Hot SourcePresident John Dramani Mahama has urged African leaders to align economic policies with the realities of a knowledge-driven global economy, stressing that the continent’s youth are less inclined towards traditional sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Speaking at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IX), President Mahama said young people are increasingly drawn to emerging fields such as creative industries, renewable energy, and agri-tech.
“It’s now a knowledge economy. The youth are interested in certain sectors that are not the traditional sectors. And so in the creatives, in the renewable energy space, even if they go for it, they’re looking at agri-tech and other knowledge-driven aspects of those traditional sectors.
“And so, it’s important to find where their interests are and invest in those sectors so that you can attract the youth to go into those sectors. Now, if you look at Africa, in 2024, there was about 4.2 billion in the startups. And a lot of that went into the biggest majority was about 45%, which went into fintechs,” Mahama stated.
He referenced Africa’s growing startup ecosystem, pointing out that in 2024, the continent attracted about $4.2 billion in startup investment, with 45% flowing into the fintech sector. “The fintech space is growing at an astronomical rate in Africa. And it’s mainly driven by smart, tech-savvy youth who have seen openings and are taking advantage of it.
“In all our countries, a change in the economic structure is happening,” he added.
Mahama also highlighted Ghana’s own economic shifts, noting that in 2015, the services sector overtook agriculture and industry to become the largest contributor to GDP — a change he said reflects the broader transformation taking place across the continent.
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