African leaders urged to invest in youth-led innovations

Co-founder and CEO of Ghanaian startup Kodu Technology, Dr. Iddi Mohammed Faried, is urging African leaders to increase investment in youth-led innovations as a strategy to drive the growth of Africa’s agribusiness sector.

Speaking at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Dakar, Senegal, he said: “We need investment in youth-led solutions, with finance, mentorship, and opportunities for growth.

“We need practical education that goes beyond theory to include innovation labs, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship pathways.”

“And we need to be included in policy discussions, not as tokens, but as real actors shaping the future of food systems. If Africa is serious about food security and resilience, it must be serious about its youth,” he added.

AFSF, an annual event organised by AGRA, is Africa’s premier platform for dialogue and action on food systems transformation.

Under the theme “Africa’s Youth Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation,” this year’s forum will bring together heads of state, policymakers, researchers, agribusiness leaders, investors, and youth entrepreneurs to shape the future of food on the African continent.

Over 6,000 attendees from more than 113 countries will drive high-level discussions and commitments on agriculture between the 31st of August and the 5th of September 2025.

Speaking at an event that spotlighted youth’s role in Africa’s food systems transformation, Dr. Faried noted that: “Transforming Africa’s food systems is not only about growing more crops.”

“It is about rethinking resources, linking agriculture to human needs and encouraging young people to turn challenges into opportunities,” he said.

The firm Dr. Faried co-founded, Kodu Technology, is a socially driven startup that is turning discarded banana and plantain waste into affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads to help restore dignity to young women while boosting incomes for smallholder farmers.

Dr. Faried explained he and his team were inspired to start the venture after they engaged some young women in the Northern Region who disclosed they sometimes missed school because they had no resources to purchase sanitary pads.

He said Kodu Technology’s pad is fully certified by the Ghana Standards Authority and the Food and Drug Authority.

Dr. Faried told the audience that Africa’s innovative youth have a different view of what challenges are.

“Africa has the youngest population in the world, with more than 60 per cent under 25. We see problems differently. To us, waste is not waste, it is raw material for innovation,” he said.

“Across the continent, young people are already creating apps to connect farmers to markets, processing crops into higher-value products, advancing climate-smart farming and repurposing waste into products,” he added.

“Let us stop asking if young people are ready. We are already proving it every day. The question is, are we ready to be supported, trusted, and given the space to transform Africa’s food systems?” Dr. Faried concluded.

Director of Agrifood Systems at the Mastercard Foundation, Ms. Wambui Chege, who also spoke at the event, said Africa’s future will be forged by the relentless actions of young people.

“Each year, 10 million young people step into the work force… It is an extraordinary opportunity… Agriculture holds powerful pathways to scalable entrepreneurship,” she said.

“We have heard what Dr. Iddi is doing and rewriting the story of Africa’s food systems. They are creating jobs and reshaping value chains. They are proving that young people are not waiting for change. They are leading it,” she added.

Senegal’s Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Mabouba Diagne, told the session that numerous opportunities exist for Africa’s young people and urged them to seize such chances.

He emphasised that with the right mindset, skills, and support, youth can become the driving force behind the continent’s agricultural growth.

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