Jobs/Appointments
AfDB Unveils Youth Group to Create 25m Jobs
By Dipo Olowookere
President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Mr Akinwumi Adesina, has launched the Presidential Youth Advisory Group (PYAG) to provide insights and innovative solutions for job creation for Africa’s youth, as outlined in the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (JfYA).
The Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative aims at creating 25 million jobs and impacting 50 million youth over the next ten years by equipping them with the right skills to get decent and meaningful jobs. It is currently the largest effort going on for youth employment in Africa today.
The advisory group, inaugurated on the sidelines of the 6th EU-Africa Business Forum in Abidjan on Monday, November 27, will work with the Bank to create jobs for Africa’s youth.
“This is a huge opportunity for Africa. If we fix the youth unemployment challenge, Africa will gain 10-20% annual growth. That means Africa’s GDP will grow by $500 million per year for the next thirty years. Africa’s per capita income will rise by 55% every year to the year 2050,” Mr Adesina disclosed at the inauguration of the Group.
Mr Adesina, who identified Africa’s greatest asset as its youth, observed that out of the 13 million youths that enter the labour market each year, only 3 million (about 33% of African youth) are in wage employment, while the rest are underemployed or in vulnerable employment. The annual gap of more than 8 million jobs is going to worsen, with the number of youth expected to double to more than 800 million in the next decades.
“Africa has an unemployment crisis among its youth,” he stressed, noting that unless employment opportunities are created for them, Africa’s rapidly growing population of youths can give rise to serious social, economic, political and security challenges.
Africa’s youths, though strong and dynamic, cross the desert or the Mediterranean sea because they do not find decent jobs in Africa. Graduates are wandering in the streets, jobless. The low level of employment opportunities is also fueling violence and extremism in Africa. “40% of African youths engaged in armed violence join gangs or terrorist groups because of limited opportunities in their countries,” Mr Adesina said.
“66 million African youths earn less than $2 a day, less than the price of a hamburger,” the AfDB President emphasized. “66 million is 8 times the size of Switzerland, 6 times the size of Belgium, the same size as UK, France or Italy, and 80% of Germany’s population,” he added.
The Presidential Youth Advisory Group (PYAG) comprises nine members under the age of 40 who have made significant contributions to the creation of employment opportunities for African youth.
The PYAG members are: Ashish Thakkar, CEO, Mara Group, Tanzania (Chair); Uzodinma Iweala, award-winning author, Nigeria; Mamadou Toure, Founder / CEO, Africa 2.0 / Ubuntu Capital, Cameroon; Vanessa Moungar, Human and Social Development Director, AfDB and member of President Macron’s Presidential Council for Africa, Chad; Francine Muyumba, President, Panafrican Youth Union, Democratic Republic of Congo; Jeremy Johnson, Co-founder, Andela, USA; Clarisse Iribagiza, CEO, Hehe, Rwanda; Ada Osakwe, CEO, Agrolay Ventures, Nigeria; and Monica Musonda, CEO of Java Foods, Zambia.
On the rationale behind the setting up of the advisory group, President Adesina explained: “We recognize the enormous amount of energy, creative and innovative thinking, and entrepreneurial excellence that many of our youth bring to the table. For this reason, the Bank must ensure that it is well advised by cutting-edge youth representatives on its policies, actions and programmes, for the benefit of Africa’s youth.”
“The members of the Presidential Youth Advisory Group are expected to actively engage private sector partners, government leaders, civil society, donor partners, and other stakeholders; and support the significant amount of work that the Bank is already doing and promoting across the continent through its Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy,” President Adesina added.
A youth-led economic transformation agenda
PYAG is an opportunity for leading young voices in Africa to develop new and fresh perspectives and recommend innovative solutions that will shape AfDB’s support to African countries, and reduce the scourge of Youth unemployment.
The AfDB is fully committed to working with the PYAG to scale up and expedite results that deliver decent and sustainable jobs for African youth, through formal employment and successful youth entrepreneurship that allows African youth to become their own drivers of economic prosperity, social stability and environmental sustainability.
