Unlocking the Potential of AfCFTA for Africa’s Young Population. (2025, May). Unicef.org. https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/unlocking-potential-afcfta-africas-young-population

‌UNICEF and the Pardee Institute recently launched a collaborative report on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its implications for Africa’s young population, led by Pardee researchers, including Deva Sahadevan, Taylor Hanna, and Jonathan Moyer.

Using our International Futures (IFs) model, the report compares three paths: no AfCFTA, AfCFTA as agreed, and AfCFTA plus strategic investments in education, welfare transfers, and research & development, all the way to 2063. The report recommends that countries put children at the center by investing AfCFTA revenue in education, health, nutrition, and green jobs, while building strong social safety nets. They also need to manage risks like job shifts, environmental impacts, and child protection issues.

Moyer, Jonathan D. and Kabandula, Abigail and Bohl, David and Hanna, Taylor, Conditions for Success in the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3941470 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3941470

Bohl, David K., Steve Hedden, Jonathan D. Moyer, Kanishka Narayan, and Jessica Rettig. 2017.

"Development Trends Report for Southern Africa." Invited Research Paper for USAID. Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver. Denver, CO.

PwC Mexico and the Pacific Alliance Business Council. 2016. Future of the Pacific Alliance: Integration for productive growth. Mexico.

Access the Spanish version.

Moyer, Jonathan D., Jessica Rettig, David K. Bohl, and Barry B. Hughes. 2013.

"NEPAD’s Integrated Approach for African Development: The Big Push to 2063." Invited Research Paper for The New Partnership for African Development Planning and Coordinating Agency. Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver. Denver, CO.

Irfan, Mohammod T., and Eli S. Margolese-Malin. 2012.