challenges concerning urbanization in Africa.

Tech hubs are growing

The growth in ecosystems, which are mostly in cities, is proving very beneficial to African countries. There are around 600 tech hubs developing innovative solutions.  Between the years 2015 and 2020 funding to start-ups grew six-fold faster than the global average.  And in 2021 startups raised twice as much funding, $4 billion, as they did in the previous year.

However, there are still many challenges.  The fact that start-ups are increasing is very positive and shows that young people in Africa tend to be creative and innovative.  But it is crucial that they grow and develop to encourage and provide more high-quality employment.

Some research has been carried out by Endeavor which reports that in Nairobi, “only 5 percent of companies are able to sustain growth of 20 percent or more each year, yet they created 72 percent of new jobs in the previous three years” and Nairobi is considered a top tech ecosystem in Africa. In order for Africa to really benefit from the potential of youth innovation, African governments must make cities a priority in terms of policy.

Barriers to growth

Practically, for business growth, there need to be services provided that make cities work for people working there and for companies to be productive, like healthcare, transport, water and sanitation services.   This is already a challenge in African cities, where providing these services is difficult and especially for the poorest population.  With more and more people moving to these urban areas the challenges will likely increase, without any planning in place.

Approximately 70-80 percent of municipal solid waste in Africa is considered recyclable but roughly 4 percent is actually recycled at the present time with the majority of waste finding its way to uncontrolled landfills and dumping areas.   And as urbanization increases the conditions are probably going to get worse.

New technology can aid in the process between innovation, service delivery and growth.  For instance, innovators are looking into a variety of tech-enabled circular economy models to bring the waste management gap.    These may have the ability to step over the traditional waste management set up and more importantly they are making changing an informal sector into a formal one and at the same time creating employment possibilities.

All over Africa there are startups like Kaltani, Mr Green and Freetown Waste Transformers and they are involved in building processing plants that can turn waste into energy or reusable products like used construction materials.  Some like Scapays, Regenize and Soso Care are in the business of assisting private homes and businesses to offload their recycled materials for money or exchange them for services like health insurance.  These startups are helping to empower waste pickers in the informal sector and others that can help to focus on the poorest urban areas where recycling is not generally a priority.

Getting help or the opposite from high up?

It is crucial that the government helps young innovators and entrepreneurs.  Those at the top need to see these young innovators as a blessing and a resource, rather than a threat. Generally, those at the top do recognize the importance of these entrepreneurs as important for the development of Africa, but there are pockets of hostility usually from political ‘elites’ who feel that these technology startups are a threat to the political establishment.

With the increased use of technological solutions comes increased transparency and also more efficiency and the provision of services.  This will provoke a demand for more government transparency and accountability.   

The political elites need to make that shift towards really encouraging entrepreneurial leadership. Until that happens these elites will use their powers to control or co-op these successful technology businesses for their own political purposes. Only by changing their mindset will these young innovators be able to truly flourish.

It is important for governments to actively work with young innovators to clearly understand what they need in order for their creative solutions to flourish.  If this doesn’t happen it is likely that even well-intentioned decisions will not have the desired effect.  Young people need to be included in political leadership where change can take place.

Local city governments are taking the lead

In contrast to national elites, local city governments across Africa are waking up to the importance of empowering young urbanites.

In Johannesburg, Smart City Innovation Challenge invited suggestions from innovators to help the city deal with the challenges the city faced during the pandemic. Also in Lagos, the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council gives grants for research and innovation projects that will be beneficial to the city.

Whilst these are important initiatives, a lot more is necessary to really make an impact.   Supporting innovation ecosystems founded by young people should be part of any city’s long-term development plans.   Governments and young entrepreneurs working together, including the private sector can help to grow strong successful cities that can provide for the needs of all its residents and at the same time create employment for the expected growing urban population.