Commonwealth Students Association Urges Policy and Financial Reforms to Empower Youth-Led Innovation in Africa
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The Commonwealth Students Association (CSA) has called for urgent structural reforms to eliminate policy and financial roadblocks hampering youth-led innovation across Africa.
The appeal was made during the opening high-level panel at the Africa Youth Conference 2025, organized by UNESCO and held on June 17 and 18 at the United Nations House in Abuja.
Delivering the CSA’s message, Chidubem Nwaibe, the Association’s Country Representative for Nigeria, challenged African governments and development partners to reimagine how they support young entrepreneurs, particularly those in the early stages of business development.
“Young people across Africa are not lacking in creativity — they are constrained by systems that make innovation almost impossible,” Nwaibe said. “Many of them are deemed too early for banks and too risky for traditional investors. Without intentional support, their ideas stall before they ever reach the market.”
Speaking on the conference theme, “Unlocking Economic Opportunities through Youth-Led Innovations,” Nwaibe highlighted structural issues that have long hindered meaningful youth participation in economic development. He cited the high cost of business registration, outdated regulatory frameworks, and lack of pre-seed financing as major impediments.
Nwaibe stressed that unless African governments move decisively to create youth-focused innovation funds and provide access to simplified startup registration processes, the continent’s enormous demographic potential could remain untapped. 
He further urged for the adoption of inclusive public procurement policies that allocate a share of government contracts to youth-led enterprises, and for the development of youth-friendly financial instruments — such as non-collateralized loans and performance-based funding models — that reflect the realities of early-stage innovation.
“Our policies must reflect the current realities of young innovators, not outdated assumptions,” Nwaibe said. “We cannot continue to expect global competitiveness from a generation we refuse to equip.”
The CSA’s intervention resonated with other panelists and attendees, sparking discussions on the need to shift from tokenistic inclusion of youth in policy dialogues to implementing structural mechanisms that deliver real economic outcomes. 
The Africa Youth Conference 2025 brought together policymakers, development institutions, and young leaders from across the continent to explore pathways to inclusive growth, entrepreneurship, and innovation. With Africa’s youth population projected to reach over 800 million by 2050, the conversation on how to harness their potential has never been more urgent.
As CSA continues to amplify student voices across the Commonwealth, the call in Abuja serves as a defining moment for governments to rethink the frameworks shaping youth participation in innovation ecosystems. It is not just about building the next generation of African innovators — it is about building the systems that allow them to thrive.
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