Ashish Thakkar, CEO of the Mara Group and Chair of the PYAG, said: “It is a great honour to serve our continent in this function. We know that the stakes are high, but we are committed to the task of creating flourishing youth businesses that provide tremendous value. We are also focused on facilitating the achievement of AfDB’s High 5s and Sustainable Development Goals. We have just concluded our work program for the next year and have hit the ground running.”
He described how his family lost everything they had during the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s.
“I have borrowed $5,000 to launch my business without any form of support. Today, Mara Group has 14,000 employees around the world. I was alone, but imagine what we can do together with the support of an institution like the AfDB.”
“I have never heard of an institution as important as the AfDB setting up and advisory group only made of youth. A Chinese proverb has it that if you want 1 year of prosperity, plant a grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, plant a tree. If you want a century of prosperity, invest on people,” said Mamadou Touré, a member of the group.
Also speaking, Ada Osakwe said: “40% of entrepreneurs in Nigeria are women, but 73% operate in consumer retail systems. We need to address that and provide youth with more lucrative jobs.”
To make agriculture more attractive to young people, the AfDB last year invested $800 million in supporting young entrepreneurs in agriculture as a business in 8 countries. It will reach 15 countries this year. The Bank expects to invest 1.5 billion per year for the next 10 years to support young agripreneurs.
The AfDB is delivering on its youth strategy
The AfDB has made great progress toward implementing its strategy through three key pillars: innovation, integration and investment. In terms of integration, the Bank entered into partnership with the International Labour Organization to strengthen the capacity of African countries to harmonize Youth Employment into national policies.
The Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund which will serve as a financial and operational instrument, with initial support of $4.4 million by Denmark and Norway.
The African Development has also developed the Enabling Youth Employment (EYE) Index to measure youth employment outcomes and enabling policies at country levels.
“With this amazing group of very diverse young individuals, we even hope to exceed the Bank’s goal to create 25 million jobs and 50 million youth equipped with the right skills,” said Thakkar enthusiastically. “It is time to change the narrative about Africa’s youth!”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The conclusion of the 2025 Performance Appraisal Exercise of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has resulted in the promotion and step increments of about 1,126 employees of the organisation.
The reward for performance involved the promotion of 547 employees and 579 step increments, reaffirming the company’s unwavering commitment to recognising excellence, rewarding performance and building one of Africa’s most admired workplaces.
AEDC disclosed that these actions reflect its deliberate investment in its people as the energy firm accelerates its transformation into a customer-centric, high-performing electricity distribution company with global standards and Pan-African aspirations.
The promotions and step increments, approved by the management, recognise employees who have demonstrated exceptional commitment, professionalism and outstanding performance in advancing AEDC’s strategic objectives.
However, employees who were not successful in the current appraisal cycle have been urged to remain committed, emphasising that the performance management process is designed to support continuous growth, capability development and future advancement opportunities.
“Our people remain our greatest asset and the foundation upon which AEDC’s future will be built. Today’s announcement is more than a reward for performance; it is a reaffirmation of our belief that excellence should always be recognised, talent should be nurtured and hard work should create opportunities for growth.
“As we continue our transformation journey, we are building an organisation where our employees can develop rewarding careers, realise their full potential and proudly contribute to creating one of Africa’s leading electricity distribution companies,” the chief executive of AEDC, Mr Chijioke Okwuokenye, stated.
He added that AEDC is intentionally creating a workplace where merit, continuous learning, innovation and collaboration drive career progression, while employee wellbeing remains central to its long-term strategy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian international lawyer and anti-corruption specialist, Mr Ibrahim James Pam, has been appointed Acting Director-General of the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), a key independent accountability body within the institution.
The appointment, approved by the boards of the World Bank Group, will take effect on August 2, 2026.
Mr Pam, who currently serves as Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel, will oversee the CAO on an interim basis pending the appointment of a substantive Director-General and Vice President of the World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism.
The development was announced in a statement issued by the Head of Communications of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, Emily Horgan, who said the arrangement was designed to ensure continuity during the organisation’s leadership transition.
“In view of the forthcoming leadership transition at the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the World Bank Group Boards have designated Ibrahim Pam, Chair of the Inspection Panel, to concurrently serve as acting CAO Director General, effective August 2, 2026,” the statement said.
