Africa's Olympic talent needs nurture and support

Africa's young and growing population means a deeper pool of potential Olympic talent, but sporting success is far from guaranteed. The same is true for African economies.

Africa's Olympic hopefuls have plenty to teach about succeeding against the odds.Training in bullet-scarred stadiums and a capital torn by war, Somalia's Olympic athletes have faced death threats and a bomb attack that killed major sporting officials.

A showcase for their rainbow nation, Roger Hudson and Asenathi Jim come from radically different backgrounds. One is white with a successful yachting father. The other is black and comes from a Cape Town township. They will race together in a two-man sailing event for South Africa.Meanwhile, at just 15 years old, Alphonsine Agahozo will swim for Rwanda, "land of a thousand hills," which has no tradition of swimming.

Whatever Africa's final medal tally this year, its rapid population growth - faster than any other continent - means a growing pool of potential and the possibility for more African medals in the future. Between about 2000 and 2025, for example, Africa's population is set to double. And youth has become a defining feature of Africa's demography.

Whether or not Africa will actually harness this potential is another question, of course. The same is true for African economies. On the one hand, a growing workforce is an opportunity. As the workforce grows in relation to the number of old or young dependents, both productivity and economic growth can increase - as we began to see in China several decades ago. On the other hand, if population growth outruns job creation, then we will likely see a young and growing population that is unemployed, marginalized, and deeply frustrated.

The Arab Awakening may have taken many by surprise, but a critical common thread was the shared sense of frustration and anger over unresponsive governments, and the lack of jobs, justice, and equity. Why shouldn't sub-Saharan Africa be vulnerable to the same frustrations?

As we noted in our 2012 Annual Progress Report, African economies are among the fastest growing in the world and we have seen some good progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, but progress remains slow and too uneven. Population growth places enormous extra pressure on policy makers to perform.

Take the case of Nigeria. Africa's most populous country is already struggling to generate enough future job opportunities for its current generation of 0-14 year-olds. But within a decade this age bracket will stretch by another 25 million people. And as with the nurturing of Olympic talent, it is one thing to have a growing pool of potential athletes and another to generate results.

URBANISATION

Meanwhile, Africa's mega cities are also growing at a prolific rate. Pushed by rural poverty and pulled by the hope of employment, more and more people are migrating to the cities. Between 2005 and 2010, Kinshasa's population grew by 2 million, for example, putting it into the league of cities with populations larger than 10 million. Lagos could have a 14 million population by 2020.

Urban centres are often centres of acute deprivation. But they should be hubs of innovation and employment, drawing entrepreneurs and job seekers. Policies that tap into Africa's natural innovation and creativity will reward us all with higher, more equitable economic growth. And maybe increased Olympic success!