A major highlight of 2018 for African countries is the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area, a treaty that was signed by 49 countries at the African Union (AU) summit early in the year. Getting the trade agreement over the line was important, and it was predicted by the Brookings Institution, an American think tank research group based in Washington, in its annual report for Africa.

Last week, the Brookings Institution, in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, released its 2019 annual report for Africa. The report titled “Foresight Africa: Top priorities for the continent in 2019” has six chapters each addressing what events and policies will shape Africa this year.

With important elections set to hold in about 23 countries this year, including in two of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, Brookings analysts believe the focus should be placed on inclusivity and efficiency. In his contribution to the report, Sudanese Billionaire, Mo Ibrahim emphasized the need for African governance to reflect the expectations and needs of the African youth. According to the 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), an annual report on African governance released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 3 out of 4 African citizens lives in a country where governance has improved in the past 10 years.

“Africa is at a tipping point. We welcome progress in Overall Governance, but the lost opportunity of the past decade is deeply concerning. Africa has a huge challenge ahead: Its large and youthful potential workforce could transform the continent for the better, but this opportunity is now close to being squandered,” the billionaire mogul added.

“Young citizens of Africa currently lack hope, prospects, and opportunities. Their leaders need to invest in education and speed up job creation to sustain progress and stave off potential deterioration, as well as to make sure the voice and expectations of the youth are included in policymaking. The time to act is now.”

In 2015, Africa’s youth numbered 226 million people, and that number is projected to increase by 522 million by 2050. To put this into context, the rest of the world’s youth population will decline by 220 million, with sub-Saharan African youths making up 33 percent of the global youth population. This number comes with its expectant problem- a lack of jobs for this demographic. Unemployment among youths in sub-Saharan Africa has “hovered between 12% and 14% since the global financial crisis of 2008” according to African billionaire Tony Elumelu.

Brookings Foresight Report advises African governments to prioritize “improved infrastructure, connectivity of information flows, trade facilitation, and better management in the public and private sector” as solutions to Africa’s youth unemployment problems.