Lagos has undergone a cultural transformation in the last decade. Driven by its vast youth population, its creative industries, from art and design to music, film and fashion, are booming. Vogue magazine hails the city as West Africa’s cultural capital, and Nigeria’s music and entertainment industries stand to be its greatest export. And for this young generation of creatives, the Global North no longer resonates as the key tastemaker. As citizens of a boundless world they blend heritage with Western influences but remain deeply rooted in their African culture and express a growing confidence and pride in Africa and African identity.

The world’s people are getting old. According to the United Nations Population Fund, in 2018, for the first time in history, people aged 65 or above outnumbered children under five. Europe has the greatest percentage of people over 60 (25 per cent) but rapid ageing is occurring everywhere: by 2050 most regions of the globe will have a quarter or more of their populations older than 60. But there is one area that is bucking this trend: all of the world’s 20 youngest countries by population are situated in Africa. By 2050, Africa will be home to one billion young people and by 2100 almost half of the world’s youth are expected to be from Africa. The UN’s World Population Prospects says: ‘In all plausible scenarios of future trends, Africa will play a central role in shaping the size and distribution of the world’s population over the next few decades.’ Only by listening to their voices, documenting the lives and dreams of the people who will lead, inspire, solve the problems and build our mutual future, can we begin to understand what it means to be young in an otherwise ageing world.

Japá is a Yoruba word that translates as ‘run away’. The word has become part of young Nigerian’s lexicon, defining the desire that many have to experience a new life abroad. Perceptions are that much of the country is looking to leave but the number of African immigrants is vastly overestimated. The share of Africans living abroad has barely increased since the 1960s. In 2017 of the 258 million international migrants worldwide, around 14 per cent of the total were African, equal to just under 3 per cent of the continent’s population. In the same year, 61 million international migrants were European, constituting almost 12 per cent of the population. In the main it is talented Nigerians that are leaving the country. Nigeria sends the largest number of African students abroad – some 95,000 – and ranks fifth in the world in terms of overall number of students in foreign study. Those that do leave continue to have a significant impact on their home nation, not least financially. For four consecutive years, official remittances from diaspora Nigerians have exceeded the country’s oil revenues. And many young African migrants are now seeking to return home and be part of the continent’s renaissance.

Lagos has undergone a cultural transformation in the last decade. Driven by its vast youth population, its creative industries, from art and design to music, film and fashion, are booming. Vogue magazine hails the city as West Africa’s cultural capital, and Nigeria’s music and entertainment industries stand to be its greatest export. And for this young generation of creatives, the Global North no longer resonates as the key tastemaker. As citizens of a boundless world they blend heritage with Western influences but remain deeply rooted in their African culture and express a growing confidence and pride in Africa and African identity.

Nigeria ranks first in the world in youthful entrepreneurship, with 40 per cent of young Nigerians engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activity. With jobs scarce and often badly paid, a business on the side helps make ends meet. But it’s also a cultural attitude: entrepreneurial nous flows through this generation’s veins. New businesses tend to be focused on local and pan-African consumers and entrepreneurship is fuelled by social media. Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook are used as tools to sell physical products and services. Social enterprises are growing, too, as acting with humanity becomes an important consideration for many young entrepreneurs across the continent. The typical Soro Soke generation entrepreneur is a creative disruptor, using their business to deliver solutions to the larger problems the continent faces. But being an entrepreneur on the continent still poses significant challenges. Nigeria has the highest volume of start-ups on the African continent, over 750, but misses out on all the top 10 rankings for categories that are critical to helping a business thrive.

Nigeria ranks first in the world in youthful entrepreneurship, with 40 per cent of young Nigerians engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activity. With jobs scarce and often badly paid, a business on the side helps make ends meet. But it’s also a cultural attitude: entrepreneurial nous flows through this generation’s veins. New businesses tend to be focused on local and pan-African consumers and entrepreneurship is fuelled by social media. Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook are used as tools to sell physical products and services. Social enterprises are growing, too, as acting with humanity becomes an important consideration for many young entrepreneurs across the continent. The typical Soro Soke generation entrepreneur is a creative disruptor, using their business to deliver solutions to the larger problems the continent faces. But being an entrepreneur on the continent still poses significant challenges. Nigeria has the highest volume of start-ups on the African continent, over 750, but misses out on all the top 10 rankings for categories that are critical to helping a business thrive.

