MPILA Voices at the Table: Our Fellows Represent at the World Bank's AFW Youth Forum 2026
Accra, Ghana — June 22, 2026
When the World Bank Group convened young leaders across Western and Central Africa for the AFW Youth Forum 2026 under the banner "Youth Works. Africa Thrives," the Mentoring Plus International Leadership Academy (MPILA) was in the room and at the table. The AFW Youth Forum 2026 was facilitated by Paulina Adjei, MPILA's Lead facilitator.
Members, mentees, and fellows of MPILA joined the Accra leg of this landmark regional dialogue, taking their place alongside youth leaders, policymakers, private sector representatives, and World Bank Group experts to help shape one of the most consequential conversations on Africa's economic future: the future of work for its young people.
MPILA fellows and mentees at the AFW Youth Forum 2026 in Accra, Ghana.
Why This Forum Mattered
Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population. Western and Central Africa alone counts close to 196 million young people aged 10–24, and by 2050 the region will represent nearly one in five young people on the planet. That scale of human potential is staggering, but the World Bank's own data is a sobering reminder that potential is not destiny: a child born today in this region is projected to reach only 38 percent of their productive capacity, a gap rooted in education, health, and workforce readiness.
The AFW Youth Forum 2026 was convened to confront that gap head-on, and to do it differently; not as another forum where decisions about young people are made without them, but as a youth-led space for co-creation. It followed directly on the heels of the Global WBG Youth Summit held in Washington, DC earlier in June, translating that global momentum into action-oriented, regionally grounded discussions for Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Guinea, and Senegal.
"This is exactly the kind of room MPILA exists to prepare young people to walk into." – re-echo by Mr. Emmanuel Osei (Mennel), the Executive Director.
Ghana's Focus: Entrepreneurship, SMEs, and Youth-Led Innovation
Each participating country anchored its national dialogue around a theme suited to its own context. Ghana's focus — Entrepreneurship, SMEs, and Youth-Led Innovation — sits squarely at the intersection of everything MPILA has spent years cultivating in its fellows: the mindset, skills, and networks to build ventures, create jobs, and lead change rather than wait for it.
Throughout the day, the Accra delegation engaged across several formats designed to put youth voice first:
- The Youth Pulse Poll, live benchmarking sentiment on employment, skills, and digital opportunity across countries
- The Local Dialogue, a candid exchange between youth leaders, World Bank Group experts, academia, government, and the private sector
- The Innovation Lab and Solution Design Workshop, where small groups translated big questions, "How can young Africans leverage innovation to contribute to jobs creation?", into practical, actionable recommendations.
- Passing the Baton, a fireside conversation with an international & local champion on the journey from youth to professional impact
The recommendations generated in Accra didn't stay in Accra. They were consolidated and carried forward into the Regional Plenary Session, where Ghana's voice joined six other countries in direct dialogue with World Bank Group leadership, including Vice President Ousmane Diagana and senior regional directors, a genuine seat at a genuinely high table.
A Moment That Reflects MPILA's Mission
MPILA was built on a simple conviction: that leadership is not something young Africans should wait to be granted, it is something they can be equipped to claim. Watching our fellows hold their own in a room convened by one of the world's most influential development institutions, contributing ideas on jobs, innovation, and entrepreneurship that will inform policy across an entire region, is a powerful affirmation of that conviction in action.
This is what it means to level up: not simply attending the conversation, but shaping it.
What Comes Next
The AFW Youth Forum is explicitly designed as more than a one-off event, it is positioned as part of an ongoing World Bank Group–youth engagement platform, with a post-Forum synthesis co-authored by youth rapporteurs feeding into the institution's global youth agenda. MPILA intends to stay close to that pipeline, ensuring the relationships and recommendations built in Accra translate into sustained engagement, partnership opportunities, and visibility for our fellows on the regional and continental stage.
To every MPILA mentee and fellow who represented the Academy with distinction in Accra, thank you for carrying our name into that room, and for reminding us why this work matters.
Stay connected with MPILA for updates on our fellows' continued engagement with the World Bank Group and partner institutions across the region.
About MPILA
The Mentoring Plus International Leadership Academy (MPILA) develops the next generation
of African leaders through mentorship, leadership training, and exposure to high-level
platforms where young people can shape, not just observe, the decisions that affect
their future.