Omar Ibn Abdillah : What if development aid finally funded African expertise ?
In this opinion piece, Omar Ibn Abdillah highlights the continent’s pressing need to activate its own talent: undervalued human capital, outsourced technical assistance, and weakened sovereignty. He calls for stronger inclusion of African experts in funded projects and for empowered local capabilities to drive structural transformation.
By Omar Ibn Abdillah*
𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁.
Human capital: the first source of growth, yet still undervalued. Fifty to seventy percent of long-term growth comes from human capital. Yet in Africa: 10 to 12 million young people enter the labor market each year, for only 3 million formal jobs created.
Finland, South Korea, and Singapore built their productivity on education, continuous training, and skills development.
In Africa, Mauritius and Seychelles (HDI ~0.80) show that a coherent human capital development strategy can transform a country sustainably.
𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬.
𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝, 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡.
In 2023, Africa received more than USD 70 billion in official development assistance. FDI exceeded USD 84 billion in 2024, representing 6% of global flows.
A significant share of these amounts returns in the form of technical assistance contracts executed by extranational firms.
Yet many African administrations, universities, firms, and independent experts already possess sufficient competencies to carry out a large portion of these missions.
Sovereignty begins with competence, and competence must be African
After the Marshall Plan, it was not only financing that rebuilt Europe, but the ability to execute it thanks to engineers, administrations, and strong local institutions.
For Africa, the challenge is identical:
- Integrate more African experts into financed missions.
- Demand mixed teams where value stays on the continent.
Sovereignty begins with competence, and competence must be African.
If you are a consultant, expert, trainer, researcher, executive, African entrepreneur, consulting firm, agency, institution, or donor wishing to work with African talents, join the Invea Expert Community.
*Omar Ibn Abdillah is a specialist in economic strategy and sustainable transformation in Africa.
