BillGatesThefirsttimeIspokewithNelsonMandelawasin
1994,whenhecalledtoaskmetohelpfundSouthAfrica鈥檚firstmulti-racialelection.It鈥檚noteverydaythatNelsonMandelacalls,soIrememberitwell.IwasrunningMicrosoftatthetimeandthinkingaboutsoftwaremostofmywakinghours.ButIadmiredNelsonMandela,Iknewtheelectionwashistoric,andIdidwhatIcouldtohelp.
IhadbeentoAfricaforthefirsttimejusttheyearbefore,whenmywife,Melinda,andItraveledinEastAfricaonvacation.Obviously,weknewpartsofAfricawereverypoor,butbeingonthecontinentturnedwhathadbeenanabstractionintoaninjusticewecouldnotignore.
Facedwithsuchglaringinequity,westartedthinkingabouthowwecoulduseourresourcestomakeadifference.Withinafewyears,weestablishedourfoundation.ItwaswhenIstartedcomingtoAfricaregularlyforthefoundationthatIcametoknowNelsonMandelapersonally.Hewasbothanadviserandaninspiration.
OnetopicthatNelsonMandelacamebacktooverandoveragaininhislifetimewasthepowerofyouth.IagreewithMandelaaboutyoungpeople,andthatisonereasonI鈥檓optimisticaboutthefutureofAfrica.Demographically,Africaistheworld鈥檚youngestcontinent,anditsyouthcanbethesourceofaspecialdynamism.
EconomiststalkaboutthedemographicdividendandthepotentialforAfrica鈥檚burgeoningyouthpopulationtoaccelerateeconomicgrowth.Butforme,themostimportantthingaboutyoungpeopleisthewaytheirmindswork.Youngpeoplearebetterthanoldpeopleatdrivinginnovationbecausetheyarenotlockedinbythelimitsofthepast.Iwas19whenIfoundedMicrosoft.SteveJobswas21whenhestartedApple.MarkZuckerbergwas19whenhecreatedFacebook.
SoI鈥檓inspiredbytheyoungAfricanentrepreneursdrivingstartupboomsintheSiliconSavannahsfromJohannesburgandCapeTowntoLagosandNairobi.
Therealreturns,though,willcomeifwecanmultiplythistalentforinnovationbythewholeofAfrica鈥檚growingyouthpopulation.Tomakethatareality,allofAfrica鈥檚youngpeoplemusthavetheopportunitytothrive.
Ifweinvestintherightthings-ifwemakesurethebasicneedsofAfrica鈥檚youngpeoplearetakencareof-thentheycanchangethefutureandlifeonthiscontinentwillimprovefasterthaniteverhas.
Inmyview,therearefourthingsthatwilldetermineAfrica鈥檚future:healthandnutrition,education,economicopportunity,andgoodgovernance.
Whenpeoplearen鈥檛healthy,theycan鈥檛turntheirattentiontothingslikeeducation,workingandraisingafamily.Conversely,whenhealthimproves,lifeimprovesbyeverymeasure.
I鈥檓especiallyconcernedaboutHIV.Africa鈥檚youngestgenerationareenteringtheagewhentheyaremostatriskofHIV.WeneedtogetmoreoutoftheHIVpreventionmethodswehavenow-whiledevelopingbettersolutionslikeaneffectivevaccineandeasier-to-usemedicinesthatpeoplearemorelikelytouseconsistently.
NutritionisanothercriticalareaoffocusforAfrica.Malnutritionandmicronutrientdeficienciesrobmillionsofthecontinent鈥檚childrenoftheirphysicalandcognitivepotential.Fortunately,therearecost-effectivesolutionslikemakingsuremothersbreastfeedtheirinfants,enrichingcookingoil,sugar,andflourwithimportantvitaminsandminerals,andbreedingstaplecropstomaximizetheirnutritionalcontent.Weneedtomakesurethepeoplemostatriskknowaboutandhaveaccesstothesesolutions.
Second,weneednewthinkingandnewtoolstomakesureahigh-qualityeducationisavailabletoeverychild.Educationaltechnologyusingmobilephoneshasthepotentialtohelpstudentsbuildfoundationalskillswhilegivingteachersbetterfeedbackandsupportatthetouchofabutton.Governmentsalsoneedtoinvestinhigh-qualitypublicuniversitiesforthelargestnumberofqualifiedstudentstolaunchthenextgenerationofscientists,entrepreneurs,educators,andgovernmentleaders.
Third,weneedtocreateeconomicopportunitiestochanneltheenergyandideasofAfrica鈥檚youth.ThroughtheComprehensiveAfricaAgricultureDevelopmentProgram,countrieshaveaframeworkfortransformingagriculturefromastruggleforsurvivalintoathrivingbusinessopportunity.Buttheinvestmentneedstofollow,sothatyoungAfricanshavethemeanstocreatethethrivingagriculturetheyenvision.
Africaalsoneedsmoreelectricalpowertoincreaseproductivity.InEastAfricaespecially,governmentsshouldinvestinhydroandgeothermalsourcesofenergy,whicharebothreliableandrenewable,assoonaspossible.Theimmediatepriorityisforgovernmentstogettougheraboutmanagingtheirelectricalgridssothey鈥檙eproducingasmuchpoweraspossible.
Fourth,countriescanbenefitfromenhancingfiscalgovernance.Advancesindigitaltechnologyareonewaythatgovernmentscandeliverservicesmoreefficiently.
It鈥檚cleartoeveryonehowbigandcomplicatedthechallengesare.ButAfricahasprovenitsresilienceandingenuitytimeandagain,andtherearemillionsofpeople,especiallyyoungpeople,whoareeagertogettowork.
ThefuturedependsonthepeopleofAfricaworkingtogethertolayafoundationsothatAfrica鈥檚youngpeoplehavetheopportunitiestheydeserve.ThisisthefuturethatNelsonMandeladreamedofandit鈥檚thefuturethattheyouthofAfricadeserve.CA