Young Nigerians feel the world is progressing towards a better future. New and transformational forces – including access to technology and growing urbanisation – are reshaping lifestyles, life choices, economic opportunities, values and culture. For the Soro Soke generation, leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not about copying traditional approaches from the West but conceiving, creating and delivering entirely new, pan-African opportunities. Entrepreneurial at heart, this generation is focused on turning problems into business opportunities and does so with a sense of social justice. This cohort evidences a real sense of community. It has a ‘we’re in this together’ mentality that encompasses everything from improving wealth and opportunity, to accessing power and even breaking down gender stereotypes. Young Nigerians recognise the need for change and social media is empowering them to speak out and realise that change. In the search for equality, security and more opportunity, they are using social media to disrupt the status quo and fight for better governance. This generation stands at the brink of materialising a demographic dividend that is set to change not only the quality of their opportunities but also to reposition the continent’s place in global affairs.

The world’s people are getting old. According to the United Nations Population Fund, in 2018, for the first time in history, people aged 65 or above outnumbered children under five. Europe has the greatest percentage of people over 60 (25 per cent) but rapid ageing is occurring everywhere: by 2050 most regions of the globe will have a quarter or more of their populations older than 60. But there is one area that is bucking this trend: all of the world’s 20 youngest countries by population are situated in Africa. By 2050, Africa will be home to one billion young people and by 2100 almost half of the world’s youth are expected to be from Africa. The UN’s World Population Prospects says: ‘In all plausible scenarios of future trends, Africa will play a central role in shaping the size and distribution of the world’s population over the next few decades.’ Only by listening to their voices, documenting the lives and dreams of the people who will lead, inspire, solve the problems and build our mutual future, can we begin to understand what it means to be young in an otherwise ageing world.

Young Nigerians feel the world is progressing towards a better future. New and transformational forces – including access to technology and growing urbanisation – are reshaping lifestyles, life choices, economic opportunities, values and culture. For the Soro Soke generation, leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not about copying traditional approaches from the West but conceiving, creating and delivering entirely new, pan-African opportunities. Entrepreneurial at heart, this generation is focused on turning problems into business opportunities and does so with a sense of social justice. This cohort evidences a real sense of community. It has a ‘we’re in this together’ mentality that encompasses everything from improving wealth and opportunity, to accessing power and even breaking down gender stereotypes. Young Nigerians recognise the need for change and social media is empowering them to speak out and realise that change. In the search for equality, security and more opportunity, they are using social media to disrupt the status quo and fight for better governance. This generation stands at the brink of materialising a demographic dividend that is set to change not only the quality of their opportunities but also to reposition the continent’s place in global affairs.

Japá is a Yoruba word that translates as ‘run away’. The word has become part of young Nigerian’s lexicon, defining the desire that many have to experience a new life abroad. Perceptions are that much of the country is looking to leave but the number of African immigrants is vastly overestimated. The share of Africans living abroad has barely increased since the 1960s. In 2017 of the 258 million international migrants worldwide, around 14 per cent of the total were African, equal to just under 3 per cent of the continent’s population. In the same year, 61 million international migrants were European, constituting almost 12 per cent of the population. In the main it is talented Nigerians that are leaving the country. Nigeria sends the largest number of African students abroad – some 95,000 – and ranks fifth in the world in terms of overall number of students in foreign study. Those that do leave continue to have a significant impact on their home nation, not least financially. For four consecutive years, official remittances from diaspora Nigerians have exceeded the country’s oil revenues. And many young African migrants are now seeking to return home and be part of the continent’s renaissance.