Africa: Kenya and Nigeria—Michael Rawding

After the Connect Africa Summit concluded in Rwanda, I was able to continue my African travels in Kenya and Nigeria. It was a great chance to see more of the region and visit some programs and businesses that are starting to enjoy new social and economic growth as a result of technology access.

It was encouraging to see how well the connection between education, technology, and job and economic growth was positively impacting the lives of young people in Kenya. Kenya, like most of Africa, is a very, very young country—over 70% of the population is below 45. However, 70% of Kenyan unemployment is represented by youth under 30. In Nairobi, our team had the opportunity to visit a center for youth skills development sponsored by Unlimited Potential—the Informal Sector Business Institute. Here young people are taught how to incorporate IT training and technology skills into future entrepreneurial ventures of their own. Here are some of the students:

 

 

We also got to visit a graduate of the program who now owns his own shop. He credited his experience at the Institute with giving him the skills and knowledge he needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

That evening, I attended a dinner with the Kenyan Minister for Youth Development. To proactively address the issue of youth development, the Kenyan government has established a separate ministry as well as a Youth Development Fund. I learned that this fund is now fully kicking into gear, and they’re centering their efforts on ICT access and training combined with life and business skills training through their national Digital Villages program.

In Abuja, Nigeria, we had a very busy schedule, mostly filled with government meetings and an NGO roundtable event. Again, I was very impressed by the sense of optimism and energy in everyone we met with; there’s a lot of excitement around the capacity of technology to continue pushing economic growth forward here.

And while it was very clear that there was much progress being made throughout the region, we’ve still got a long way to go—only by continuing to work in partnership with local governments and programs can we effectively scale our impact in Africa and around the world to deliver sustained social and economic growth. Hopefully, by the next time I visit Africa, we’ll have moved yet closer to that goal.

Thank you,

Michael Rawding, Vice President, Unlimited Potential Group

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  January 01, 2003
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