In recent times, youth-led protest activism has proliferated across African countries. Despite this, the existing academic and policy literature has paid little empirical attention to the political outcomes and impact of youth-led protest activism in influencing policy change and democratic governance. This article examined the dynamics of youth-led protest activism and its influence on policy change and democratic governance in Africa, focusing primarily on the #EndItsSARS, # NotTooYoungToRun, and EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria and the #RejectFinanceBill protest in Kenya, and including cross-national comparison. A qualitative case study approach based on descriptive research design was employed, and data were collected from peer-reviewed literature sourced using the three biggest academic online search engines (Google Scholar, Research Gate, and Academia.Edu). The data obtained was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results indicate that prevailing socio-economic conditions, such as social and economic injustice, are major drivers of youth-led protest activism in Africa. The result also revealed that social media is fast becoming a powerful tool for political activism, empowering disadvantaged young people to influence policy and decision-making and participate in political processes. Finally, the result revealed that youth-led protest activism has been so successful in driving institutional reforms, policy change, and democratic governance in Africa. The findings are a provocative challenge long-standing notion of youths as passive political participants and raise fresh concerns about the expansion of the scope of political participation beyond voting and contesting elections, but also includes digital activism and street protest. The study recommended the need for institutional reform to enhance youth representation in democratic governance to counter democratic backsliding.

Keywords: Youth, Political Participation, Policy Change, Protest activism, Democracy