By Ajong Mbapndah L *
Africa has no shortage of ideas, technology or entrepreneurial ambition. What it does not have are enough productive jobs for its young and rapidly growing population. That is the challenge Daniel Yu wants to confront.
By 2040, around 600 million of the world’s extreme poor are expected to live in Africa. Yet the continent creates only about three million formal jobs a year. The gap between the number of people entering the workforce and the stable opportunities available to them continues to widen.
Behind the familiar optimism about Africa’s youthful population, digital transformation and entrepreneurial energy is a more difficult reality. Hundreds of millions of people still depend on subsistence agriculture or informal work that pays only a few dollars a day. For Yu, the founder of Wasoko, one of Africa’s leading B2B e-commerce platforms, this is the economic challenge that matters most.
“Africa’s biggest economic problem isn’t lack of potential. It’s lack of productive jobs,” Yu says.
His answer is the Africa Jobs Fund, a new philanthropic investment fund seeking to mobilise $100 million over five years to support companies capable of creating high-productivity jobs at scale. The ambition is striking: more than $50 billion in income gains for African workers and more than double the lifetime incomes of at least 250,000 low-income people.
The fund is concentrating on two areas: export manufacturing and international labour mobility. The choice is grounded in economic history. Industrialisation helped countries as different as China, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Poland and Mauritius move large numbers of workers from low-productivity activity into better-paying jobs. Export manufacturing built skills, created supply chains, brought in foreign currency and connected local economies to global markets.
Africa has struggled to follow that path on a comparable scale, but Yu believes conditions are changing. Labour costs have risen sharply in parts of Asia. Global buyers are looking beyond traditional sourcing centres. African producers have preferential access to major markets, while improvements in infrastructure and growing populations are making larger-scale production more viable in parts of the continent.
The opportunity, however, comes with familiar obstacles. Companies entering new export markets must train workers, build supply chains, meet international standards and find buyers. The first businesses into a sector often carry costs that later investors do not. The Africa Jobs Fund wants to help such pioneer firms cross that difficult early stage and prove that commercially viable businesses can be built.
The fund’s second pillar, international labour mobility, rests on another stark economic reality. More than 15 million people migrate to high-income countries each year, and demand for foreign workers is expected to grow as ageing populations create shortages in healthcare, logistics, skilled trades and other sectors. The difference in earnings can be enormous. An informal worker earning around $2,000 a year in Africa could earn $40,000 or more in a high-income country.
For many low-income Africans, however, the best opportunities remain difficult to reach. Recruitment can be opaque. Workers may face predatory upfront fees, poor training, misleading promises and inadequate protection. Employers abroad, meanwhile, often struggle to find reliable channels for recruiting properly trained workers.
Yu sees an opening to build formal, transparent and ethical labour corridors that serve both sides: African workers seeking better incomes and employers facing genuine labour shortages.
His thinking has been shaped by years of building businesses across African markets. As founder of Wasoko, Yu built one of the continent’s largest B2B e-commerce platforms, raising $145 million and serving more than 150,000 informal retailers. The company worked with major suppliers and brands while operating closely with small shops across African cities and towns.
That experience changed how he viewed the continent’s development challenge. Technology could improve efficiency and access, but it could not by itself answer the question of how hundreds of millions of people would earn better incomes.
For Yu, the central issue became jobs.Not just employment of any kind, but productive work that raises incomes and gives families greater choices in healthcare, education, food security and housing. In his view, Africa’s development debate has often placed too much faith in technology as an outcome rather than asking whether economies are creating enough productive opportunities for ordinary people.
The Africa Jobs Fund is housed at Renaissance Philanthropy, the nonprofit founded by former White House science advisers Tom Kalil and Kumar Garg. In its first two years, the organisation says it catalysed more than $533 million in philanthropic funding for science, technology and innovation and launched 22 programmes and funds across areas including artificial intelligence, climate, health, education and scientific infrastructure.
Yu is joined by Ben Hyman as Operating Partner. Hyman founded Talent Safari, an African recruitment firm. Senior advisers include Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, co-founder of Andela and Flutterwave, and Samantha Power, former Administrator of USAID and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
Their involvement gives the fund access to experience across business building, technology, development policy and international networks. But the test will be whether the thesis translates into jobs and higher incomes.
Yu believes the moment is unusually important. Africa has the world’s youngest population at a time when many richer countries are ageing. Global supply chains are shifting. Buyers are diversifying their sourcing. Labour costs have risen in established Asian manufacturing centres. Worker shortages are deepening in high-income economies.
None of that guarantees success for Africa. Countries will still need reliable infrastructure, focused policies, competitive industries, credible businesses and stronger cooperation between governments and the private sector. Labour mobility will also require safeguards strong enough to protect workers from exploitation.
But Yu’s case is clear: Africa cannot build broad prosperity without creating productive jobs on a much larger scale.
In this exclusive interview with Pan African Visions Managing Editor Ajong Mbapndah L, Yu discusses the thinking behind the Africa Jobs Fund, lessons from building Wasoko, Africa’s manufacturing challenge, the case for international labour mobility, the role of governments and investors, and why creating productive jobs at scale could prove more consequential to the continent’s future than the latest wave of technology.
Africa faces a growing jobs crisis despite its youthful population and vast potential. What inspired you to launch the Africa Jobs Fund now, and why do you see job creation as the continent’s defining challenge?
For me, the idea is to address the biggest gap in improving quality of life and outcomes for the hundreds of millions of people who need it most. That means looking at the biggest constraint facing African economies right now, and that constraint is jobs.
Whether you care about healthcare, education or food security, many of these issues are ultimately connected to the fact that there are not enough job opportunities and income-producing options for people across Africa.
