CITIZENS COMPASS– A new episode of Inside Africa, CNN explores how young entrepreneurs are preparing for Africa’s future by prioritising health care and climate resilience. By 2050, Africa will be home to one in four people on the planet, marking an incredible demographic shift that is already beginning to make waves.
Raised in a family of activists, and with his parents having fled political unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo which brought them to South Africa, Mike Mpanya, one of these young African entrepreneurs, sees himself as a bridge between diverse worlds.
Not only has this allowed him to, “Look at Africa from multiple lenses, and to understand the struggles and the stories of different people,” but he also says his parents’ political convictions
convinced him that, “No one is going to be able to change everything, but everyone can do something.”
He said, “One of the things that is perhaps a form of difference between Africa and the rest of the world, is our strong view that (…) everything is a communal endeavour. And how do we take that part of who we are as African and use that as a driver for impact. And the context of the world we live in today, that means empowering people to generate income.”
Echoing this sentiment is African futurist Roze Phillips who also believes playing an active role in shaping the future is as important as envisioning it, “Here we say I am because you are, because we believe in Ubuntu. Now Ubuntu sounds like a philosophy, but it actually is a mindset. And it’s a mindset that I think starts being much more visible in our start-up communities.( …) Until you recognise that community has value, you’re never going to understand that community is valuable.”
For Mpanya, technology is, “An extraordinary way to drive socioeconomic impact” and artificial intelligence has a significant role to play, “What AI is going to be able to do, it’s like mining but mining human potential.” Teaming up with brilliant minds including Phillips, Mpanya is developing Nubi AI, a mobile-first AI solution, providing a diverse array of services tailored specifically to the African context.
Kenya, dubbed Africa’s ‘Silicon Savannah,’ boasts one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems in the region, spanning from fintech to climate tech. Despite Africa’s minimal contribution to climate change, it bears a disproportionate burden of its impacts.
However, a new generation of trailblazers is rising to the challenge. Diana Maranga, Business Development Lead at Octavia Carbon, says: “Octavia Carbon is a climate technology company, but it’s also a start-up. And by virtue of being a start-up, it’s run by entrepreneurs. […] So, we are creating these opportunities for ourselves, to create jobs, to build innovation, and to change the world.”
The startup managed to create the first direct air capture system designed wholly in Africa. Air is pulled into the direct air capture machine and sent through different processes, before the captured CO2 is stored beneath the Earth’s surface. Nurturing the next generation of innovators and green champions is core to their vision. “It’s very important to hit the grassroots when they’re still young to encourage them to be as environmentally conscious as possible,” says Maranga.
By 2028 it is expected that there will be almost 700 million smartphone subscribers across Sub-Saharan Africa which will help drive change and unlock new industries, including healthcare. This is what brought former banking executive Roy Bore and medical doctor Radha Karnad together to develop Kenya’s telemedicine space.
Karnad, Regional Lead OF HealthX Africa, states, “Health X is working towards a vision of a doctor for every Kenyan”. The fact that most people in Kenya have a phone allows the startup, “To provide healthcare 24 hours a day, seven days a week across the country.”
Like Mpanya, both Karnad’s and Bore’s brand of entrepreneurship is rooted in Ubuntu. “The impact we ultimately hope to have is improved lives and livelihoods, by keeping people healthy. But also, that will have a ripple effect of getting these people to focus on more value adding economic activities,”. explains Bore, CEO of HealthX Africa.
As the continent rises to meet the demands of the future, it stands at the threshold of boundless opportunities, with Bore concluding, “I think the future is African, there’s no question about it.”
Inside Africa airs on CNN International at the following times:
Saturday 13th July 2024 at 0630 SAST, 2330 SAST
Sunday 14th July 2024 at 0730 SAST, 1230 SAST and 1830 SAST
