Africa’s youth turn to collective investing as traditional wealth paths shrink

Young Africans are increasingly turning to community-based investment models as traditional routes to wealth creation such as salaried employment and property ownership become less accessible, according to financial services platform Rank, which says it has paid out more than $100 million to users through collective investment structures over the past year.

This trend is being driven by Africa’s youthful population, rapid fintech adoption and widening gaps in access to formal investment products.

Industry experts have said young Africans may need to rely on collective financial models rather than traditional wealth-building pathways to achieve long-term financial security.

The experts argued that conventional routes to economic advancement, including stable salaried employment and property ownership, are becoming less effective for younger generations amid rising living costs, unemployment and limited access to investment opportunities.

Speaking at The Collective, a gathering of creators, entrepreneurs and investors, Femi Iromini, chief executive officer and co-founder of Rank, said Africa’s rapidly growing youth population presents significant opportunities for wealth creation if supported by the right financial structures.

According to him, while today’s young Africans are the most educated, connected and digitally fluent generation in the continent’s history, many continue to face challenges in translating income into long-term wealth.

“This generation is the most educated, connected and digitally fluent in the continent’s history, yet they face the weakest and most volatile pathways to actual wealth accumulation,” Iromini said.

He noted that traditional financial systems have struggled to provide broad access to investment opportunities, leaving many young people with limited options for building assets despite increasing participation in the digital economy.

Data presented at the summit showed that access to formal investment products remains relatively low across Africa, even as fintech adoption continues to grow rapidly among the continent’s predominantly young population.

Africa currently has the world’s youngest population, with a median age of about 19 years, and is projected to account for one in four people globally by 2050.

Iromini said technology-enabled collective finance models are increasingly emerging as an alternative means of helping individuals pool resources, access investment opportunities and build wealth at scale.

He explained that the approach leverages social networks and community participation to overcome barriers that have traditionally prevented many Africans from participating in wealth-generating opportunities.

According to him, the model has demonstrated strong traction over the past year, with more than $100 million paid out to users across various communities through the platform’s ecosystem.

Also speaking at the event, Kola Aina, founding partner at Ventures Platform, said Africa’s wealth creation landscape is being reshaped by the convergence of three major forces: demographic growth, technological advancement and expanding market opportunities.

Aina noted that these developments are creating new avenues for value creation, particularly for entrepreneurs, creators and professionals who are able to leverage digital tools and collaborative economic models.

The discussion also explored how wealth creation is evolving beyond traditional assets such as land and political influence toward more flexible, technology-driven opportunities.

Panelists at a session titled “Old Money, New Wealth” said digital platforms are enabling a new generation of Africans to create value, access markets and build businesses without many of the barriers that characterised previous economic systems.

They stressed that as Africa’s digital economy expands, the ability to convert skills, networks and technological access into sustainable wealth will increasingly determine economic success for young people across the continent.