Addressing youth unemploymentin Africa through industries without smokestacks

In this research paper by the African Growth Initiative of the Brooking Institute, the core challenge for the youth on the African continent is summarised in the estimation, that based on the ongoing population "20 million new jobs need to be created every year to meet the increasing demand for jobs".

The paper gives special attention to the so-called IWOSS - Industries WithOut SmokeStakes.

IWOSS activities are defined as those that are:

Tradable;

Have high value added per worker—relative to average economywide productivity;

Exhibit the capacity for technological change and productivity growth; and

Show some evidence of scale and/or agglomeration economies.

IWOSS-sectors, covering Agro-processing, Horticulture and export crops, Tourism and ICT are further analysed in country studies. Adressed countries are Ghana, Kenia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.