Adesina slams Nigerian banks for neglecting innovative youth-led businesses

• Published On: 12 April 2025 at 06:39

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, has lambasted commercial banks in Nigeria and across Africa for failing to adequately nurture young entrepreneurs.

In an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, he claimed that the current banking system is not geared to assist young people with innovative ideas in obtaining the funding they require.

Adesina underlined that institutional barriers still prohibit young people from starting successful firms, despite their potential and ingenuity.

Adesina, reflecting on his financial past, underlined the challenges that young Nigerians face while obtaining loans. He explained that most young people lack the collateral, credit history, and continuous income required by commercial banks.

"You walk inside the bank and see young people, possibly 21 years old, coming in. Your risk assessment simply shows risk, risk, and risk. So you go ask them for the security that they need to present to you," he said.

He underlined the burdensome requirements placed on young candidates, such as owning property or providing years of tax records, which are frequently beyond of reach for many.

"Do you have a house, do you have land, do you have this, and have you paid taxes for the past 40 years?" I am only 21 years old. "As a result, the entire system is not designed for young people," he told me.

Adesina underlined that Africa's financial industry is fundamentally unprepared to satisfy the aspirations of its youth.

"The commercial banking system, the financial system, has failed young people in Africa," I heard him say.

Adesina claimed that Africa has around 465 million young people aged 15 to 35, but the financial markets have not evolved to suit their needs.

He questioned why it is surprising that so many young Nigerians are abandoning the country in search of better possibilities abroad, given the lack of support and opportunity at home.

"The 'japa syndrome' you mentioned—it's a big loss for us out of Nigeria and many other countries," according to you.

Adesina challenged the current approach to youth empowerment, stating that young people need access to capital rather than tokenistic activities. He stressed that considerable support for adolescent entrepreneurship comes from providing genuine financial resources that enable them to turn their ideas into profitable businesses.

"First and foremost, understand that freebies are useless for young people. We don't need someone merely stating, 'Oh well, I just want to give you a youth empowerment program.' "What does that mean?" he asked.

He underlined that, while African youth possess the skills, experience, and entrepreneurial spirit to succeed, they lack the financial resources to turn their ideas into lucrative businesses.