The African Union (AU) perceives entrepreneurship as a sustainable solution to the employment crisis in Africa. It serves as a key driver for the envisaged structural economic transformation outlined in Agenda 2063, with the potential to create millions of jobs. With estimations from the World Bank suggesting that approximately 11 million young people are expected to enter the job market annually over the next decade, urgent attention must be directed towards enhancing Africa's capacity to train and integrate this burgeoning workforce, which remains predominantly confined to the informal sector.

While it is evident that the public sector alone cannot accommodate the entirety of this demand, Sahelian youth need an innovative and dynamic private sector, one that they themselves construct, and that can serve as the impetus for the much-needed economic transformation in the region, adding value to its abundant natural resources. Consequently, youth entrepreneurship assumes a central role in this endeavor, shaped by technology, innovation, and digitalization. These prospects harbor the potential to expedite and invigorate economic growth, not only within traditional sectors but also in modern ones. Thus, public policies must undertake adequate measures to facilitate this transformation.

Data released by the United Nations (UN) reveals that the average age of the population in 2020 stood at 19.7 years, significantly lower than the global average of 30.9 years. Furthermore, over half of the global population growth projected by 2050 will take place on the African continent.

Cameroon, Fostering Agricultural Entrepreneurship 

Consistently identified as one of Africa's “most entrepreneurial” nations, Cameroon possesses immense potential in terms of integrating its young people to combat unemployment. Over the decades, the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises has successfully contributed to poverty reduction. However, various obstacles persist, including high taxation, bureaucratic complexities, limited access to financing, and corruption, impeding further progress. The Cameroon National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (SND 30) for structural transformation and inclusive development sets among its major objectives the promotion of employment and economic inclusion of its population, relying for this purpose on the development of microenterprises, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and youth entrepreneurship. 

A Policy Championed by International Organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) seeks to bolster the capacity of young entrepreneurs and provide them with the necessary support to launch their ventures. This approach has found success in the far north of Cameroon, specifically within the agricultural sector, which serves as a significant catalyst for economic growth and accounted for 60% of employment in 2020. Chetima Guidadi, a 27-year-old visionary leading a small agricultural collective in the locality of Gancé (Mayo-Sava Division), has benefited from training, seeds, and equipment, allowing him to revitalize his agricultural activities that were disrupted in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency. Following in Chetima's footsteps, 1,500 young people in the region now have a stable livelihood.