She said it was essential for young entrepreneurs to evolve from small innovations to large enterprises that created urgently needed jobs for the rapidly growing population.

"This involves implementing large-scale initiatives that improve productivity, create jobs, and foster sustainable growth across various sectors," she added.

The CEO was speaking at an Intergenerational Dialogue on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol and its implications and opportunities for youth in entrepreneurship.

The event, which was organised by ACET in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, was on the theme, "AfCFTA Unlocked: Opportunities and implications for youth in entrepreneurship."

It saw different generations of youth as well as policymakers and industry players discussing the opportunities and implications for youth in entrepreneurship under the AfCFTA protocols.

The discussion also looked at ways to address challenges faced by African youth in entrepreneurship.
Madam Owusu-Gyamfi noted that many developed countries were keen on engaging with Africa, driven by its large market size and substantial business potential, as seen by the influx of representatives from the Middle East, China, Europe, and North America.

She said while the interest was increasing, it was important that young entrepreneurs took the lead to foster sustainable growth and development within the region.

"The youth should play a central role in developing this market by facilitating intra-continental trade and enhancing economic collaboration among themselves.

"It is vital for them to cater for the needs of our rapidly growing middle class, driving sustainable growth and prosperity across the continent," she added.

The CEO said a research by the Organisation indicated that no country or continent had achieved development solely through aid, and that successful growth relied on the utilisation of domestic resources primarily driven by entrepreneurs.

She said AfCFTA represented the largest free trade area in the world - a collective market of 1.3 billion people and growing, and was currently 3.4 trillion in Gross Domestic Product.
She said, therefore, there was the need to create a process for sharing protocol details and identify their inefficiencies by providing evidence of system shortcomings that could hold policymakers accountable and encourage their support for leveraging the opportunities.

The CEO urged senior policymakers to engage with the youth entrepreneurs to collaboratively explore ways to unlock the potential that the AfCFTA offered.

Madam Eunice Muthengi, Acting Senior Director, Research and Learning, Mastercard Foundation, said AfCFTA was a transformative initiative for Africa, and had the potential to increase inter Africa trade by over 52 per cent and establish a unified market for goods and services.

She said the Foundation in 2018 launched the Young Africa Work Strategy to enable 30 million young people to secure dignified and fulfilling work across Africa by the year 2030, of which 70 per cent should be young women.

"Our focus is primarily on empowering young people, particularly young women, to access employment opportunities. We place a strong emphasis on fostering entrepreneurship as a key component of this mission.

"Since 2017, we have collaborated with ACET to produce high-quality, youth-centred research on youth employment and skills. Our current partnership aims to facilitate evidence-informed policymaking by fostering dialogues such as this," she said.