The entrepreneur mentioned innovations by Kenyans several times including Mpesa, which he said have created a thousand job opportunities, eased payment and savings opportunities for communities and transformed their lives.. Gates said he will meet one of the Kenyan innovators in Durban this week, where he is also attending the International Aids Society conference.
He noted that many of the life-changing innovations across the world have been driven by the youth. A 21-year-old who founded Kenya’s first software coding school to provide other young people with computer programming skills is lined up for the meeting with the billionaire.
"Countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria are already investing in the building blocks of this new digital financial platform. And I believe they will see substantial positive returns," he said.
Gates explained the importance of improved food production and said he had met young crop breeders from Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.
"These are examples of the kind of innovators who can drive an agricultural transformation across the continent if they have the support they need. For many decades, agriculture has suffered from dramatic under investment. Many governments didn’t see the link between their farmers and economic growth. Now, however, this misconception is gone," he said.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation organised this year’s lecture at the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi Campus. it was attended by at least 3,000 people including Mandela’s widow Graça Machel, the foundation’s Prof Njabulo Ndebele and the university Vice Chancellor Prof Cheryl de la Rey.
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