Investing $100 Million to Create Africa's Next Million Jobs: Why Manufacturing Beats Tech with Daniel Yu

Episode 231 with Daniel Yu, Founder of Africa Jobs Fund, a philanthropic venture builder focused on creating high productivity jobs across Sub Saharan Africa through export manufacturing and international labour mobility.

Daniel is best known as the founder and former CEO of Wasoko, one of Africa's leading commerce and supply chain technology companies. After spending more than a decade building logistics infrastructure across multiple African markets, he has shifted his focus towards what he believes is the continent's biggest economic challenge: creating productive jobs at scale. Through the Africa Jobs Fund, he aims to mobilise 100 million dollars over the next five years to back commercially viable businesses and workforce infrastructure that connect African talent and industry to global demand.

In this episode, Daniel explains why he believes Africa's next phase of economic growth will depend on creating millions of higher productivity jobs rather than simply building more technology companies. Drawing on lessons from East and South East Asia, he explores how export manufacturing and international labour mobility have consistently driven industrialisation, income growth, and poverty reduction, and why Africa is now uniquely positioned to compete in global manufacturing and workforce supply chains.

What We Discuss With Daniel

• Why Daniel believes Africa has spent too long chasing tech startups instead of building the industries that create millions of jobs.
• The uncomfortable truth about why consumer technology alone will not solve Africa's employment crisis.
• Is Africa on the verge of becoming the world's next manufacturing and workforce powerhouse?
• Why export manufacturing and international labour mobility have lifted more people out of poverty than almost any other economic strategy.
• How the Africa Jobs Fund plans to back the businesses that could fundamentally reshape Africa's labour market.

Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Can Financing Unlock Africa's EV Revolution Faster Than Technology? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn – Terser Adamu
Instagram – unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) – @TerserAdamu

Connect with Daniel
LinkedIn – Daniel Yu and Africa Jobs Fund

Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:

www.etkgroup.co.uk
info@etkgroup.co.uk