The African Youth Panel (AYP) research is gaining recognition in spaces shaping conversations on Africa’s economic future.
Dr. Thato Setambule, Lead Research Officer for the African Youth Panel, participated in the African Youth Economic Forum (AYEF) held from 10–11 September 2026 at the Pan-African Parliament in Johannesburg, South Africa, organised by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
Her participation followed the selection of the AYP’s research abstract, “Reforming African Financial Systems for Marginalised Youth: Nine-Country Evidence,” for publication in the AYEF Knowledge and Policy Series under the category of Enterprise and Investment, Entrepreneurship, MSMEs, and Access to Finance.
The selection marks an important milestone for the African Youth Panel initiative. It creates an opportunity for evidence generated through the experiences and voices of the panelists across nine African countries to enter a wider policy and knowledge space, contributing to conversations about how Africa can better finance and support its young people, especially those at the margins.
The research examines the barriers marginalised young people face in accessing financial systems and opportunities, bringing attention to groups that are often overlooked in mainstream conversations on youth entrepreneurship and economic transformation.
At the forum, held under the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Youth Dividend: Innovation, Inclusion, Resilience, and Economic Transformation,” Dr. Setambule brought these realities directly into the conversation.
During the plenary session, “Financing Africa’s Future: Unlocking Capital for Youth-Led Enterprises,” she challenged panellists to consider who is actually being included when we talk about young entrepreneurs.
She observed that discussions around youth-led enterprises and opportunities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can sometimes centre on young people who are already privileged, connected and equipped with the resources and knowledge to access such opportunities.
Yet, for many young people across Africa, the barriers begin much earlier.
A significant proportion of young people work in the informal sector, while many remain unaware of policies, programmes and financing opportunities available to them. For those running informal businesses, lack of business registration, limited information and unfamiliarity with registration processes can further restrict access to finance.
These challenges are even more pronounced for young women, persons with disabilities, young people living in remote communities, those without reliable access to smartphones and the internet, and young people with low or no literacy skills.
Dr. Setambule therefore called for greater attention to the young people who remain furthest from existing opportunities, and highlighted mentorship and targeted support as critical components of any strategy seeking to unlock Africa’s youth dividend.
Her intervention reflected one of the central messages emerging from the AYP research: creating opportunities for young people is not enough if the systems designed to deliver those opportunities remain inaccessible to those who need them most.
The AYP’s inclusion in the AYEF Knowledge and Policy Series is therefore more than a publication opportunity. It represents a pathway for the lived experiences and evidence generated by young people at the margins to inform wider conversations on finance, entrepreneurship, economic inclusion and Africa’s transformation.
By bringing this evidence into regional policy spaces, the African Youth Panel initiative continues to demonstrate the power of participatory research to move youth voices from the margins of conversations to the centre of policy debates.
