Prime Minister Dr Ngirente Edouard noted that within 35 years, Africa’s population will have doubled, thus investments should be made in the youth to ensure that they are competitive on the labour market.  

He made the remarks on Friday at a high-level gala dinner that he hosted in honour of the 2019 YouthConnekt participants in Kigali Convention Center.

YouthConnekt is a platform designed to connect the youth for socio-economic transformation to provide a holistic solution to alleviate the challenges faced by African youth by widening the pool of economic, social and civic leadership opportunities through National YouthConnekt initiatives. 

Dr Ngirente pointed out that youth unemployment is a growing concern on the continent and globally and that African continent should be equipped with needed skills to address that issue. 

The Premier called upon stakeholders to play a role in addressing youth employment insisting that it is time to align vision with resources and execution. 

“The youth of Africa have over the past few days demonstrated their capacities to bring forward solutions that address some of our most outstanding challenges. They have also made their voices heard in their call for action to the African leaders.” Said Prime Minister Ngirente 

He added that African leaders should ensure that this generation is enabled to drive Africa’s economic transformation, to change the narrative of our continent, to develop value chains, ecosystems and live dignified lives. 

Prime Minister stated that the recently ratified Continental Free Trade Area is one step further on the African countries journey of continental transformation towards achieving a common vision. 

Acknowledging partners like UNDP, KOICA and other Youth Connekt Rwanda partners, Prime Minister reminded that earlier this year, the African Union recognized YouthConnekt as a continental initiative that can fast track the progress of Agenda 2063 and the African Youth Charter. 

Under the theme of “Boosting an Industrious Young Africa,” this three-day event attracted over 26 Ministers of Youth in Africa, business leaders and over 4,500 youth from 54 countries across Africa.

For pictures of this event, click here