she recently went on an international
from an Arts Festival in the United
States she often tells us the story of
how some of the other attendees ba once
asked whether riding elephants to get to
school was like our clinic and why was
she was wearing normal clothes and not
animal skin many of my friends and I had
been asked several questions at least
once in a lifetime where people asked us
to speak the language African for them
if we live in huh and how it is we even
go to school
I mean it’s Africa we often laughed
ourselves as such remarks thinking okay
so we’re so cool we never get traffic
jams
we have elephant jam but ladies and
gentlemen the question that is of real
importance here is actually about a
perception because you see perceptions
determine what we see and what we see
determines what we believe and what we
believe determines how we act my
question for you all today is simple how
do you really see my continent of Africa
and to answer this question we’ll do a
very very simple exercise I’m now like
to take the time to request that you all
close your eyes take a deep breath and
think think about Africa think about all
the images that are flashing past your
mind what do you see maybe you see the
outline of the continents with its
rugged edges just as it look like in
your geography textbook with South
Africa a button with Congo right in the
middle and with Egypt right at the top
or maybe just maybe
you can see something different you can
see the children you can see the
children Africa they all huddle together
in a small classroom and they have
hungry faces and tattered clothing and
on top of that the teacher who barely
has a public board to teach on it’s
trying to do her best to do her job
all of a sudden music starts playing in
the background inspirational music and
an ad pops up their names their names
save a child in Africa or it just maybe
I hope your eyes are still closed
I feel of open eyes or maybe just maybe
the image has flashing through your mind
is that of an Africa with vast
grasslands with wild animals and you’ve
just gone on a safari
you’ve gone there there’s no work no
stress just peace it’s beautiful
you go outside the balcony of your lodge
and there you see a liar
rawr it rolls at you and you can feel
the blood pumping inside your veil you
may open your eyes on whatever you just
saw in your mind is important but for
tonight it is irrelevant because my
purpose is to transform your perception
of Africa from something that may have
been bad to something that is good she
shares the life apart the dark continent
so let’s forget Africa 54 countries a
continent that is rich in minimal earth
and mineral resources natural resources
and yet it is still around one of the
poorest places in the world with four
hundred and fourteen million people
living in extreme poverty about
one-third
the consonants lacking clean water and
over forty eight point five percent of
the sub-saharan population living on
less than a dollar 25 a day the fact
they all they always seems to be some
sort of reason for this tragic
phenomenon reasons like pervasive
corruption or dysfunctional democratic
institutions or incompetent and
ineffective aid agencies or greedy
multinational corporates okay there’s a
lot and with the lot wrong maybe it is
justified that Nicole this continent
this big continent a charity case for
you see the largest amounts of AIDS in
the world are transferred from rich
countries to ask in countries like Egypt
like it’s yo Pia like to Vanya but I
often wondered to myself I’ll be really
healthy because the facts are telling us
a very very different story
to be honest a part of me does not blame
the world for thinking this way you see
media often shows a picture a picture a
picture that is not as accurate as it
should be a picture of a terrible case
but is that all there is to this
beautiful continent
ladies and gentlemen I believe the time
has come for us to transform the world’s
perception of Africa to align it to the
fact and more importantly to align it
with reality there is a lot wrong with
aids and it’s a reason warrior who is a
world renowned economist notes that the
insidious aid culture is causing African
countries to become more dead later
where inflation throat more vulnerable
to the vaguely volatility markets and
more unattractive to high-quality
investment you see
over the past she offers that over the
past six years one trillion dollars of
development related AIDS has been
transferred from rich countries to
African countries yes real per capita
income today in Africa is less than it
was in the 1970s
I wouldn’t even born been on top of that
I think countries will pay close to 20
billion dollars in depth V payments per
year how these governments can grow with
such a large burden on their back is
also beyond meaning reminding us that
not all ages actually free I once went
to a conference in my home country in
Zimbabwe and we were all asked to go
around the table and say one our current
aspirations were some of the woman were
quick to respond by saying well I want
to open the charity or I want to open an
NGO and love these aspirations are very
very noble indeed I often wondered to
myself if the only reason they are
saying this is because that’s all they
have been exposed to my point is this
Aid is creating a beggar mentality among
many African people as more and more
people are aspiring to work for
humanitarian organizations like the UN
instead of aspiring for entrepreneurship
and innovation and sustainable economic
development the media proposed these
pictures on and on and on and they are
indeed here but I wonder are they
sincerely flawed as well ask me what I
see when I see my continent of Africa
and my answer will be simple potential
much much potential the continent has
one of the fastest growing populations
in the entire world and with more people
we are not going to need more aids but
more
economic so envision this it is the Year
24th 50 and instead of having seven
billion people around the world to hang
out with you actually have nine point
six billion people why because well
people have been having a lot of babies
some of your very very serious concerns
with this drastic increase in population
might include your Wi-Fi connection you
know going too slow or maybe even your
mannequin challenge video more unwanted
movements but this most serious one
actually is that off your food you are
hungry and you go to a truck and they
tell you sorry we’re out of stock too
many humans you probably should have
come earlier because global food demand
has increased by 69 percent yet well the
food production hasn’t changed that much
what are you gonna do this is really
true in 2050 what are you gonna do well
it just happens that Africa is in a
unique position to solve your problems
and profit from doing so process you see
the continent has around 600 million
hectares of the world’s arable land
that’s about 60 percent of the global
total that is the key to opportunities
in agriculture and Africa is a focus on
utilization instead of ownership with
less governmental red tape that’s on us
with more foreign direct investments
that’s on you and the production of
completed end-user goods we can make
Africa the China of the food industry
what else do I’ve seen you might be
asking well I see an Africa whose
leaders are learning to love and to lead
through love not to cry
for you see mr. Nelson Mandela one of
the great political leaders of our time
he came from Africa to show the world
that African leaders are indeed capable
of upright and just leadership now I
know all of you are very very smart in
this room and you’re probably thinking
to yourself well to be honest Kimberly
mr. Mandela was actually an exception he
doesn’t use an anomaly other
African leaders don’t actually do it
this way to that I say no
mr. Mandela was not an exception he was
an example an example for the world to
follow and an example that other African
leaders are trying to replicate leaders
like President Honda of Namibia and
president Ohio of Botswana the key to
reducing poverty and corruption in
Africa is not to shy away from this from
investing nor is it to give us eight but
rather to believe that we want to see a
change just as much as the world does
and to help the middle class grow lastly
what do I speak well I guess I can sum
it all up by saying I see a place where
you all can country and enjoy the
beautiful scenery interacts with amazing
and hardworking people and never ever
ever again
have to fear getting stuck in an illicit
gem though I can’t guarantee from our
traffic jams we also have that problem
yes
well I’m the first to admit that we are
not perfect I’m also the first to stand
up for the fact that we are getting
there I hope you now all see a different
picture of Africa I hope when you close
your eyes either at night or just now
when you close your eyes
the images that flash past your minds
are those of potential are those of
agriculture of those and leadership all
we think when you think of Africa I hope
you see good do you now see the 54
countries all around the continent that
are asking you also to rethink aids and
reconsider investing because remember
perceptions matter they determine what
we see and what we see determines what
we believe and what we believe
determines how we act as an official
brand ambassador of Africa I would now
like to declare then my continent is no
longer a charity case but the home of
potential and that this idea this vision
is not only one with reading but one or
it’s doing [Applause]