Sharmi’s work is rooted in a belief that youth employment is one of Africa’s most urgent challenges and greatest opportunities. Her commitment to scaling solutions beyond the borders of South Africa, where she lived and worked, emerged from her experience addressing local youth unemployment. With Harambee, Sharmi continues her commitment to empowering youth and improving pathways to employment at scale in Africa. 

Sharmi is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative – South Africa, Class XII and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. We caught up with her at the 2025 Resnick Aspen Action Forum, to learn more about her leadership journey and why she believes creating spaces for young people to thrive is key to solving global economic challenges.

Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell us a little more about your leadership and impact journey? 

My leadership and impact journey over the past 15 to 20 years has been rooted in the need to specifically help young Africans achieve their full potential. I was lucky enough to work at African Leadership Academy, where I built something called Africa Careers Network, connecting young African leaders to their first internship and job opportunity when they were coming out of university. It was rooted both in South Africa, where I lived and worked, and also across the continent in more than 40 African countries.

I believe that young people are the solution, not the problem. And unleashing their potential requires people like us, Gen Xers, to create the space, the platform and advocacy for the full unleashing of young people’s potential.

Why do you believe this issue of youth unemployment in Africa demands action now?

There are 12 to 15 million young people that enter the workforce across the continent of Africa, and less than 30% get jobs. And we’re now facing the threat of AI and a whole host of technological disruptions. So it’s never been more critical for me to address the issue of youth looking for work and finding work that is meaningful. 

It is really critical to build structure, platforms and spaces and contexts where young people can thrive to their fullest potential. I also believe that Africa, being the youngest continent, can be the demographic solution to the rest of the world, where the rest of the world needs workers. And if we implement careful, inclusive, dignified solutions for work for young Africans, we can all thrive. I think we actually have a solution on our hands. By getting young people to become the engines of the economy, growth and mobility in Africa.

What advice would you give about working with young leaders? 

Never doubt the potential of young people. If you’re a young person: don’t doubt what you have to bring to the table. If you’re an older person: create the space, listen and advocate for young people to thrive.

I’ve personally benefited from teams, contexts, cultures, workspaces that are intergenerational. We no longer live in a world where Gen Xers and boomers have expertise. Young people come to learn. We ought to be learning from each other and shaping the future and co-creating the future that we want. If you give young people a little bit of opportunity, they can show you new ways of doing things.

What values guide your leadership?

I think listening with empathy and listening for understanding is really critical. It isn’t just about having a clever solution or coming in with great ideas. You have to build empathy and trust. Another value is humility. It’s not enough to have a smart solution. You need to have the humility to understand how the solution can get implemented. 

I work with governments, with the private sector, with social enterprise, and complex challenges require coordinated, complex solutions. The only way we do this is through partnerships. And building trust requires a lot of listening, a lot of empathy, and a lot of humility.

If you could write a letter to your younger self about your leadership journey, knowing where you are now, what would it be?

I’m proud of the person that you will be, no matter what paths you take. Listen to your instinct, trust and build community and have confidence in who you actually are. Your inner compass, specifically moral courage, will guide you to the path that you need to follow. Look around you and learn from everyone. Everyone has a lesson to offer you, and you will, in time, become the person that you’re meant to be.

About the Aspen Global Leadership Network

The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) is a dynamic, worldwide community of nearly 4,000 entrepreneurial leaders from over 60 countries. Spanning business, government, and the nonprofit sector, these leaders share a commitment to enlightened leadership and the drive to tackle the most pressing challenges of our times. Through transformative Fellowship programs and  gatherings like the Resnick Aspen Action Forum, AGLN Fellows have the unique opportunity to connect, collaborate, and challenge each other to grow and commit to a lifelong journey of impact.

More from 2025 Resnick Aspen Action Forum

In July 2025, over 500 leaders across the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) community gathered for our largest Action Forum to date. Joined by nearly 100 young leaders, AGLN Fellows from more than 30 countries returned to the enduring questions first posed at at the founding of the Aspen Institute 75 years go: What does it mean to lead with purpose in times of profound uncertainty?

Explore more inspiring content on leadership and change-making from the 2025 Action Forum here.