Be Your Own Boss: How technology is helping African youths overcome the challenge of unemployment

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It is evident across the continent that the biggest problem facing African youths today is unemployment. Luckily, technology has acted like a messiah by creating many job opportunities for those who have embraced it. 


The population of youths in the continent is also the highest, which with the challenge, actually reveals that the future of the continent could be at stake. You will also be saddened to realize that this huge population is the most vulnerable, less privileged, and unattended, across all corners of the continent. Only recently that some have found hope and a means of livelihood in the digital space.


An overview of unemployment challenges among African youths today

The population of youths in Africa is too huge to be ignored. Whether positive or negative, its significance is also felt. According to an article by South Africa's CSR NEWS, the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is made up of a 70% youthful generation aged below 30 years. On a world scale, Africa has the youngest population in the world with a median age of 19.7 years. The report leaves us with a conclusion that Africa has a high growth potential depending on the contribution of its youths.


The Africa Union, further explains that the young population in the continent is made up of more than 400 million young people aged between the ages of 15 to 35 years. If African governments and investors tap into this energetic workforce, it can turn into a recipe for a developed Africa as envisioned in Chapter 2 of the African Union Agenda 2063. The development of the continent will be 'people-driven and especially relying on its youthful generation'.


the challenges of unemployment among African youths
Africa has the youngest population in the world.


But how can this be achieved if unemployment is still a big challenge? If the youths are jobless, chances are they cannot pay taxes. If they cannot pay taxes,  it will be hard to develop Africa. And if we don't develop Africa, Agenda 2063 would just be a mere dream. 


Going further, a report in 2015, released by the African Development Bank, confirmed that one-third of Africa’s, then 400 million young people between 15 and 35 years old, were unemployed. Another third was semi-employed, and only 1 in a pool of 6 was in stable employment. This report is explained in detail by Foreign Policy Magazine in their article that is headed, "Africa’s Youth Unemployment Crisis Is a Global Problem". Writer Audrey Donkor, further explains that "the majority of Africa’s youth work informally, and many are underemployed or remain in poverty despite working due to low wages and the lack of a social safety net."


Reports also indicate that there is a mismatch between the skills African students obtain at school and those required by employers. I personally realized this after my graduation. This was when I turned to self-education. Thanks to technology, I began taking online courses to fill the gaps left by my formal education. Asking where to find those online education sites, here are a few;


On the other hand, African governments and their development partners have also taken to address the employment challenge. This has been done by carrying out skills development programs for employment in high-priority sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing and promoting entrepreneurship in these areas. Youth enrolled in such programs have benefited in many ways by learning technical and vocational skills, as well as other life skills to help them find employment, or run their own businesses and create more employment opportunities.

How technology is creating employment opportunities for African youths

In 2019, FEE's published an article, 'Technology Creates More Jobs Than It Destroys', which I highly support and recommend its message as preceded by the heading. In other news, the Kenyan 'hustler government' took a revolutionary path to combat this big menace known as unemployment. The country's 2022 Jamuhuri day on 12th December was themed 'technology and innovation'. It was encouraging to see that the government finally recognized the youths and urged them to embrace a golden field that has been traditionally ignored in the continent.

Dignitaries invited to the national celebrations were technology leaders worldwide from Meta (Facebook and Whatsapp), Safaricom PLC to Google. They shared the opportunities available in the world that is increasingly becoming digitalized. Kenya couldn't afford to have its youths lag behind. Watching the Tech and Innovation Summit on the eve of Jamuhuri day and seeing the president bless the country's content creation field, I felt that it was our time as African youths to raise. 

technology creating employments for African youths
Working as a freelancer.

In as much as tech has washed away some job opportunities, we cannot ignore the host of new opportunities it has created. It is therefore correct to say that technology has acted like a messiah for the few who have embraced it. Today, you will see many people earning up to 6 figures in the digital space. The job opportunities created by technology are not only informal but also formal. They range from computer specialists to social media managers to digital marketers to software/ app developers and content creators.

