Africa’s Path to 2063: Leaders Urge Policy Shift to Harness Capital Potential

At the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, top African policymakers, economists, and development practitioners reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the African Union’s transformative Agenda 2063. Under the overarching theme “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development,” the gathering emphasized that Africa holds the resources—both natural and human—to emerge as a global powerhouse, provided it implements the right policy reforms.

A centerpiece of the discussions was the knowledge event titled “Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063: An Opportunity to Develop and Finance Africa's Capital.” At this event, government officials and experts urged for the recalibration of Africa’s economic strategies to fully leverage the continent's wealth, demographic potential, and digital assets.

Reaffirming Agenda 2063: Africa’s Blueprint for Transformation

First adopted by the African Union in 2015, Agenda 2063 outlines Africa’s long-term vision for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The first ten-year implementation plan yielded progress in areas like infrastructure, governance, regional integration, and gender equality. However, persistent issues—including widespread youth unemployment, education gaps, and inadequate industrialization—have slowed deeper structural transformation.

Ivorian Minister of Vocational Training and Apprenticeships, Koffi N'Guessan, acknowledged the achievements of the past decade but stressed the need for more comprehensive efforts under the second implementation plan, adopted in February 2024.

“This second phase is a pivotal opportunity to address Africa’s key development bottlenecks—especially job creation, skills mismatch, and poverty reduction,” he said.

N’Guessan highlighted that Africa is uniquely positioned to benefit from its youth bulge. With over 60% of its population under the age of 25, the continent could surpass other global powers in human capital strength. However, he cautioned that this potential could become a burden if African countries fail to invest in robust educational and vocational training systems.

Currently, 22.5% of young Africans aged 15 to 24 are neither in employment, education, nor training. The scale of the issue is vast: 250 million children and young people in low-income countries are not in school. N'Guessan emphasized the need for education systems that align with labor market realities, warning that unskilled youth could become a liability without targeted reforms.

Rethinking GDP: The Role of Natural Capital

A strong call was made to revise how national wealth is measured across Africa. Hervé Lohouès, Division Manager in the Country Economics Department at the African Development Bank, argued that excluding natural capital from GDP calculations severely underestimates African nations’ true economic value.

“The GDP of a country like the Central African Republic would rise by 300% if its forests, water bodies, and mineral wealth were fully accounted for,” he noted.

Lohouès advocated for integrating natural capital into national accounting systems and for making development planning a legal requirement across all African states. He also called on governments to provide incentives that encourage the transformation of raw resources into value-added goods while ensuring strong accountability frameworks.

He stressed that transitioning from natural wealth to social infrastructure—schools, hospitals, roads—requires a holistic development model that includes environmental sustainability, policy transparency, and institutional effectiveness.

Leveraging Africa’s Full Capital Portfolio: Human, Natural, Financial, Digital

Pan-African voices echoed the sentiment that achieving Agenda 2063 hinges on deploying all facets of Africa’s capital—human, financial, natural, and digital.

Jide Okeke, Regional Program Coordinator for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), emphasized the urgent need to empower young people with the right tools, technologies, and opportunities.

“We must invest in skills for the digital economy, build resilient health systems, and close gender gaps to create a foundation for inclusive growth,” he said.

Dagmawit Moges Bekele, Director of the Peace Fund at the African Union Commission and former Eritrean Minister of Transport, highlighted the untapped potential of digital infrastructure to connect African markets and expand financial inclusion. She stressed that mobilizing domestic and international capital for digital infrastructure—particularly in underserved regions—could exponentially accelerate economic transformation.

The Way Forward: Institutional Reforms and Integrated Planning

As Africa embarks on the second ten-year phase of Agenda 2063, experts at the Abidjan meetings underscored that success depends on visionary political leadership, better coordination across sectors, and deeper investment in institutions.

Key policy recommendations from the conference include:

• Implementing compulsory national development plans that align with Agenda 2063.

• Incorporating natural capital into GDP metrics to better reflect true national wealth.

• Reforming education systems to focus on job-readiness, vocational training, and digital literacy.

• Attracting private and diaspora investment through financial incentives and political stability.

• Expanding public-private partnerships for infrastructure, health, and clean energy projects.

With growing global interest in Africa and rising intra-African cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), leaders agreed that the continent has a historic opportunity to transform itself into a resilient, prosperous, and inclusive society by 2063.