Youth-led (digital) innovation and resilience during Covid-19: experiences from the African continent

Covid-19, ODI
Africa, COVID-19, Digitalisation, Innovation, Resilience, Youth

This case study report contributes to the evidence base on how young people across the African continent have adapted their situations and enterprises in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The findings and recommendations are based on evidence on resilience from an online consultation with a range of young people from across different African regions, held in May 2021. There was a high level of participation in the consultation, with more than 500 comments from over 120 participants from at least 15 countries.

Key messages

Young people across the African continent responded to Covid-19 by taking leadership, mobilising their community and addressing basic needs. They pivoted towards online income-generating opportunities such a freelancing or gig work. Those familiar and comfortable with technology were at an advantage, as were those who had the financial resources to meet data and device costs.
Community-first approaches led and sustained by youth emerged from a strong social fabric, which typifies many African communities. Relations of reciprocity, solidarity and caring for the most vulnerable orientated their efforts to support themselves and others through the crisis. Often, community-based initiatives and collaborations were critical to their own resilience strategies.
Youth adapted their businesses in response to Covid-19, anticipating or reacting to changes in inputs and markets, and evolving demand for products or services. Often this meant shifting activity online, rethinking production and deploying technology to sustain business operations.
Future resilience to shocks will depend on expanding youth access to basic services, digital infrastructure and financial capital. Training in creative use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), critical thinking and confidence building were identified as priority areas.

For more details and the PDF file of the case study click here.

This publication first appeared on the ODI site.

Authors: Stephanie Diepeveen, Emilie Tant, Aaron Bailey-Athias.

Photo by Tai’s Captures on Unsplash.

The views are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ETTG.

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