A ccelerating F reedom and R ealistic I CT-led C hange in A frica ‘Gbenga Sesan African Youth ICT4D Network URL: | PURL: Fifth African Development Forum (ADF V). UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. November Making ICTs Work for Africa's Economic Emancipation through Youth Entrepreneurship

Africa Must Fly, Not Run »“If a man is running, he is either chasing something or being chased” (Nigerian Proverb) »While Africa is chasing better livelihoods, unemployment (a major setback) is after us »As much as 89% of the world’s youth were living in developing economies in 2005 »In Africa, youth are nearly 3 times more likely to be unemployed than adults »23% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s youth were unemployed in 2005, and growing at 18.1%

What Must Africa Do? »We must maximize the opportunities that come with the 21 st Century – ICTs! »African stakeholders (government, private sector, academia, international organisations and youth) must join hands to move ahead »There is a strong need for a dynamic shift in our educational paradigm – we need to move from push to pull, using ICTs »We must exploit the dynamic relationship between ICTs and Youth Entrepreneurship

What Youth are Doing! »Across Africa, there are numerous youth-led ICT entrepreneurship efforts that must be identified and supported in order to replicate the success »AYIN: Various country level sub-networks have best practice examples of youth in action »Ikeja Computer Village and Umbrella Managers are examples of youth-led action. Cowblock.net is taking ICT solutions to the next level »Young people are seeking alternative learning opportunities to be able to compete favourably

Stakeholders’ Action… »Our governments must recognize the danger ahead and move from promises to delivery of an entrepreneurship-friendly environment »Job-seeker vs Entrepreneur: The academia should enjoy the support of governments, private sector and international organisations »We need a Youth Entrepreneurship and ICTs Fund for Africa (YEIFA) »AYIN is a ready platform for action, and should receive additional support for institutionalization

Merci Beaucoup ‘Gbenga Sesan African Youth ICT4D Network URL: | PURL: Fifth African Development Forum (ADF V). UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. November Full paper available at