Open for business: African youth as job creators

African youth, like many around the world, are hungry to solve their own problems.

Not content to wait for institutions to take action, young people in Africa are taking charge of their futures today. They are creating jobs for themselves and their communities. They are expanding the services nongovernmental organizations offer from job skills development to psychosocial care. And they are raising their voices to influence policy changes in their countries.

This week, I had the honor of chairing a session on economic development with some of the Washington Fellows, a diverse group of 500 Africans who are in the United States as part of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Within this amazing cohort, more than 150 already own a business and, as a group, they employ over 2,000 individuals.