Africa’s economy has become the subject of major studies and elaborate theories. Everyone agrees on one thing: the African continent is underdeveloped. Strategies and roadmaps to lift Africa out of “poverty” are designed and imposed from afar, while countless pages meant to breathe life into Africa’s development are written in a language incomprehensible to those who are supposed to implement them — the youth.
Youth: the hackers of future development…
How can Africa be developed without its key actors? Have we forgotten that African youth will be the main driver of the continent’s development? Why not empower them today — those who will combine their intelligence to feed the Africa of tomorrow? Why impose theories on those who are meant to build development rather than merely execute it?
Let us give our youth the power to “hack” Africa’s development — and this necessarily involves learning through experimentation and Free Software. Young Africans, the future builders of tomorrow’s Africa, have embraced Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and some have gone even further by mastering Free Software. These young people have the ability to redefine computing in their own image — to integrate Africa’s realities, the daily lives of Africans, and to reveal the hidden side of technology. In short, they seek to understand the inner workings of these tools and repurpose them to solve challenges specific to their environments. These new-generation users show us the hidden value of technology, helping us better understand the architecture of algorithms through an African lens — to clearly articulate our realities, cultures, economic organization, and ultimately, our self-determined development.
Entrepreneurship through freedom for a self-driven development
African youth understand better than anyone the struggles of the continent, and they know how to empower themselves for true mastery of development tools. Every challenge faced by an African is a potential business idea or opportunity for self-employment. Africa will build its wealth by starting from its own realities. This is the path toward development through community-driven contribution — made possible by the low-cost entry barrier that Free Software offers to young entrepreneurs.
Did you know that access to funding has always been one of the greatest obstacles for young African entrepreneurs? So what should we do? Move strategically toward business creation powered by Free Software, which requires minimal financial investment.
The financial independence of every young African who takes initiative through Free Software entrepreneurship is itself a driver of development. Many young Africans are already thriving thanks to Free Software — discovering, reshaping, adapting, and innovating to build a stronger Africa. This is the reflection of a maturing continent led by its youth.
Why place our youth at a disadvantage by imposing foreign technologies or abstract theories when development can be pursued freely? Every African should be able to build their own “free” economy from what they have and what best suits them. Look closely — this youth has already mastered technological tools at a symbolic cost. Free Software allows African youth to redefine the continent’s economy into a digital economy with a low entry ticket, as Wilfried N’Guessan so aptly explains in his book “54 Reasons Why Africa Should Choose Free Software.”
Free Software in the hands of youth…
Free Software in the hands of youth will strengthen Africa. The combination of freedom and youth will produce Made-in-Africa technocrats — capable of solving Africa’s challenges using an African language, within a blend of competence, independence, openness, demystification, sharing, accessibility, and collaboration.
When more than half of a continent’s youth is unemployed, it’s a call for action. When an entire generation seeks work while the economy is still recovering, it’s an even louder alarm. Self-employment and entrepreneurship are viable alternatives. Building from zero — yes, it is possible with Free Software.
Every young African who embraces Free Software becomes a bearer of hope for their generation and the generations to come. Let us not silence our youth by forcing proprietary technologies and ill-suited theories upon them, which would only weaken them when it comes time to build the foundation of Africa’s future economy.
Africa’s development will not happen without its youth, without ICTs, and without Free Software. The power lies in the hands of this generation — one that seeks to be independent, skilled, civic-minded, and free.
The secret to Africa’s next economic miracle lies in entrepreneurship through ICTs. And the two true pillars will be “Youth” and “Free Software” — because “Freedom” and “Youth” will save Africa!
Florent YOUZAN