Executive Summary
The “Young Women in Africa: Agents of Economic Growth and Transformation by 2030” report was commissioned by the Mastercard Foundation to gain insights into young women’s growth and potential contribution to Africa’s economy. The study, conducted by McKinsey and Company, assesses the economic impact of young women on Africa's GDP, identifies sectors that present opportunities for work and entrepreneurship for them, and highlights key constraints that need to be addressed to enable young women to significantly increase their productivity and contribution to Africa's GDP by 2030.
Young women in Africa can be powerful agents of the continent’s economic growth and transformation. According to McKinsey (2024), their economic participation could add up to US$287 billion to Africa’s GDP, a 5% increase and create 23 million jobs (McKinsey 2024). This is further underscored by The World Bank’s Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent Girls in Africa (Nov 2024), which estimates that targeted investments in adolescent girls could yield returns of over US$2.4 trillion by 2040. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda are expected to have the fastest growth if they follow Namibia’s example to accelerate young women’s contribution to GDP (Moodley, et al, 2019; McKinsey 2024)
