Follow Us on Google
West Africa needs to expand legitimate pathways to economic participation beyond formal employment, with entrepreneurship, digital commerce, vocational skills and independent work offering additional opportunities to tackle the region’s growing jobs challenge, Cherif Sarr, Regional General Manager for Central and West Africa at QNET, has said.
Sarr, who made the call in an article on economic inclusion, said the region’s growing youth population, rising demand for economic independence and rapid technological changes required a broader approach to creating sustainable livelihoods.
He noted that the formal economy alone could not absorb everyone seeking employment, stressing the need to widen access to responsible entrepreneurship and other productive economic activities.
Citing a July 2024 report by the World Bank, Sarr said six million young people enter the labour force annually across Western and Central Africa, while only about 500,000 new jobs are created.
According to him, the challenge should therefore extend beyond creating more jobs to developing more legitimate and sustainable ways for people to participate in the economy.
He said: “The question we therefore need to ask is not simply: How do we create more jobs? It is also: How do we widen the number of legitimate, responsible pathways through which people can participate in the economy?”
Sarr argued that economic participation should not be limited to salaried employment, noting that small traders, farmers, artisans, independent professionals, creative workers, technology entrepreneurs and family businesses also play important roles in economic development.
He said many West Africans already depended on such activities for their livelihoods, adding that the priority should be to help them transition from vulnerable informal activities to more productive, skilled and secure economic participation.
The QNET executive maintained that entrepreneurship should not be defined solely by the creation of technology startups or businesses backed by substantial venture capital.
According to him, it could begin with identifying a need, providing a product or service, attracting customers and managing income and expenses to build a sustainable business.
However, he stressed that access to customers, appropriate financing and practical support remained essential to the survival and growth of small businesses.
Sarr also called for more predictable trade policies aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area to enable smaller businesses to access wider markets.
On the risks associated with entrepreneurship, he warned against misleading income claims and unrealistic promises targeting people searching for additional sources of earnings.
He said expanding access to business opportunities must go hand in hand with transparency, accountability and consumer protection.
“No legitimate form of entrepreneurship guarantees success,” he said, adding that prospective entrepreneurs needed clear information about costs, risks, business requirements and how income was generated.
He urged businesses to address exaggerated income claims and misleading offers made by their representatives, while ensuring that customers had access to clear information and effective complaints procedures.
Other News
Sarr said entrepreneurship should expand people’s choices rather than exploit their aspirations, calling for collaboration among governments, businesses, civil society and law-enforcement agencies to promote legitimate opportunities and curb fraudulent schemes.
He further argued that skills development should receive as much attention as access to finance, noting that entrepreneurs needed practical knowledge in customer relations, cash-flow management, communication, negotiation, digital tools and problem-solving.
According to him, these capabilities could remain valuable even when a business venture failed, helping individuals transition between paid employment, entrepreneurship and independent work.
The QNET executive also highlighted the need to address barriers limiting women’s economic participation, including unequal access to finance, technology, training, business networks and time.
Citing an ILOSTAT analysis published in May 2026 using 2022 data, he said the employment-to-population ratio for women aged 15 to 29 in Senegal stood at 22.5 per cent.
He said flexible economic opportunities could help widen participation but cautioned that flexibility alone would not guarantee empowerment.
Sarr called for greater access to financial literacy, mentoring, digital tools, credible business networks and training programmes designed to accommodate women’s care responsibilities.
He added that the impact of entrepreneurship on women should be measured not only by the number of businesses established but also by improvements in income security, skills and economic independence.
On the role of technology, Sarr said expanding digital infrastructure was creating new opportunities for small businesses to reach customers, receive payments and access services that were previously difficult to obtain.
He cited data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which showed that merchant acceptance points for electronic money across the West African Economic and Monetary Union increased from approximately 1.75 million in 2023 to 3.71 million in 2024.
He said smartphones and digital platforms were increasingly enabling entrepreneurs to access customers, education, logistics and financial services, while artificial intelligence could provide additional tools for marketing, translation, design, bookkeeping and customer service.
However, he warned that connectivity alone was insufficient, stressing the need for affordable technology, relevant digital skills and measures to verify the accuracy of AI-generated information.
Sarr called for a coordinated approach involving governments, educational institutions, financial institutions, businesses, civil society and the media to build an ecosystem that supports productive economic participation.
He said governments should provide enabling regulation and infrastructure, while educational institutions should equip young people with adaptable skills and financial institutions should improve access to responsible capital.
Businesses, he added, should invest in training and create platforms that enable more people to participate in economic activity.
He cited QNET’s FinGreen programme, which focuses on financial literacy education and training, particularly for young adults and communities with limited access to resources, as an example of efforts to promote informed financial decisions.
Sarr, however, emphasised that financial literacy training should not be presented as a guarantee of income.
“Opening a door is not enough. We must be clear about what lies behind it,” he said.
He maintained that West Africa’s economic future depended on creating more credible choices for its growing population while continuing to invest in formal employment.
According to him, a resilient economy is one in which people have access to multiple legitimate opportunities, possess the skills to make them productive and understand the choices available to them.
Sarr is the Regional General Manager for Central and West Africa at QNET, an international direct-selling company specialising in wellness and lifestyle products. He oversees the company’s growth across the region, with a focus on social commerce and microentrepreneurship opportunities.
