Empowering diverse young African leaders to influence policy, governance, and development decisions — placing youth at the centre of conversations that shape Africa's future through the TrustAfrica and Mastercard Foundation partnership.
Across Africa, young people make up the majority of the population — yet they remain systematically excluded from the policy, governance, and development conversations that determine their futures. Their perspectives are sought as decoration at conferences, but rarely translated into genuine decision-making power. The result is a continent whose institutions and systems continue to be shaped by older generations for younger ones, rather than by younger generations for themselves.
The African Youth Panel — a TrustAfrica and Mastercard Foundation initiative — was created to challenge that pattern. The panel brings together 20 diverse young African leaders, with 70% young women and 40% refugees, ensuring that the voices most often absent from policy spaces are centred. YSAT's participation reflects both the organisation's commitment to youth leadership and its recognition that the issues affecting displaced youth — livelihoods, education, protection, self-reliance — require sustained engagement at the continental level, not just the community level.
The high proportion of refugee youth on the panel is significant. It signals that refugee inclusion is not an afterthought but a design principle — recognising that displacement-affected youth have unique insights into the failures and possibilities of Africa's governance and humanitarian systems. Through the African Youth Panel, YSAT amplifies the voices of the communities it serves into spaces of influence where those voices can shape policy, shift narratives, and create the conditions for more equitable and inclusive development across the continent.
20 diverse young African leaders are empowered through structured leadership development programming that builds their capacity to engage effectively in policy and governance spaces. Panel members receive mentorship, training in advocacy and communication, and opportunities to engage with decision-makers at national and continental levels — developing the confidence, skills, and networks needed to sustain their influence beyond the panel itself.
Panel members engage in high-level policy conversations on issues affecting African youth — including livelihoods, education, health, climate, displacement, and economic inclusion. Their participation ensures that youth perspectives are present in rooms where decisions are made, and that the lived experiences of young people — particularly those from marginalised and displaced communities — inform rather than merely illustrate the policy agenda.
With 40% of panel members being refugees, the AYP deliberately centres voices that are systematically excluded from continental governance conversations. YSAT's participation creates a direct bridge between the grassroots realities of displaced communities in Rhino Camp and Imvepi and the policy spaces where decisions about their futures are made. This representation is not symbolic — it is a structural commitment to ensuring that the most marginalised youth have a genuine seat at the table.
Beyond individual policy engagements, the AYP contributes to shifting the broader narrative about African youth — from passive recipients of development aid to active agents of change. Panel members advocate publicly, contribute to research and publications, and participate in continental forums that shape how institutions and funders think about youth, livelihoods, and self-reliance across Africa. This advocacy directly reinforces YSAT's mission and amplifies its impact at scale.
With 70% of panel members being young women, the AYP embodies a gender-transformative approach to youth leadership. This is not about meeting a quota — it is a recognition that women's leadership produces better outcomes for communities, that young women face the most significant barriers to political and economic participation, and that any genuine shift in Africa's governance landscape must be led substantially by women. YSAT's participation reinforces its own gender equality commitments at the programme level.
Diverse young leaders empowered through the African Youth Panel
Percent young women — gender-transformative leadership by design
Percent refugee youth — centring displaced voices in continental policy
Founding partners: TrustAfrica and Mastercard Foundation