The fifth edition of the Yale Model African Union (YMAU) wrapped up in Accra from March 13 to 15, 2026, bringing together more than 300 delegates, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from across Africa and the diaspora for three days of dialogue and collaboration under the theme: Imagine, Challenge and Build the Africa We Want.
The conference, organised entirely by Yale University undergraduates and described as the only Ivy League simulation of the African Union held on African soil, marked five years since the initiative was established to promote youth engagement in pan-African governance and policy.
The programme included African Union (AU) committee simulations, leadership workshops, a Mandate-to-Market Innovation Pitch Contest, and a University and Career Fair. A panel session titled “Designing the Future: Creativity at the Intersection of Policy and Enterprise” drew particular attention, bringing together private sector leaders, entrepreneurs, and moderators to examine how innovation, policy design, and business can be harnessed to drive sustainable development.
Dennis Sampong, Country Director of Fludor Ghana, a subsidiary of TGI Group, spoke on the panel and pressed delegates on the urgency of drawing young Ghanaians into agriculture before an entire generation of farmers exits the sector.
“The future of Africa is the youth. If you look at Ghana, more than 60 percent of the population are under the age of 35. Anything we’re doing now is going to be the youth’s future,” Sampong said. “Nobody can do better for Africa except ourselves.”
He noted that the average cocoa farmer in Ghana is between 55 and 60 years old, a demographic reality that poses a structural risk to one of the country’s most strategically important export sectors. He called on young people to enter agriculture armed with modern tools and approaches. “If our farmers used to use cutlasses and holes to do cocoa, what other technologies can we bring in? As part of our training programs, we encourage young people to go into cocoa and use modern ways of going about their farming activities.”
Sampong was joined on the panel by Audrey S-Darko, Chief Executive Officer of Sabon Sake, and Jide Pratt, Country Pilot Manager at TradeGrid, with Ericka K. Tenta of the Yale Africa Startup Review moderating. The discussion centred on translating policy ideas into practical, market-ready development solutions.
The conference also featured keynote addresses from Tara Squire, Executive Director for Consumer Banking at Ecobank Ghana, and Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, Vice President of the Council on Foreign Affairs-Ghana. Government representation included George Opare Addo, Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, alongside Ambassador Rosemary Mbabzi of Rwanda and Dr. Festus Kofi Aubyn of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).
Fludor Ghana participated as a sponsor and career fair exhibitor alongside TGI Group, reinforcing the organisation’s stated commitment to youth empowerment across the continent.
