Mr Ben Asamoaning Akumba, Country Director of Amicus Onlus, an Italian Non Governmental Organisation in entrepreneurial development, has observed that Africa was focusing too much on the continent's natural resources at the expense of human resources development.
He said the youth were not only the hope for the future but also part of the dynamism that would transform the fortunes of the continent if they were given all the needed opportunities to develop.
Mr Akumba, a youth activist, was speaking at a five-day youth conference in Accra organised for youth from all parts of Africa, Asia and
the United States at the 2nd Africa Sister Cities International Conference in Accra recently.
He said the youth of Africa must rise up to the challenge of rising youth unemployment across the continent by appreciating the need to be job
creators instead of job seekers.
He called on them to think about ways that could affect and promote change in their various countries and communities as their contribution to the development of the continent.
"Challenge the status quo, you must question existing conventions, methods and procedures because that is the only way to bring about change" he said and added that they could only achieve this when they were innovative in their approach to whatever they did.
Mr Akumba said the youth must stop looking up to governments for jobs because various economies across the world could no longer continue to be
the biggest employers.
He noted that the picture was not a gloomy one but presented a challenge to the youth to look for opportunities around them that would be
of benefit to themselves and their communities.
He called on governments to rapidly create the enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship to thrive by creating access to start-up capital, information and training.
Mr Akumba stressed that youth entrepreneurship held the answer to a
vibrant private sector expected to propel the economic development of the African continent.