Opinion Creating colleges for a continent
Africa,too,has a demographic dividend it could reap. Heres how India can help
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Much has been said and written about the Indian demographic dividend the young population that is actively fuelling the economic and consumer markets of India. Africa,however,is ahead of any other region of the developing world in youthfulness. In fact,Africa is one of the youngest markets in the world; with 41 per cent of its population under the age of 15. The number for India is 33 per cent. By 2050,the Democratic Republic of Congo,Egypt and Uganda will join Nigeria and Ethiopia on the list of the 15 most populous countries in the world led by India and China. Africas wave of youth has been called a tsunami and its baby boom hasnt even levelled out yet.
African youth are among the most optimistic people in the world. Although,as expected,they do have interests that diverge from their parents,a study by The Coca-Cola Company found that 19-year-olds across Africa were more conservative in their religious beliefs than their peers in other parts of the world. Parents played a far more important role in their lives than ever before. They drew their role models from intellectual,artistic and political leaders. In South Africa,young people pointed to Nelson Mandela,in Kenya,to poets and artists,in Morocco,to the king.
The relevant question is,will the youth bring a demographic dividend to Africa? Like India,they certainly will drive the consumer markets. These young people are not only a large market but also early adopters of new products. That is a good news for baby and pediatric products,uniform,toy and game manufacturers,food,health,pharmaceutical and personal care products,communication and electronic products and services,entertainment,fashion,sports and music industries,and several other sectors including transportation and education. Clearly the companies that have understood and catered to the Indian youth market will find huge extensions of these served markets in Africa.
The realisation of the demographic dividend,however,will depend upon whether the youth can participate in economic growth. The challenge for the businesses looking at the African youth markets,therefore,is to hire,educate and train the locals. This is not only good for profit margins,it is the most sustainable business model for the long run.
During travels to several countries for my book Africa Rising,I was amazed to find that there were fewer than 80 business schools in the entire continent of Africa of one billion people (We have more than 80 business schools in Texas,with a population of about 25 million people). In fact,according to one business school dean in South Africa,he was not sure about the quality of education in many of these schools. I heard similar stories from many experts on education and training schools in general. This is not to say that there are not some quality K-12 schools and universities in the region. In 2004,DAL Group founded the Khartoum International Community School (KICS) for high school students to develop future leaders for Sudan and Africa. Former McKinsey consultant Fred Swaniker (from Ghana) recognised the same need when he set up the African Leadership Academy in South Africa in 2008,where he brings in the most promising 15-18 year old students from all over Africa for leadership grooming. A former Microsoft engineer,Patrick Awuah founded the Ashesi University College in his native Ghana in 2002 to offer them world-class undergraduate liberal arts education. Professor Mahmoud Triki of Tunisia founded the Mediterranean School of Business and launched the first private,English-language executive MBA in the country. Al Akhawayn University was the first American-style university in Morocco when it opened in 1995. American University in Cairo and several universities in South Africa offer very high quality education.
The need for training and education in Africa has been recognised by institutions and organisations in India and China too. NIIT from India offers computer education in several African countries. China Europe International Business School (CEIBS),a globally-ranked business school by Financial Times,started offering MBA education in Ghana in 2009.
Given the diversity and size of the African youth market,there are huge opportunities for training and education at any level. Kidzee in India has demonstrated that a scalable organisation can be developed to offer pre-school education. Can this be done in Africa? The GEMS Education in Dubai is the largest K-12 private school operator in the world. The Varkey GEMS Foundation can certainly bring its expertise to offer high quality international education in Africa. India and the entire world have benefited from the establishment of IITs and IIMs. Can such pan-African institutions be developed in Africa? This will be a win-win situation both for the African youth and for business.
The May 23 issue of Fortune magazine carries an interesting story on the Rice University Business Plan Competition. For the 2011 competition,510 teams from the various universities submitted their plans. The best 42 teams were asked to present their plans to individuals like Compaq founder Rod Canion. Winners are awarded cash,equity investments,and professional services. Can one imagine such a pan-African competition where successful African entrepreneurs like Mo Ibrahim and Indian entrepreneurs like Sunil Mittal are the judges,and the teams focus on business and social ventures for the African consumers? That certainly will be a great demographic dividend for Africa.
The writer holds the John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in Business at the University of Texas at Austin,and is the author of Africa Rising
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