{"id":1627,"date":"2016-07-21T11:44:19","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T10:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/?p=1627"},"modified":"2016-10-26T15:23:09","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T14:23:09","slug":"youth-the-key-to-optimism-about-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/2016\/07\/21\/youth-the-key-to-optimism-about-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth: The key to optimism about the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you come across Bill Gates<\/strong>\u2019 post on LinkedIn of last Monday? If not, you may want to read it: \u201cMy message to the next generation of Africans<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d The essence of his message resonated quite well with me: a message of optimism about Africa\u2019s future that is based on a young population, and a youthful mentality<\/strong> \u2013 the title of one of my earlier posts<\/a>; actually, one of my favorite ones!<\/p>\n

Let me share one quote from Gates: \u201cEconomists talk about the demographic dividend and the potential for Africa\u2019s burgeoning youth population to accelerate economic growth. But for me, the most important thing about young people is the way their minds work<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Young
African youth: full of energy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yes! African youth is full of entrepreneurial initiative<\/strong>. I won\u2019t say that cuts across all people from all countries. In fact there are striking differences<\/strong>, as this funny story shows:<\/p>\n

A Kenyan entrepreneur started a student housing business in a neighboring country<\/strong> (I prefer not to say which one). She needed to equip the facilities: table cloths, linen, etc. A first order was placed to a local seamstress. The job was well done, so a second order was placed. Next time, the entrepreneur didn\u2019t find the seamstress. She went back another day, and another\u2026 finally, she asked the person at the next store: the seamstress had moved to another location because she was getting too much work!<\/strong> The entrepreneur was astonished: this would have never happened in Kenya!<\/p>\n

In contrast, plenty of other stories show the creativity and entrepreneurial thrive that the African youthful mentality releases<\/strong>. Just a few examples:<\/p>\n