Youth at the Centre: How iCAD 2025 Is Engineering Africa’s Next Employment Revolution

Africa is young. Africa is restless. But Africa is not idle. Across the continent, millions of educated and capable young people remain locked out of economic systems that were not built with them in mind. The crisis is not one of attitude or ambition, it is one of architecture. Education pipelines, labour markets, governance institutions, and even research agendas have yet to evolve in ways that truly serve the continent’s youthful majority. As one delegate put it, this is Africa’s “quiet emergency”, a development paradox where demographic promise meets structural paralysis.

It was against this backdrop that the second International Conference on African Development (iCAD 2025) took place at Aston University Business School in Birmingham, UK, from 18–20 June 2025. Organised by the Ghana Scholarly Society (GSS) in collaboration with the British Council, the conference was not just another academic gathering. It was a strategic signal, a declaration that the African intellectual community must reimagine its role in shaping the continent’s future.

“This may not increase your Google Scholar citations,” declared Dr Kweku Adams, President of GSS, in his opening address, “but it will connect you with a purpose-driven community. iCAD is more than a conference. iCAD is a movement.”

GSS: A Community Rooted in Purpose, Driven by Action

The Ghana Scholarly Society was established on 22 July 2021 as a community of Ghanaian citizens and people of Ghanaian heritage living abroad, academics, researchers, scientists, and postgraduate students committed to more than personal advancement. It is a living, breathing network of thinkers and practitioners spread across continents but united by purpose: to contribute to Ghana’s and Africa’s development through knowledge, collaboration, and systems change.

GSS is not a formal institution with a rigid hierarchy; it is organic and self-organising. It thrives on connection, members share job opportunities, critique research proposals, prepare each other for PhD vivas and external examinations, and, most importantly, engage in the co-creation of ideas that matter. The Society is grounded in the belief that knowledge is not merely to be acquired, but deployed, strategically, ethically, and collectively.

At its core, GSS envisions a pluralistic, global intellectual movement that works with both local and foreign governments to tackle persistent societal challenges. It exists to support the careers of its members, yes, but even more, it seeks to shape the discourse on Ghanaian and African issues from within the diaspora and beyond.

That is the soil from which iCAD was born.

3. From Panels to Purpose: What Happened in Birmingham

Held over three days, iCAD 2025 convened more than 140 scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, and policymakers from across Africa, Europe, and the diaspora. The theme, “Sustainable Development and Youth Employment in Africa: Challenges and Way Forward” was more than a policy concern. It was a call to action.

Dr Kweku Adams challenged participants to reject academic elitism and return to relevance. “We are the 1% of Africa’s intellectual class,” he said. “If we fail now, it could take another generation to reclaim this opportunity.” With that, the tone was set: this would be a conference rooted in intellectual honesty, moral urgency, and collaborative possibility.

The opening day centred on doctoral and early-career scholars, foregrounding mentorship, research methodology, and academic publishing. One of the standout sessions featured Prof. Peter Gabrielsson, whose keynote on innovation and entrepreneurship urged young academics to think beyond publications and pursue research that changes lives. 

A highly interactive mentorship session brought together senior professors and emerging researchers in what one participant described as “a rare and transformational space of mutual respect and truth.”

“There’s no other place where doctoral students and senior professors engage so honestly. This was rare and needed.”  Dr Sandra Appiah, Middlesex University

On the second day, the energy shifted toward business, policy, and enterprise. Panels brought together voices from across sectors, from finance and academia to youth entrepreneurship and sustainability. Speakers like Mrs Ama Duncan, Mr Samuel Crabbe, Prof Ellis Osabutey, Dr Sandra Appiah, and Prof George Ofori explored the practical challenges and possibilities of youth employment in an economy where informal work is dominant but innovation is rising.

Dr Prince Gyimah’s critique of corporate SDG implementation highlighted a critical gap between sustainability rhetoric and reality. His analysis ignited debate on what real accountability and responsible innovation should look like in African economies.

“We cannot talk about sustainable youth employment without addressing the financial infrastructure and governance systems that either enable or inhibit growth.”, Dr Rexford Attah-Boakye

Day three deepened the policy conversation. A standout presentation by Dr Frank Yao Gbadago and Ms Agnes Fafa Anthony addressed the structural governance failures in public universities across Africa. Their mixed-methods research, involving 77 stakeholders, proposed a hybrid governance-performance framework to correct incentive mismatches and drive institutional reform.

“Weak governance and misaligned incentives are not technical glitches, they are systemic bottlenecks to national transformation.” Dr Frank Yao Gbadago, AAMUSTED

Another powerful contribution came from Mr Amos Teye of the Ghana Revenue Authority, who linked domestic revenue mobilisation directly to employment creation. His paper explored how expanded tax compliance and improved digital systems could channel resources into youth-intensive sectors like agro-processing and vocational education. It was a rare but necessary intervention, reminding the audience that tax policy is not just economics; it is national development architecture.

From Birmingham to Cambridge: The Movement Continues

What emerged over the three days was more than an exchange of ideas. It was a reaffirmation of intellectual responsibility. Across all sessions, participants returned to a central truth: Africa’s youth are not waiting to be saved, they are ready to be supported. And that support must come through structural reforms, not symbolic gestures.

“The Ghana Scholarly Society is a movement to reclaim the role of African scholarship in shaping policy and society. iCAD is our flagship platform, where ideas meet action, and where African researchers lead from the front with courage, clarity, and commitment.” Dr Kweku Adams, University of Bradford.

“iCAD is not just a conference, it’s a declaration that African scholars can set the research agenda on their own terms. Through GSS, we are building a community that values collaboration, relevance, and the power of African-led knowledge.”, Dr Samuel Kusi, University of Bradford.

“Every session showed that GSS is not just a society, it is Africa’s intellectual conscience.”,  Dr Priscilla Vitoh, University of Leicester.

“iCAD was not about showmanship, it was about intellectual bravery, solidarity, and commitment to Africa’s youth.”, Dr Nuhu Yidana, SOAS.

iCAD 2026 is scheduled to take place at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. But it is not a reset, it is a reloading. GSS is already working to ensure that key ideas from iCAD 2025 are embedded into national policies, university strategies, and public-private partnerships. More collaborations are emerging across countries, and plans are underway to track how iCAD research leads to tangible results.

“We cannot talk about sustainable youth employment without addressing the financial infrastructure and governance systems that either enable or inhibit growth.”, Dr Rexford Attah-Boakye

“Conferences like iCAD allow us to interrogate these systems and co-create solutions.”, Dr Dominic Obeng

As Dr Adams reminded participants at the close of the conference: “Africa’s future is not pending. It is present. And it is powered by its people.” The work continues. The movement grows.

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