The growing power of violent extremist groups in Africa requires cross-sector solutions that go beyond military action.
Africa now accounts for nearly half of all global deaths from terrorism each year. Benin–one of the countries where our organization, TechnoServe, works–experienced two security incidents during 2019. In the first half of 2023 alone, the country experienced 15. In the same time period, West Africa recorded 1,800 terrorist attacks.
While better police and military security is essential for citizens to resist extremist influence and pursue safe livelihoods, long-term solutions must address the underlying factors that drive this dangerous trend.
Three steps to curb violent extremism
These solutions should involve three core, interconnected approaches: 1) Applying strong business principles to strengthen livelihoods and a sense of identity; 2) Addressing cross-sector challenges in areas like gender and the environment; and 3) Getting the right mix of organizations to lead these approaches.
Better, safer livelihoods
Although many factors contribute to violent extremism, lack of economic opportunity often plays an outsize role. In a 2023 UN study that interviewed over 1,000 former members of violent extremist groups in Africa, the top reason respondents gave for joining these groups was “lack of employment.”
But employment is not the whole answer; these livelihoods must also be reliable, profitable, and safe. In the UN Africa study, 44% of those who had a job when they joined an extremist group were in “vulnerable” employment, providing unskilled and/or unsteady work. Many former jihadists also expressed a desire to protect existing property or livelihoods by joining extremist groups.
Houdou B., 28, in northern Benin, was once one of these youths who struggled to earn an income. In TechnoServe’s training program, he undertook a personal strengths assessment. He also gained skills in market analysis skills, beekeeping, and agronomy, and joined two village associations for rotating savings and credit.
Above all, he changed how he thinks of himself and his potential. “I was able to identify that I am a planner…and I found it magical,” he says, adding that the training helped him understand that “beekeeping is a profession…and I am an entrepreneur.”
After nearly 5,700 of these young people in Benin completed this training, their enterprises increased their annual turnover by an average of 130% and created over 12,000 jobs.
To cement these gains, we need to work across the entire value chain. Helping local food processors improve their business operations, for instance, enables them to buy more crops from farmers and create more jobs for the community.
Environmental and gender challenges
Also critical are environmental and gender factors. A recent IMF study projected that sub-Saharan Africa’s crop yields would decline 5-17% by the year 2050–threatening the livelihoods of the roughly 70% of the region’s people reliant upon agriculture for their incomes.
But approaches like regenerative agriculture (e.g. practices like mulching, crop rotation, and agroforestry) can help farmers withstand climate threats–while improving their yields and income.
Gender-sensitive approaches are also critical. Many women, frustrated by restrictive gender norms, are susceptible to the “upward social mobility” seemingly offered by extremist groups, according to the UN Africa study.
Women’s empowerment programming should be incorporated in all training and amplified creatively through interactive radio programs, newspaper and TV stories, and cross-sector conferences. TechnoServe has also worked with communities to enable women’s leadership in rural households, cooperatives, and other organizations.
“Thanks to [the training program], I became financially independent, which also positively influenced my family’s quality of life,” said Emmanuella D., 32, in northern Benin. “Through my own investments, I improved the farm’s equipment…I also contribute to household expenses, such as electricity and water bills.”
Her monthly income is now between 10 to 25 times what she made before.
Trusted partners
Lastly, the delivery of these approaches is as much about “whom” as “how.” Many youths vulnerable to extremist recruitment tend to distrust institutions like national governments or security forces. When asked which groups should lead extremist prevention initiatives, respondents in the 2023 UN Africa study named community and religious leaders; local government; and civil society organizations, in that order.
The importance of local, cross-sector ownership is part of the reason TechnoServe worked with professional training centers across Benin to adopt proven entrepreneurship methodologies into their own institutions. These approaches will now be integrated into Benin’s national technical training curriculum.
We also organize monthly meetings across Benin that include actors in the youth entrepreneurship space like local and international NGOs, banks and business groups, local religious leaders, and entrepreneurship support organizations.
Cross-sector partners are critical to fighting violent extremism. The key is that they must be trusted by African youth themselves.
Conclusion
Today, Houdou has gone from despairing for his future to supporting his extended family with his income, creating jobs, and serving as a role model in his community.
“In the village, everyone is now looking to start a business,” he says. “As for violence, we see that it is gradually disappearing…now, the priority is to find something to do to earn money and change one’s life.”
Africa’s youth deserve a future as bright as they are. By developing sustainable livelihoods that enhance their self-worth; addressing challenges like climate change and gender inequity; and working with trusted partners across sectors, we can help them make this future a reality.
