Bill Gates recently spoke at a conference with students and young innovators from Nigeria and other parts of Africa about how science and innovation can speed up positive change and help ensure a better future for Africa.
‘Advancing Africa: Unleashing the Power of Youth in Science and Innovation’ was when the discussion took place. The Lagos Business School and Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), in collaboration with Africa.com and Channels Television, co-hosted the hybrid in-person and online events.
Gates complimented Nigeria’s youth and the numerous Nigerian partners with whom the Gates Foundation has collaborated for more than ten years during his first visit to the country since 2018.
These include academics who are assisting smallholder farmers to survive in the face of climate change and grow more nutritious foods, businesses that are enhancing access to digital financial tools, and scientists who are scaling up novel interventions that save mothers and infants.
“When it comes to making the world a better place talented young people are the world’s most important asset,” Gates said. “Nigeria has one of the biggest youth populations in the world, and it’s growing fast. That represents a lot of potential skills and passion to solve big problems.”
Gates also stressed that progress had not been equally distributed. , highlighting poor digital access for many Nigerians and inconsistent availability of health services, education, and employment – especially for women. In Nigeria, the gender gap in employment has increased by 25% in the last five years. Men are twice as likely as women to have mobile money accounts.
“I’m a huge believer in the power of science and innovation to help people lead long, healthy lives.” Gates said. “But one of the big lessons I’ve learned is that the benefits don’t automatically reach everyone. To do that, the people creating new breakthroughs, the people funding them, and the people getting them into the world all need to prioritize equity.”
After Gates’ remarks, there was an audience Q&A session. In his responses, Gates stressed the ways he envisions Nigeria’s youth collaborating across sectors and encouraging the nation’s leaders to keep their promises to improve everyone’s quality of life in Nigeria.
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