Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world, creating both a major opportunity and a serious challenge for governments.The article argues that youth employment programmes across nine African countries cannot solve unemployment simply by offering training or encouraging entrepreneurship.

Drawing on research published in the book *Youth Employment Programmes in Africa*, which covers Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda, the author says successful programmes must be connected to actual labour market demand, backed by adequate public funding and managed by capable public institutions.The study finds that spending on labour market and youth employment programmes in these countries is far below the average seen in OECD countries.It also shows that incentives for private employers to recruit young people are very limited.

More than 500 interviews and 1,500 focus group participants revealed that many programmes are too small, poorly funded, weakly coordinated and often fail to reach the young people who need them most, especially those in rural communities, those with lower education levels and those affected by digital exclusion.The research highlights major differences across countries.

South Africa faces extremely high youth unemployment, while many other countries struggle more with widespread informal employment, where young people work in insecure and low-paying jobs.

High rates of young people who are not in employment, education or training, particularly in Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, further underline the scale of the problem.

The author concludes that governments should improve funding, strengthen implementation, increase transparency, involve young people in programme design, and introduce stronger incentives for employers to create decent jobs.

According to the evidence, lasting progress will come only when youth employment policies are built around real employment opportunities rather than training alone.