“Mr Pam will serve in this role until the new World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism Director General/Vice President is appointed.”
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman is the independent accountability mechanism for projects financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both members of the World Bank Group.
Created in 1999, the CAO reports directly to the boards of IFC and MIGA and handles complaints from individuals and communities affected by projects supported by the two institutions, while promoting environmental and social accountability.
Mr Pam, who is married with children and grandchildren, brings extensive experience in international law, anti-corruption, compliance, human rights and criminal investigations to the role.
He is the son of the late Lt. Col. James Pam, a former Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army, and Mrs Ngo Elizabeth Pam, a human rights advocate who served on the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, popularly known as the Oputa Panel, as well as the Plateau Peace Conference.
Over the years, Mr Pam has built a distinguished international career investigating human rights violations, financial crimes, fraud, institutional misconduct and mass atrocities across several jurisdictions.
He has served as a member of the World Bank Inspection Panel since January 2023. Prior to that, he was Head ad interim of the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea, between August 2022 and March 2023, after leading the Fund’s Independent Integrity Unit from November 2016 to November 2022.
His professional experience also includes roles with the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), where he served as Resident Investigator with the UN Mission in South Sudan, the African Development Bank’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department, and the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Earlier in his career, he provided legal support to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel) between 2000 and 2002.
A graduate of the University of Jos, Mr Pam began his legal career at J.Y. Pam & Co. before working in private legal practice, the banking sector and later the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
While at the ICPC, he received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, which enabled him to earn a Master’s degree in International Law and Justice Policy from the London School of Economics in 2005
His appointment is expected to strengthen the World Bank Group’s accountability and oversight framework, given his extensive background in governance, integrity, compliance and international justice.
Jobs/Appointments
UNIZIK Appoints Nicholas Okoye Visiting Senior Lecturer, to Strengthen Digital Assets Education
Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has appointed veteran investment banker and capital markets expert, Nicholas “Nicky” Okoye, as a Visiting Senior Lecturer in a move aimed at strengthening its capital markets and digital assets curriculum amid the growing global adoption of virtual assets and blockchain-based finance.
The appointment, which takes immediate effect, is expected to deepen the university’s capacity to train enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers in emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), tokenisation of real-world assets and other digital financial innovations.
UNIZIK, which hosts one of Africa’s few dedicated Capital Markets faculties, said the appointment aligns with its strategy of equipping students and professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to navigate the rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.
The university, in its statement, described the appointment as a significant milestone for the institution.
“Securing someone of Nicky Okoye’s calibre is a game-changer. As global finance evolves, we must equip enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers with the technical knowledge required to build long-term capital formation strategies. His real-world experience is invaluable.”
Okoye brings decades of experience across global and Nigerian financial institutions. His career includes serving as a Financial Consultant at Merrill Lynch in the United States, Chief Strategy Officer at the Nigerian Exchange Group, and Founding Group Executive Director of Operations and Strategy at Transcorp Group Plc, where he led fundraising initiatives that collectively exceeded $1 billion.
He currently leads the Global Investment Advisory Community (GIAC), a coalition of local and international banks, asset managers and fintech firms working to develop a digital assets ecosystem across Africa and the Caribbean.
Beyond the private sector, Okoye has contributed to public policy, providing advisory support to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on capital market regulatory frameworks.
Stakeholders in the financial services sector have welcomed the appointment, expressing optimism that his academic engagement would help build capacity among investors and professionals as Nigeria expands its digital finance ecosystem.
Okoye also holds an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Enugu State University of Technology, awarded in recognition of his contributions to enterprise development and business excellence.
He previously served on the Presidential Jobs Board and the National Council of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, where he provided strategic advice on economic development. Between 2014 and 2018, he advised the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Project Triple E, an initiative designed to strengthen indigenous participation in the upstream oil and gas value chain by integrating community-based contractors.
The appointment comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to establish a robust regulatory framework for digital assets. The Federal Government recently inaugurated a National Virtual Assets Council to coordinate the oversight and regulation of virtual and digital assets in the country.
The council is chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with support from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigeria Revenue Service, as part of broader efforts to promote innovation while ensuring investor protection and financial system stability.