Available online jobs that any African youth can dive in

As discussed above, there are a variety of jobs in the digital space ranging from formal to informal. Most don't even need work experience or a solid academic background, they only need your enthusiasm. You can always learn a new skill and slowly become a professional at it.

Online jobs include, but are not limited to:

#1. Freelance writing

If you have a passion for writing then you should consider this niche. Remember, you can also start by taking courses on writing and in no time you will be writing like a talented writer. A freelance writer is responsible for creating content for companies or individuals at a stipulated fee. You always charge a client according to your level of professionalism with expert writers charging the most. 

Freelance writers write general articles, research projects, scripts, creative pieces, product reviews, product comparisons, etc. There are various sites where you can start earning as a writer, sites such as Upwork or Freelancer.

train and start earning as an online writer in Kenya
Join a payable writer's training for Kenyans.

#2. Virtual Assistant

As a virtual assistant, you will be self-employed and mainly provide administrative services to other individuals or companies from remote locations. If you are looking to be your own boss and work from home then consider being a Virtual Assistant (VA). 

The advantages that come with being a VA are enormous; mainly that you will get to choose the tasks you want to work on, create your own schedule and choose where to work from. The places to find these kinds of jobs are also very many since the social restrictions that came along with COVID-19. Many organizations later embraced remote working. 

Virtual assistant jobs can be found on local and international platforms. The clients offering VA tasks can be sourced from various sites such as Upwork, Fiverr, LinkedIn, etc.

#3. Freelance web and graphic design

A freelance web designer is a professional who designs websites for companies and individuals independently. The tasks include selecting visual elements, page layouts, creative interactive items, and colour palettes that match the client's brand specifications. 

As a graphics designer, you will be a visual communicator who creates content using specialized graphic design software applications to attain a company's goals. To attain that, you should captivate, inform, inspire, and communicate ideas effectively. You should be able to create designs such as posters, billboards, flyers, banners, etc.

To add on, freelance web designers use their own administrative and marketing skills to win clients. Some of the skills necessary in this field include HTML skills, CSS proficiency, and knowledge of JavaScript which you can learn online by yourself. You will later need some non-technical skills such as communication and collaboration to make you successful in the field.

#4. Social media marketing and influencing

Digitization has forced brands to shift to digital marketing. Today, a large population of the world has a presence on different social media sites. A report by Investing.com
that was released in 2022 indicates that "more than 77% of Internet users, about 3.59 billion people, are active on at least one Meta platform". Businesses that have realized this and used it efficiently, have amused huge profits.

As those businesses get to social media, they always need the services of digital marketers. You can be one of them. As a social media marketer, you will be tasked with creating promotional texts, advertising, and marketing content for a company on the social media platforms in which it has a presence. You will also need numerous aspects such as the content type, demographics, and audience preferences of the organization. 

If you have a huge following on any social media site, you can also dive into the content creation or affiliate marketing field. In the affiliate market case, you monetize your traffic when a firm pays you as a third-party publisher (marketer) to generate sales leads or website traffic to its services or products for a commission. 

#5. Blogging

As a blogger, you can turn your passion as a writer into a money-making venture. You can choose a topic that you are best at, create a blog and start sharing your ideas and content with the world. The blog can be personal or business oriented where the former needs special ways to monetize it. Most bloggers thrive by focusing on a niche area such as pets, food, fashion, cars, technology, or health. However, one can write about as many topics as one desires.

You can create a website for free via different sites such as WordPress, Blogger, Wix, etc. Once you have a website, you can monetize it by Selling ad space, Selling downloadable content, or Creating sponsored content.

Listen to some success stories of Kenyan techpreneurs and digital creators during the 2022 Jamuhuri day celebration eve as KICC. Watch the Youtube video linked below.



The current situation of youth unemployment in Africa can be solved if every stakeholder invests in the necessary steps toward change. Technology has since provided some ways to curb this challenge. It also takes a personal responsibility to embrace the change. Furthermore, it takes persistence, working smart and being patient, to start earning in the digital space. It may not come easily or too soon, but keep investing in your growth. Most importantly, invest in knowledge.

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