At the Global Africa Forum 2025 held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, one message rang loud and clear: Africa’s young people must no longer be seen as bystanders in shaping the continent’s future.
They must be welcomed to the table — not as tokens, but as active contributors whose innovation, energy, and ideas are indispensable to Africa’s prosperity.
The Forum, held under the theme “Africa’s Response to Tariff Wars: Building a Prosperous, Integrated Continent Beyond Aid,” underscored that the real shield against global protectionism and aid dependency lies in Africa’s human capital — particularly its youth, who make up 60 per cent of the population.
The upcoming Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026 (APD 2026), to be hosted in Accra, sharpens this focus with its theme: “Empowering SMEs, Women & Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate. Collaborate. Trade.” It places young people squarely at the centre of Africa’s single market agenda, affirming that their creativity, tech-savviness, and entrepreneurial drive are the fuel for building regional value chains and competitive industries.
“Africa’s youth do not need permission to dream. They need platforms to participate, mentors to guide them, and opportunities to scale their ideas. The Africa Prosperity Dialogues will be that platform,” Nana Adjoa Hackman – Executive Director, Africa Prosperity Network, declared.
From fintech startups reimagining payments to agro-innovators tackling food security, Africa’s youth are already reshaping industries. What they require is deliberate inclusion — a seat at the negotiation tables, space in investment pipelines, and guidance from leaders who recognise their potential.
The youngest participant at the Forum, nineteen-year-old NYU student Jeffery Nyarko, said, “There’s a plethora of things we need to do, but I think it starts with young people being given the space and encouragement to share ideas, network and contribute meaningfully to building the Africa we want.”
The message from New York to Accra is clear: the single market Africa we are building will thrive only if young Africans see themselves in its design and its dividends. APD 2026 promises to transform that vision into practice — ensuring that when Africa trades, innovates, and prospers, its youth are not left outside the room, but are co-authors of the continent’s success story.
Africa Prosperity Dialogues will take place from 4–6 February 2026 at the Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana, under the theme: “Empowering SMEs, Women & Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate. Collaborate. Trade.
