Introduction 

As young African students, our teachers created the beautiful impression that life is lineal, and education is the key to our financial success. Having this at the back of our minds, we spent days tirelessly burning the midnight candle just to have a feel of this success. For years, we encouraged each other that our dreams of wearing a surgical scrub or a lawyer’s cap in future would materialize.  To the graduating African student, the graduation gown is not only a ceremonial outfit but a symbol of guaranteed work. After graduation, many young Africans begin to move from company to company submitting their CV’ s in anticipation of employment.  The harsh reality begins to set in . You come to the realization that your CV among many others lies unattended to or probably buried under piles of applications, unread and unanswered. 

Mental Health 

The fear of not securing employment after school steals self-esteem and leaves us with depression. In Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs, self-actualization is the highest level of need. Every young graduate lives the dream of achieving their full potential while making their country and parents proud.  The lack of purpose and personal growth tends to affect their mental health.  Studies show that, “unemployment significantly increases the risk of mental health issues, including a 2-3 times higher risk of depression and elevated anxiety particularly in young adults.”

Entrepreneurship 

The limited companies and factories in Africa cannot fully absorb the large number of graduates African universities keeps producing every year. One of the key solutions to Africa’s ever-growing unemployment is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship helps solve Africa’s unemployment by creating self-employment and reducing over dependency on government employment.  The African educational system should adopt entrepreneurship courses in its system.  There are growing challenges and problems in Africa that needs innovative solutions.  The government through its employment Ministries should make local resources and mentorship available to young graduates who intend to embark on the journey of entrepreneurship. This would go a long way in solving Africa’s unemployment rate. 

Solutions and the Way Forward 

Entrepreneurship is the key to solving Africa’s long-term unemployment, but unfortunately, resources and mentorship are not made readily available to graduates and individuals who are ready to take up the entrepreneurship journey. The government should make resources and mentorship programs available to aspiring entrepreneurs in order to make the journey easier for them. 

Conclusion 

Entrepreneurship remains one of the key tools in reducing Africa’s high unemployment rate. Factories are not being built, but the universities keep producing a large number of graduates each year.  To solve this imbalance, the government, through its employment agencies, should make resources and mentorship readily available to aspiring entrepreneurs.