The fifth edition of the Yale Model African Union (YMAU) concluded successfully in Accra, bringing together over 300 delegates, policymakers, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs from across Africa and the diaspora for three days of dialogue, innovation, and collaboration.

Held from March 13–15, 2026, under the theme: ‘Imagine, Challenge & Build the Africa We Want,’ the milestone conference marked five years of fostering youth leadership and policy engagement across the continent.

The conference featured programmes including African Union committee simulations, leadership workshops, the Mandate-to-Market Innovation Pitch Contest, and a University and Career Fair. A key highlight was the panel session “Designing the Future: Creativity at the Intersection of Policy and Enterprise,” which explored how innovation, policy design, and private sector leadership can work together to drive sustainable development and economic transformation.

Among the distinguished speakers was Dennis Sampong, Country Director of Fludor Ghana, a subsidiary of TGI Group.

MrSampong in his remarks underscored the need to integrate the youth into the cocoa value chain and strong private sector participation in shaping policy outcomes.

He emphasised the demographic imperative driving Africa’s development agenda.

“The future of Africa is the youth. If you look at Ghana, more than 60 per cent of the populations are under the age of 35. Anything we’re doing now is going to be the youth’s future,” he stated, adding that, “Nobody can do better for Africa except ourselves.”

He also highlighted the challenges facing Ghana’s cocoa sector, noting that the average farmer was between 55 and 60 years old, and stressed the need to attract young people into agriculture through modern technologies.

“If our farmers used to use cutlasses and holes to do cocoa, what other technologies can we bring in? As part of our training programmes, we encourage young people to go into cocoa and use modern ways of going about their farming activities,” he indicated.

Sampong was joined on the panel by Audrey S-Darko (CEO, Sabon Sake), Jide Pratt (Country Pilot Manager, TradeGrid), and moderator Ericka K. Tenta (Co-Head of Panel Strategy, Yale Africa Startup Review).

The panel emphasised the importance of collaboration between policymakers, entrepreneurs, and private sector organisations in translating policy ideas into practical and scalable development solutions.

The Yale Model African Union also featured keynote addresses from Tara Squire, Executive Director for Consumer Banking at Ecobank Ghana, Ambassador KabralBlay-Amihere, and Vice President of the Council on Foreign Affairs-Ghana.

Other speakers included George OpareAddo, Ghana’s Minister of Youth Development and Engagement; Ambassador Rosemary Mbabzi of Rwanda; and Dr Festus Kofi Aubyn of WANEP.

Fludor Ghana’s participation was part of TGI Group’s broader presence at the conference as a sponsor and career fair exhibitor, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to supporting youth empowerment initiatives across Africa.