An entrepreneur, Oluwatosin Alabi, has hinted at how innovation-led entrepreneurship can offer a tangible way to close the unemployment and underemployment gap in the sub-Saharan region through job creation.

Alabi, an MBA candidate at the University of Arkansas, USA, specialising in finance and entrepreneurship, said Africa being the world’s youngest continent, with 70 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population under the age of 30, as well as youth unemployment exceeding 13 per cent and informal underemployment significantly higher, entrepreneurs must be equipped with more than ideas that could compete locally and globally.

He said they need access to legal literacy, digital tools, investor readiness, and policy insight, as well as ecosystems to thrive.
According to him, in today’s innovation-driven economy, the power to solve complex problems no longer belongs exclusively to large corporations or wealthy nations but resides in the hands of agile, tech-savvy entrepreneurs.

Specifically, Alabi said across Africa, where decades of structural gaps have restricted access to finance, education, and infrastructure, a quiet revolution was underway.

The revolution, the MBA candidate said, was led not by institutions but by individuals – local entrepreneurs who are using technology to leapfrog systemic constraints and deliver scalable and inclusive solutions.

Given instances, he said, having worked closely with underserved communities in Nigeria and the United States, “I’ve seen firsthand how digital innovation can drive real change. From creating tech-enabled transportation services to supporting informal traders with financial access, I’ve learned a critical truth: innovation doesn’t begin with resources—it begins with insight, empathy, and intentionality.”

Pointing at three key shifts powering the movement, he stressed that entrepreneurs are using tech to not only solve problems but to redefine who gets to participate in the economy.

He mentioned the localised digital platforms, micro-innovation over mega-funding, and inclusive design as a core principle.

For the localised digital platforms, he cited an example of FareFlex, which he described as a transportation-tech startup he co-developed and tailored to the needs of underserved towns in the U.S. and Africa.

The platform, according to him, enables fare negotiation, supports multi-service delivery (errands, rides, courier), and creates local jobs, serving communities often overlooked by mainstream tech platforms.

These, Alabi said, were about a broader movement of young Africans building resilient, future-facing industries from the bottom up through agri-tech firms digitising post-harvest logistics and community finance apps extending microcredit to market women, among others.

He added how he is working in both Nigeria and the United States to support emerging innovators with the tools, mentorship, and ecosystems they need to thrive.
The goal, according to him, is not just more startups, but stronger, longer-lasting ones that can compete locally and globally.
“Africa’s next economic leap will not come from the top down. It will be architected by resilient innovators who are using technology to rebuild local economies—one app, one business, one idea at a time,” he said.