Nairobi, May 1 -- An estimated 23.6 million young Africans (aged 15-35) are unemployed - that's one in 22 (4.5 percent). With this number projected to grow to 27 million by 2030, the need for jobs is critical. But the key to good policies for job creation is good data.

Against this backdrop, the World Data Lab (a data enterprise producing estimates for spending and demography) and the Mastercard Foundation have launched the Africa Youth Employment Clock - a tool to monitor youth job growth and forecast youth employment trends until 2030.

Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked data scientist Katharina Fenz, who developed the methodology and data modelling for the clock, about their key findings and what they hope to achieve....