Brazzaville: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called on African nations to transition from pilot projects to scaling up successful development models continent-wide. Dr. Jide Okeke, Director of Regional Programmes at the Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP, made this appeal during the ongoing 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) group held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Dr. Okeke emphasized that Africa’s developmental efforts should focus on creating sustainable enterprises that can generate extensive job opportunities across multiple value chains, rather than merely compiling employment statistics. “We should stop counting jobs and start counting valued enterprises,” he stated, underscoring the need for a shift in perspective towards economic transformation through sustainable business systems.
Dr. Okeke further articulated that Africa’s economic transformation is contingent on fostering systems and businesses that offer broader opportunities and facilitate long-term growth. He shed light on the African Youth Agency as a reflection of the continent’s evolving realities and the shifting aspirations of young Africans. “The young person of 1982 is different from the young person of 2026. Africa has changed, Africa is changing and Africa will continue to change,” he remarked, highlighting the dynamic nature of Africa’s demographic and its implications for development planning.
Moreover, Dr. Okeke advised that capital for Africa’s development should not be limited to a financial viewpoint. He referenced insights from the African Economic Outlook Report, which identified four essential forms of capital vital for Africa’s growth: financial, human, natural resource, and fiscal capital. He urged African leaders and institutions to strategically leverage these resources to mobilize development financing on a large scale.
In a critique of the continent’s historical reliance on pilot programmes, Dr. Okeke called for a strategic expansion of initiatives that have proven successful. “We have been doing pilots since 1960. It is time for us to scale-up what has worked and what is working,” he insisted, advocating for a broader implementation of effective projects.
The AfDB 2026 Annual Meetings, which commenced on May 25, are scheduled to conclude on Friday, May 29, under the theme, ‘Mobilising Africa’s Development Financing at Scale in a Fragmented World.’