Ghanaian business mogul Sir Sam Jonah has charged Africa’s young people to embrace entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities rather than depend solely on government jobs for their livelihoods.
He warned that African countries would struggle to overcome poverty and unemployment if young people continued to view public-sector employment as their preferred or only route to economic security.
Sir Sam Jonah made the remarks on Thursday, October 15, 2026, when he addressed the Methodist University Ghana International Conference 2026, organised to commemorate the institution’s 25th anniversary.
He called for a renewed appreciation of enterprise and business creation, stressing the need to encourage young people to view entrepreneurship as a respectable and viable career option.
“Make enterprise respectable again. Too many of our brightest young people still see business as something you do only if you could not get a government job. A nation of job-seekers will always be poor. We need a nation of job-creators,” he said.
Sir Sam Jonah acknowledged the difficulties many young graduates face in securing employment after completing tertiary education.
Government institutions have traditionally been attractive to jobseekers because of the perceived stability and benefits associated with public-sector employment.
Beyond encouraging young people to create jobs, he urged African governments to do more to retain their brightest graduates by creating conditions that enable them to build successful careers and businesses in their home countries.
“We educate brilliant young people, at great cost, and then offer them nothing to do. Some sit at home. Some leave. Our best export is too often our best people. A sustainable Africa is one that keeps its talent working at home, not because they have no choice, but because home offers the best opportunity,” he said.