President John Mahama has lauded Africa’s young innovators in the fintech space, describing them as problem-solvers who are reshaping economies and addressing long-standing challenges that governments have failed to overcome.

Speaking at the private–public business dialogue of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IX) in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday, Mahama said youth-driven innovation is changing Africa’s economic structure and creating sustainable growth paths.

“The youth form 60% of Africa’s population, between the ages of 16 and 35. That is not a demographic you can ignore,” he noted. “The world has shifted to a knowledge economy, and our young people are embracing it.”

According to Mahama, African youth are increasingly drawn to non-traditional sectors such as fintech, renewable energy, creative industries, and agri-tech where they are driving transformation faster than government-led initiatives could.

Citing data, he said African startups attracted $4.2 billion in investment in 2024, with nearly half going into fintech. “The fintech space is growing at an astronomical rate, driven by smart, tech-savvy youth who are seizing opportunities and changing the economic structure in all our countries,” he said.

Youth innovation in agriculture

Mahama shared a striking example of how fintech has solved a decades-old policy challenge in Ghana credit access for farmers.

“For years, governments tried distributing fertilizer and inputs, but we could not track who was receiving them or measure value for money,” he explained. “Then a group of young people created an agri-tech platform, registered farmers, provided them with mobile phones, and distributed inputs based on their needs. They extended credit via mobile money and directly off-took produce at the end of the season. It completely transformed the system.”

This innovation, Mahama said, has given farmers access to credit scores for the first time, improving transparency and productivity in the sector.

Beyond fintech

Mahama stressed that Africa’s job creation potential now lies in the creative, digital, and renewable energy sectors, which he said are generating employment at a pace that traditional agriculture and manufacturing cannot match.

“The creative sector and startups add jobs at four times the rate of agriculture or manufacturing. If Africa needs 12 to 15 million jobs annually, we cannot achieve that through traditional sectors alone,” he argued.

A warning and a call to action

The former president cautioned that Africa’s large youth population would only remain an asset if governments invested in the right sectors and created space for innovation

“The youth bulge can be an advantage, but if we do not create enough jobs quickly, it will become a gunpowder keg and it could cost us,” he warned.