We are delighted to publish the Public Lecture by Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, at the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia for Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA 2025)
This week, AUDA-NEPAD, in collaboration with the Government of Zambia, is hosting the first Industrial Skills Week Africa.
The first Industrial Skills Week Africa is not just a conference; it is a continental strategy session. The theme, “Powering Africa’s Industrial Future”, asks the most critical question of our time: Do we have the skills, the will, and the partnership to transform our immense potential into shared prosperity?
Today, I am here to talk about our shared game plan for that transformation: Agenda 2063, and its Decade of Acceleration.
To understand why this Decade of Acceleration is so critical, we must first be honest about our starting point. We operate within a macroeconomic paradox.
On the one hand, our promise is undeniable. Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population—a demographic dividend that is the envy of aging continents. We possess 30% of the world’s mineral resources, 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, and immense renewable energy potential.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we have created the largest single market in the world—1.3 billion people, a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.
On the other hand, our peril is clear. Africa’s growth, estimated to rise from 2.9% to 4.1% in 2026, remains well below the 7% benchmark required for transformation. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is above 60%, and debt service payments, at 4% of GDP, exceed what we spend on health and education combined. Premature deindustrialisation keeps our share of global manufacturing at just 2%. We remain rich in commodities, but poor in finished goods.
We face a jobs crisis: every year, 11 million young Africans enter the labour market, but only 3.7 million jobs are created. We face an infrastructure gap of $100 billion annually that constrains our industries.
This is our paradox. The status quo is not an option. The only way to break it is through deliberate, accelerated industrialisation—powered by the right skills.
This is why ISWA 2025 is not just another talk shop. It is the operational heart of our response.
The next decade of Agenda 2063 is the Decade of Acceleration—the shift from rhetoric to results.
We are targeting Seven Moonshots by 2033. Let me highlight three that speak directly to our economic challenge:
- Every African nation attaining middle-income status. That means industrial growth that adds value and creates wealth.
- A seamlessly integrated and connected Africa. That is the market scale that makes investment viable.
- Empowered and productive citizens. That is the skilled talent pipeline that drives productivity and innovation.
This is not a wish list. It is a delivery system designed to directly address our macroeconomic challenges. And its success hinges on one word: implementation.
So how do we make this real?
As the African Union’s development agency, AUDA-NEPAD is your partner in execution.
We are focused on four pillars that directly tackle the constraints I just outlined:
- Domestication and Costing: We are working with member states to translate these moonshots into national budgets and sector strategies. This is for our government colleagues: we are here to help you make Agenda 2063 your primary tool for economic transformation.
- Strengthening Delivery Systems: We are tackling the bottlenecks that delay projects—in procurement, regulation, and critically, in skills. This is where industry and government meet; we need standards that work for business and serve the public.
- Building Partnerships and Financing: We are brokering public-private co-investments and de-risking projects to attract capital to close the infrastructure gap. To the private sector: we are building the deal flow.
- Developing Centres of Excellence: We are connecting policy to research and research to market. Our CoEs in climate, STI, and supply chains are designed to provide the tools for competitive industrial development.
At the heart of all this are people.
Moonshot 6—Empowered and Productive Citizens—is not a social agenda; it is the economic engine. The skills gap is the single greatest brake on our ambitions.
Through SIFA and COYWA, we are building demand-led programmes. Through Energize Africa, we are mobilising young talent to drive both the public and private sectors. And through our digital learning initiatives, we are creating a continental ecosystem to rapidly skill and upskill.
But let me be direct:
- To Government: Your number one asset is your human capital. Investing in skills is not an expense; it is the most strategic investment in national stability and economic growth you can make.
- To Industry: Stop complaining about the skills gap and help us close it. Partner with universities on curriculum design. Fund apprenticeships. Your future competitiveness depends on it.
- To Students: The world is changing. Master your core discipline, but fluency in data, digital, and AI is no longer optional; it is essential. You must be lifelong learners.
The theory is clear. So let’s talk about practice.
Here is a concrete proposal for collaboration right here in Lusaka.
Imagine an Industrial Skills and Productivity Lab, co-created by the University of Zambia, the government, and companies from Lusaka’s industrial parks.
For Government: This lab becomes a policy dashboard, providing real-time data on skills gaps and productivity metrics to inform your industrial strategy.
For Industry: This is your R&D and talent pipeline. You bring your productivity challenges—be it in maintenance, logistics, or resource efficiency—and students and faculty work on solving them. You get solutions and first pick of the best talent.
For Students: This is your live simulation. You gain hands-on experience with real industrial problems, making you job-ready on day one.
This is how we move from talk to action.
This leads me to our flagship initiative: Energize Africa. The numbers I shared earlier define our imperative.
This is not a crisis. It is our single greatest opportunity for growth. The Energize Africa initiative is our vehicle to harness this energy. It is built on three pillars:
- Regenerating the Public Sector: Deploying top young talent into government ministries to drive policy and service delivery with innovation.
- Regenerating the Private Sector: Establishing and scaling innovation hubs to support start-ups and MSMEs—the engine of our job creation.
- Blended Finance Programmes: Providing the capital and institutional support to help these businesses become viable and competitive.
This is a call to action. Government, we need you to open your doors to this talent. Private sector, we need you to mentor them and invest in their ideas.
So, what does this mean for us, today, in this room?
- For Students: You must be agile. Pursue technical mastery and digital fluency. Seek out programmes like Energize Africa. Demand that your education is relevant.
- For Faculty: Your research cannot stay in journals. Partner with industry and government on skills forecasting and policy analytics. Be the bridge between knowledge and application.
- For Government: Align your programmes to the STYIP moonshots. Create the enabling environment for business to thrive and for skills to be valued.
- For Industry: Lean in. Co-invest in skills development. It is your most strategic investment. View students not as graduates to be hired, but as partners to be engaged now.
In conclusion, Africa faces a choice: remain trapped in the paradox of plenty, or accelerate into an industrial powerhouse.
The Decade of Acceleration is our moment to choose the latter. The velocity lies in our young population and vast resources. The momentum lies in your leadership.
Agenda 2063 is our delivery system. Energize Africa is our talent engine. ISWA is our skills catalyst.
The question is no longer what needs to be done. The question is who will do it.
The answer is in this room. It is us—governments, industry, academia, partners, and above all, young Africans—working not in parallel but in partnership.
Let us leave here not with ideas, but with commitments.
Let us power Africa’s industrial future, together.
I thank you.
Nardos Bekele-Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD.
