UNGA81: Youth Boom is Not Automatic Growth, Experts Say At Africa Breakfast Convos

On September 25, 2026, at the World Trade Center in New York City, global business leaders convened for the fourth Africa Breakfast Conversations (ABC), a series held during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). The discussions centered on Africa's potential during the upcoming decade, focusing on a critical panel addressed by Yasamin Alttahir, Director of Global Marketing, Communications, and External Affairs at The King’s Trust International.

Alttahir cautioned the delegates against assuming that a growing youth population guarantees economic prosperity, emphasizing that demographic expansion alone does not equate to growth. "One thing that can be a little bit of fantasy when we talk about young people in Africa is that demography alone is not growth; having a whole lot of young people is not going to result in growth," she stated.

Alttahir’s warning was backed by worrying economic data. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the population is predominantly under 25, over 60% of the population falls within this age group. However, the labor market struggles to keep up with this influx of young workers. Every year, approximately 10 to 12 million young Africans enter the workforce, but fewer than 3 million formal wage-paying jobs are created annually.

This disparity results in tens of millions of young people being underemployed or operating in the informal sector, supporting Alttahir’s argument that sheer numbers do not translate into automatic economic value without targeted economic avenues.

The panel, moderated by Claudine Moore, the Managing Director for Africa at Allison Worldwide, included a diverse group of panelists. The Director of Citi’s Public Sector Group for Africa, Hackim Abdul, and Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, Chairman of Blackcod Group and Group Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, joined Alttahir. Their conversation culminated in a call for a fundamental shift from short-term youth empowerment programs to capacity-building partnerships that are sustainable over the long term, independent of external funding.

As Africa grapples with the implications of transatlantic trade and evolving global market dynamics, the consensus from ABC 2026 was clear: transforming Africa’s demographic scale into an economic powerhouse will hinge on unified policy efforts, institutional stability, and an aggressive expansion of real economic opportunities across all borders.