• Ramaphosa urges AGOA renewal to fight youth job crisis

• South Africa sees 62.4% youth unemployment in early 2025

• Calls for U.S. ties, trade, and skills to boost opportunities
  

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), stressing its critical role in supporting jobs amid a national youth unemployment crisis. Ramaphosa made the appeal on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the U.S.-South Africa Trade and Investment Dialogue, held on the sidelines of the 80th U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The call comes as South Africa grapples with a youth unemployment rate that reached nearly 62.4% in the first quarter of 2025, according to Statistics South Africa. For the president, renewing AGOA, which grants preferential access for South African exports to U.S. markets, is a vital tool for preserving and creating jobs while helping local businesses access international markets.

"In South Africa, it has supported jobs from auto assembly plants to farms to high-tech manufacturing hubs. Its expiry would not only undermine those gains, but also remove the link to the Generalised System of Preferences, which has been so critical to many of our exporters. For this reason, I appeal for your support in advocating for its renewal," Ramaphosa said. 

Ramaphosa encouraged stronger cooperation with U.S. companies to enhance South Africa's skills development and innovation. He also highlighted South Africa's strategic position as a gateway to the 1.4 billion-consumer African continental market, made accessible by the African Continental Free Trade Area. This strategy aims to attract investment and create sustainable opportunities for young graduates in key sectors like agribusiness, automotive manufacturing, and digital technologies.

Africa-Wide Employment Strategies

South Africa's challenges mirror similar efforts across the continent. In Kenya, young people's engagement in agri-food value chains is driving job creation, innovation, and social inclusion. Programs like the Kenya Youth Employment and Skills (K-YES) are providing young people with the necessary skills to compete in the job market.

Nigeria’s government has launched the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP), which focuses on employability, entrepreneurship, and equal opportunity. Additionally, in 2024, it reactivated the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) with a capitalization of 110 billion naira (approximately $73 million) to generate employment opportunities.

These initiatives demonstrate that combined strategies involving open trade access, skills enhancement, and targeted investment are essential to provide long-term support for youth employment across Africa.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou