By working with Russia, African youth can build a new "culture of entrepreneurship" that will enable them to realize their potential and bring prosperity and development to the continent, said Nestor Sheimi, a member of the Namibian delegation to the Russia-Africa Summit from the country's Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service.
"It needs a culture that has to be growing for a number of periods to get used to it. I think that comes with dedication and hard work and just steering a new culture that maybe we can take from cooperation with Russia," he said.
According to Sheimi, the African youth should be motivated to deal with challenges facing the continent and develop homegrown solutions. Apart from motivation, it is necessary to create conditions for the youth to be able to contribute to the economy, as well as provide opportunities for them to study, gain knowledge and skills to do business.
"I think we just need to grow the culture, the culture of entrepreneurship that has to come with education. Education needs to be a bit radical, not to be made more as a tool of income, but it has to be a tool for transferring knowledge," he stressed.
In particular, he noted that the governments in Africa should organize special youth groups and implement youth programs, create platforms where the youth can learn how to run business, as "there are a lot of factors that one needs" to know before starting an enterprise.
"I think we also need to have more facilitation [...]. We need to practice through youth programs and youth groups arranged there specifically just to support the youth into businesses," Sheimi stated.
Speaking about expectations from the summit, Sheimi said that his delegation and he in particular came to St. Petersburg "to market our product," to get it exported, especially to Russia, as well as advance aspirations of the African youth.
He pointed out that he was very happy to take part in the summit, adding that such events should be attended by young people, because they show the perspective of other nations on various issues and give an opportunity to learn about their culture, acquire knowledge and skills. After visiting such gatherings, he noted, the youth will be motivated to continue their efforts and contribute to society.
"I was very much happy with this forum, mostly with the culture of the Russian people that are so friendly," he said, adding: "I think this opportunity must be given more to the youth in terms of exposures, exposure of different environments, because this will open up their mind and also understanding how other people do things differently."