This Human Capital Strategy, the first for the Bank, is the operational framework for the Bank’s interventions in human capital in Africa.

Africa’s new landscape compels significant repercussions for building human capital amid downside risks of persistent poverty and increasing inequalities. Africa lives a paradox of rapid economic growth alongside poverty and inequalities that have striking effects on youth and women.

The labor market disarray, marked by rising skills mismatch, low productivity in the informal sector, and unemployment and underemployment among a youth population set to reach more than 1 billion by 2050, reflects a generation at risk.