Youthia invents trading currency for intra-continental youth trade

Youthia, a Namibian Pan-African youth organisation that is committed to the economic empowerment of 1 million youth entrepreneurs across Africa by 2025, has invented its own trading currency.

While allowing African youth to have a sense of belonging to a new progressive movement of youth taking charge of their and Africa’s future, Youthia CEO, Mandy Shemuvalula said that Youthia as a disruptive company designs and develops products, services and platforms to help youth entrepreneurs grow.

The AFRO is a facsimile currency that Youthia has created to be used exclusively to charge for and trade Youthia’s products, services and platforms that enable youth businesses to trade with the company as well as to trade with other youth businesses within its network. For simplicity, the AFRO is pegged to the United States’ dollar, 1 to 1.

“It is a practical way to start initiating a common economic thinking among young Africans and begin to adopt it into their everyday lifestyle” Shemuvalula said adding that Youthia exists to re-imagine youth economic development in creating a better world.

With a Vision to be an influential African youth brand reaching entrepreneurs across the continent, the Youthia business model is based on collaborative competitiveness, progress through the power of leveraging existing resources, and the transfer of ownership by directly targeting youth.

“As the pioneer of the unorthodox category in youth entrepreneurship, we create new markets” Shemuvalula said explaining that their facsimile currency is branded with the AFRO symbol.

“The AFRO note aims to unite young Africans for intra-continental youth trade for Africa’s prosperity and development. It allows African youth to have a sense of belonging to a new progressive movement of young people taking charge of their and Africa’s future.”

Members that join the Youthia network are required to leverage their own network of fellow youth for a strong local-level reach to pioneer unconventional solutions to local problems and challenges.

Youthia said it designs and develops products, services and platforms to help youth entrepreneurs grow. These products, services and platforms touch at different levels of the value chain of youth businesses and help bring actionable, sustainable results.