Each year, African governments and development partners channel millions of dollars into job creation programmes aimed at solving youth unemployment. In Kenya, over 800,000 young people enter the job market annually, yet only a small portion secure formal employment.

The majority are left to navigate a tough informal economy, filled with uncertainty but also remarkable ingenuity. We constantly speak of jobs as the silver bullet, but this focus misses a deeper truth. Africa’s youth don’t need more jobs. What they truly need are ecosystems. 

The conversation around unemployment often overlooks the environment in which young people attempt to thrive. Most of them are not lazy or entitled. On the contrary, they are driven, imaginative, and willing to work. But talent alone is not enough.

What they lack are the support systems that nurture ambition into sustainable impact. A young photographer in Nairobi, a digital artist in Kigali, or a budding fashionpreneur in Lagos may have all the talent in the world, but without access to capital, mentorship, networks, infrastructure, and market visibility, their dreams remain stuck at potential.

We applaud their hustle, but we leave them isolated. 

An ecosystem is not a handout. It is a living, breathing network of institutions, individuals, policies, and platforms that together allow people to build, fail, try again, collaborate, and grow.

Silicon Valley was not built on job creation. It was built on belief, community, risk-taking, and intentional investment. Kenya has seen glimpses of this model in places like iHub and Nailab, but these are small pockets in an ocean of untapped youth energy.

The vision should not be to find jobs for young people. The vision should be to build environments where young people can create opportunities for themselves and for others. 

Digital technology presents the clearest path toward this vision. With just a phone and internet access, young Africans are producing viral content, building brands, launching e-commerce businesses, and engaging global audiences.

The barriers to entry have dropped, but without structure and support, digital success is often accidental and unsustainable.

I have witnessed this firsthand through the Pride of Kenya Awards and in youth-led campaigns I’ve helped shape.

When a content creator is given access to mentorship, branding tools, and the right connections, their reach multiplies. When a student is exposed to performance marketing or storytelling techniques, they start to see themselves not as job seekers but as creators. 

Unfortunately, most young people still operate in silos. Many don’t know how to turn a TikTok page into a business.

Others have ideas for tech startups but lack access to investors who understand their context. We need to build local creator academies, digital storytelling fellowships, and regional innovation hubs that recognise and develop this potential.

And we need to fund these ecosystems with the same urgency that we fund job placement programmes. 

The private sector also has a role to play. Instead of seeing youth as consumers or beneficiaries, companies should see them as co-creators and collaborators.

Rather than running corporate social responsibility projects for visibility, brands should embed youth voices in their research, campaign development, and product innovation processes. Youth are not just a demographic. They are the culture.

And policy-makers must align. Rather than focus solely on formal job creation, let’s offer tax incentives to companies that incubate youth-led businesses.  

The writer is a digital marketer, brand strategist, and founder of the Pride of Kenya Awards, an initiative focused on youth empowerment and innovation