Adesina: Nigeria Must Invest in Young Entrepreneurs

By Grace Kim

Former African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina says Nigeria must invest in its young entrepreneurs, according to Punch Newspapers.

That's the core of his message: the country's economic future depends on backing the businesses its young people are already trying to build.

Adesina speaks with institutional weight. He led the African Development Bank — the continent's premier multilateral lender — before exiting the presidency, and his public statements on African economic policy routinely draw attention from investors and policymakers alike.

What is Adesina actually calling for?

His position, as reported by Punch, is direct: Nigeria should channel investment into young entrepreneurs. He's framing youth enterprise not as a social program but as an economic necessity.

The argument lands at a moment when Nigeria's young population is one of its most cited assets — and one of its least capitalized.

The takeaway in plain words: Adesina wants money moved toward young founders, and he's using his platform to say so publicly.

Why does the messenger matter?

A former AfDB president carries credibility on development finance that few Nigerian voices can match. When someone who ran the region's biggest development bank says youth entrepreneurship deserves investment, lenders and governments tend to listen.

The one-line closer: Nigeria has the young founders; Adesina is demanding the capital follow.