Introduction: A Decade of Youth Skills and a New Digital Frontier
As the world marks the 10th anniversary of World Youth Skills Day, the focus sharpens on a critical mission: equipping young people with the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills essential for success in a rapidly transforming global economy.
The 2025 theme, “Youth Empowerment through AI and Digital Skills,” captures both the promise of innovation and the stark reality of a persistent digital divide, one that risks leaving millions of African youth on the sidelines of the digital revolution.
At IIDiA, we are proving that inclusive AI development is possible when global innovation meets local realities. In Benin, the groundbreaking voice AI project in the Fon language, a first for West Africa, demonstrates how linguistic inclusion can unlock digital participation for millions. IIDiA exemplifies the pan-African collaboration needed to bridge the divide by co-creating solutions with communities rather than imposing foreign models.
The Digital Divide: From Access to Meaningful Participation
The digital divide is no longer just about owning a device or having internet access. It now embodies a complex web of challenges, including affordability, digital literacy, and the availability of relevant content and services.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, roughly 2.6 billion people worldwide remain offline, with marginalized youth in rural and low-income areas disproportionately affected. Even those connected often face outdated devices, unreliable internet, and insufficient skills to harness AI-powered tools effectively. This “use divide” means millions cannot participate fully, but innovations like the Fon-language AI model are flipping the script.
Developed with Benin’s digital ministry and local speakers, the project addresses three critical barriers simultaneously:
- Language exclusion (serving non-French speakers)
- Literacy gaps (voice-first design for low-literacy users)
- Relevance (prioritizing use cases like mobile money and healthcare).
Such localization is vital: while 1,000+ African languages exist, less than 10 are supported by mainstream AI tools today.
Why Digital Equity Is a Matter of Justice and Opportunity
Digital equity is more than a technological issue; it is a social imperative. Without equitable access to AI and digital skills, marginalized youth risk exclusion from emerging job markets, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed these disparities vividly, as many young Africans struggled to access remote education and essential services.
Moreover, the lack of diverse voices in AI development perpetuates biases and limits the technology’s potential to address global challenges inclusively.
Africa’s Digital Economy: Promise Meets Challenge
Africa’s digital economy is projected to grow from 5.2% of GDP in 2025 to 8.5% by 2030, fueled by AI innovations across fintech, agriculture, healthcare, and public services. Yet, this growth depends on the continent’s ability to prepare its workforce for the AI era.
The Urgent Demand for AI Skills
The need for AI skills is surging. In Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, 85% of companies prioritize AI development skills, while 83% focus on generative AI capabilities. Cybersecurity is also critical, with 86% highlighting its importance. Despite this demand, skill shortages are causing project delays and missed innovation opportunities. Countries like South Africa, Tunisia, and Egypt lead in AI talent readiness due to stronger education systems and infrastructure, but many others face connectivity and governance challenges.
The Regional Innovation Lab in Benin offers a replicable blueprint for leapfrogging these hurdles. The Lab combines policy influence with technical execution, a model of scalability to other languages and sectors like agriculture and health, by partnering with three governments (Benin, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire) and leveraging NVIDIA’s GPUs.
Barriers to Building a Future-Ready Workforce
Several obstacles stand in the way:
- Education gaps: Outdated curricula and a shortage of AI-specialized faculty limit skill development. Only 6–10% of the workforce in upper-middle-income African countries hold high-skill digital jobs, with even fewer elsewhere.
- Infrastructure deficits: Internet penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 40%, with rural areas often lacking reliable connectivity and devices.
- Diversity and inclusion: Women and persons with disabilities remain underrepresented in AI fields, limiting the diversity of perspectives critical for inclusive innovation.
- Talent retention: Companies face challenges attracting and retaining qualified AI professionals. Automation threatens to displace low-skilled jobs, risking increased inequality.
Harnessing Africa’s Youthful Energy: Emerging Solutions
Africa’s median age is under 20, a tremendous asset. Many organizations are responding with upskilling and reskilling initiatives, with two-thirds of companies implementing career development programs focused on AI. Innovative education models such as micro-credentials and continuous learning are gaining momentum.
University-industry collaborations are scaling impact. Rwanda’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Nigeria’s “3 Million Technical Talent” initiative exemplify efforts to build AI skills at scale. A landmark partnership between the African Development Bank and Intel aims to train 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials in AI and Fourth Industrial Revolution skills.
AI itself enhances education through personalized learning platforms that reach remote communities, while public-private partnerships work to build a critical mass of AI-proficient youth and policymakers.
Crucially, these solutions must be made by Africa, not just for Africa. IIDiA’s approach, exemplified by the Benin lab, engages youth as co-developers:
- Training local teams in AI data collection and model refinement
- Creating jobs in language technology (e.g., Fon voice dataset curation)
- Building public infrastructure that respects digital sovereignty
As Ambassador Makarimi Adechoubou notes, “When a grandmother checks her mobile money balance in Fon, that’s true empowerment, not just translation.”
Strategic Priorities: A Call for Coordinated Action
Closing the digital divide and building an AI-ready workforce requires unified efforts:
- Governments must invest in digital infrastructure, ensure affordable internet access, reform education policies to integrate AI and digital skills, and champion inclusive workforce development.
- Educational institutions should modernize curricula, deepen industry partnerships, and promote diversity and inclusion in STEM and AI.
- The private sector needs to expand upskilling programs, collaborate with academia and government, and adopt flexible work models to attract and retain talent.
- Civil society and donors play a critical role in advocating for digital equity, funding community-based digital literacy programs, and raising awareness about AI’s transformative power.
Unlocking Africa’s Digital Future Together
Empowering youth with digital and AI skills transcends technology; it is about justice, opportunity, and inclusive growth. Africa can convert its demographic dividend into a digital advantage by bridging the digital divide and investing decisively in workforce readiness.
This transformation will enable young people everywhere to innovate, lead, and build a more equitable and sustainable world. The future demands bold, collaborative action. Together, governments, educators, the private sector, civil society, and youth must ensure that no one is left behind in Africa’s digital revolution.
IIDIA Communications