Through my experience building one of the largest tech companies on the continent, I realized that what we really need to do is figure out how to create more productive job opportunities at scale. That is what will lift the tide and increase the resources available to those who need them most.
You built Wasoko into one of Africa’s leading B2B e-commerce platforms, working with businesses across the continent. How did that journey shape your understanding of Africa’s economic realities and the urgent need for high-productivity jobs?
Wasoko scaled to become one of the biggest e-commerce and technology companies on the African continent. Through that process, I came to understand many different parts of the economic system.
We worked with some of the largest companies, suppliers and brands in these markets, but also with very small local shops—hundreds of thousands of them across cities and towns. Through that experience, I came to understand the major obstacles and constraints.
I realized that the issue is not really a lack of technology or access to tools. It is about directing economies toward industries that create the most productive jobs. I think many development efforts have lost sight of that.
That insight led me to the Africa Jobs Fund thesis: creating high-productivity jobs by integrating African economies into global markets, because history shows that this is how countries reduce poverty and expand opportunity at scale.
The Africa Jobs Fund places major emphasis on export manufacturing and international labour mobility. Why do you believe these two areas could transform Africa’s economic future?
We focus on export manufacturing and international labour mobility because of the evidence and data showing how transformative job creation can be in these two areas.
If you look at Asian economies—whether South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam or Bangladesh—they created hundreds of millions of jobs through industrialisation by focusing on export manufacturing.
International labour mobility has also enabled millions of individuals to secure better livelihoods for themselves and their families.
With global demographic trends, especially in high-income countries where workforces are shrinking, there is a tremendous opportunity to formalize and build ethical pathways that connect African workers with opportunities abroad, allowing them to earn much higher incomes and improve outcomes for themselves and their families.
That is why these two areas are the focus for us as a fund. There is evidence and proof of their potential.
Industrialisation transformed economies such as China, Vietnam and Mauritius, yet Africa still struggles to emerge as a major manufacturing hub. What has held the continent back, and what must change?
There are many challenges. Historically, the continent faced infrastructure and population-density constraints that made it difficult to develop manufacturing centres on the scale of major Asian economies.
But there are changing factors that now work much more in Africa’s favour. If you look at infrastructure improvements and population growth, we now have economies of scale that should make it viable to unlock many of these opportunities.
Another major factor is that Asian economies have become much richer, and labour costs have risen dramatically. Many industries that relied on entry-level workers at relatively modest wages are now much more expensive.
There is an increasing opportunity for African countries to provide competitive entry-level employment. With the right focus and strategic vision, Africa can encourage businesses to expand manufacturing into new markets.
Many African economies still export raw materials while importing finished goods. How important are value addition and manufacturing to the continent’s long-term prosperity?
Value addition is essential because it helps countries capture more value from their resources while building industrial skills and capabilities.
However, Africa should focus on producing and exporting goods where it is globally competitive, while importing products that others can produce more efficiently. That is how specialization drives long-term prosperity.
Investors often cite infrastructure deficits, policy inconsistency and market uncertainty as barriers to African manufacturing. What practical steps can governments and the private sector take to unlock large-scale industrial growth?
The key is focused execution. Countries should identify sectors where they have a competitive advantage, remove barriers through strong public-private collaboration, and support first-mover companies that can attract further investment and demonstrate long-term success.
Developed economies face worker shortages in healthcare, logistics and skilled industries. How can Africa position its youthful workforce to seize these opportunities while protecting workers abroad?
The essential thing is to formalize the processes and pathways so that all parties benefit, especially workers.
Labour mobility is a tremendously powerful tool, just like finance, when it is properly regulated and transparent. When conditions are clear and widely understood, workers have clear career paths and informed choices, and everyone wins.
Problems arise when recruitment is misleading, conditions are unclear or practices become unethical. The opportunity, therefore, is to formalize these pathways, bring them out of the shadows, ensure full transparency, and make sure workers understand precisely what they are signing up for while receiving proper safeguards throughout the process.
The Africa Jobs Fund seeks to mobilize $100 million in philanthropic capital and generate more than $50 billion in income gains for African workers. Why do you believe such transformative impact is achievable?
What gives me optimism is that we have already seen examples of organizations successfully demonstrating the impact that improved jobs, labour mobility and productive employment can have on people’s wages and livelihoods.
The initiative has attracted respected global voices and advisers, including Samantha Power and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji. How important are strategic partnerships and global alliances to the fund’s ambitions?
Strategic partnerships are essential because creating jobs at scale requires collaboration between governments, investors, businesses and development partners. Bringing together experienced global and African leaders helps unlock the capital, expertise and networks needed to accelerate economic transformation.
Many young Africans feel increasingly disconnected from opportunity despite constant narratives about “Africa Rising.” What is your message to the continent’s youth amid both enormous promise and deep economic frustration?
My message is one of optimism grounded in action. Africa has tremendous potential, but realizing it requires creating productive jobs at scale. Young people should continue building their skills and preparing themselves because opportunities will come as Africa becomes more integrated into the global economy.
Beyond technology and e-commerce, what sectors do you believe will define Africa’s next wave of growth, job creation and global competitiveness?
I believe export manufacturing and international labour mobility will be among the biggest drivers of growth, alongside sectors that add value to Africa’s natural resources. These industries have the greatest potential to create millions of productive jobs and raise incomes across the continent.
Looking ahead five to ten years, what would success for the Africa Jobs Fund look like for you personally, and what kind of Africa do you hope it will help build?
Success would mean millions more Africans accessing productive, well-paying jobs and significantly improving their quality of life. Ultimately, I hope the Africa Jobs Fund helps build a more prosperous, globally competitive Africa where economic opportunity is available to everyone, regardless of where they are born.
