South Africa’s youth unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the world at above 45%. That means nearly one in every two young people is without a job despite the fact that over 97% of the country’s youth are literate.

What’s more, according to recruitment firm Pnet, 70% of South Africa’s graduates struggle to find work. So, while the talent, potential and ideas are here, the opportunities are often not. The story is similar across the continent. Or so we thought.

The stark disconnect between access and opportunity is the reason the continent is seeing a generation that’s increasingly done with waiting. Done with waiting for policy. Done with waiting for corporate nods or political permission. The youth of Africa are choosing to dream in colour and, more importantly, to act.

This Youth Month, the Dreaming in Color podcast (available on all podcasting platforms) is spotlighting a new wave of dream weavers in a fifth season that focuses specifically on the African continent. These 10 inspiring individuals, four of whom will focus on youth, are reimagining what it means to participate in the economy. From Johannesburg to Tunis to Nairobi, their stories are proof that “as the world greys, especially in Europe and the US, Africa blooms”. These are the inspiring words of one of the series’ guests Nwabisa Mayema.

The cost of inaction isn’t just economic, it’s emotional. According to the University of The Witwatersrand, more than a quarter of South African youth faces depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges. Prolonged unemployment contributes directly to poor mental health outcomes, breeding feelings of isolation, low self-worth, and hopelessness. For a generation with so much promise, that emotional tax is simply too high.

But there is good news. A growing movement of young Africans are refusing to let their dreams be dictated by circumstance and, through their stories, are lighting the way for others.

Lekgetho Makola, a visual storytelling activist and Chief Operating Officer of The Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg, knows what it means to reject the script and write your own. Raised in rural Limpopo, his journey from “troubled” student to internationally respected arts leader is a masterclass in self-belief and intentionality.

Makola believes that art can be activism and that story telling is how we spread wisdom. “We need to tell stories like we’re sitting around a fire. With respect. With love. With dignity. That is how we create societies that can heal and young people who are innately proud of themselves,” he says. He champions youth creativity, arguing that South Africa’s future lies in collaborative cultural work that is emotionally intelligent and economically sustainable.

Like Makola, each guest on the Dreaming in Color podcast offers a fresh blueprint for recreating what’s possible. They’re not waiting to be chosen – they’re choosing themselves and their communities:

• Leila Ben-Gacem (Tunisia, Episode 2): A biomedical engineer turned social entrepreneur who transforms heritage sites in the Medina of Tunis into a thriving boutique hotels and community hubs, Ben-Gacem employs young people from the Medina who have dropped out of high school and uses profits from the business to help them continue their education. Her work champions culture as a viable economic engine and shows how profit can be redefined to include dignity and community empowerment.
• Lekgetho Makola (South Africa, Episode 3): From Limpopo to Washington, DC, and back, Makola’s path through art, activism and education underscores the power of visual storytelling in shaping national identity and healing intergenerational wounds.
• Tom Osborn (Kenya, Episode 4): Once a clean energy entrepreneur, Tom pivoted to co-found the Shamiri Institute, Africa’s first youth mental health organisation designed with local communities in mind. At just 30, he’s building mental health systems that are by Africans, for Africans.
• Farah Mami (Tunisia/France, Episode 9): A bicultural changemaker and mother of two, Farah blends social innovation, human-centred design and cultural preservation to create a new leadership model, one rooted in healing, collaboration and legacy-building.

Darren Isom, one of the podcast’s host and a partner at The Bridgespan Group, the organisation behind the series says, “These beautiful conversations remind us of the youthfulness and ambition of the continent – characteristics that position the African continent as a leader in the global conversation. The next generation of world leadership is here in Africa and what a wonderful future that promises.”

Whether it’s turning a historic home into an engine for community empowerment or building mental health systems that reflect local realities, these dreamers aren’t waiting for permission. They’re building paths for others to follow.