Africa's greatest asset is its children - the continent's demographic advantage. By 2050, one in three young people globally will be African. The future of education is African, and the reality is, the future of the global workforce is African as well. Today's choices will determine whether these demographic inevitabilities become a dividend of prosperity or lost potential.
However, to unlock Africa's full talent, we must face a hard truth: foundational learning outcomes across the continent remain alarmingly low. Too many children leave school unable to read a simple sentence or solve a basic math problem. This is not merely a learning crisis - it is a crisis of opportunity, productivity, and dignity.
Improving learning outcomes at scale with domestic resources is possible. Unlike in many areas of education, we clearly know what works to strengthen foundational learning and improve learning outcomes. Structured pedagogy - combining teacher training, high-quality instructional materials, and regular skills-based coaching - consistently delivers measurable results.
