Young entrepreneurs challenging the political and economic African status quo: how and why?, Iowa City, Iowa, July 11, 2017

- [Thais Winkleblack] I want to acknowledge our university and community supporters, the University of Iowa's International Programs and the University of Iowa's Honors Program, as well as the Stanley UI Foundation's Support Organization for their financial support, and thank you to today's special financial sponsors, Mace and Kay Braverman and MidWestOne Bank. Next, it's my pleasure to introduce Dimy Doresca, lecturer and director for the Institute for International Business at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. Dimy will introduce each of our speakers and serve as the moderator for the program this afternoon. Dimy really is the reason that this program was started and has been at the University of Iowa and now is in its second year, so we all owe Dimy some thanks for the great work that he's already been doing at the University of Iowa. - [Dimy Doresca] Thank you very much, Thais, great introduction. So, it's such a pleasure to be here a second year in a row. So, that must've been, the Fellows last year did a great job, I would say, if Ed asked us to come back. So, that means we must have done a good job, so. And I told them, when we were choosing the panel, that the bar's going to sit pretty high, given the talk that we had last year with the first year of Fellows. But, I can tell you that it's been, and I've been telling the Fellows, this program has been the highlight of my career, and when I moved from the industry, from the private sector, with 15 years experience in international business to teaching international business, I didn't think that such a program like this was going to come to my plate, and when, last year, I started to learn more about all the opportunities that exist in Africa, and how these young entrepreneurs, or young leaders, how they are really shaping the future of an entire continent. It is just amazing, and I kept telling them, I started going to Africa in 2015, and people asked me, why do you want to be involved with Africa? you're from Haiti, for those of you who don't know my background, I'm from Haiti, alright? And I said, well, I wanted to go back to my roots and to see what's going on. But, being involved with these Fellows, it's just been tremendous, and then I can tell you, this year, from what I've been seeing from the type of project they're working on, it's just great. Those of you that don't know what the la Washington Fellowship Program is, it's a U.S. State Department Program created by President Barack Obama about three years ago to help young entrepreneurs, young leaders, in Sub-Saharan Africa with entrepreneurship, business, civic leadership training so they can go back and make a difference, and continue in the development or in the betterment of their people. Most, or if not all, of these entrepreneurs, they are involved in social impact businesses. So, not only they are making their lives better but they are also improving the lives of their countrymen, so, of their people, so, which is really the best way to impact the world. But today, we're here to talk about what these individuals are doing as entrepreneurs, as leaders on the continent. And the way we're going to do it, I'm going to start asking the three panel members some questions, and then, we'll open it up for you to ask questions, and then the rest of the Mandela Fellows in the audience, we have 22 of them in the audience, aside from the 20, the three that are sitting here. So, they will also participate in answering questions, in telling them, because we have 18 different countries represented in our cohort this year. So, basically, that's a pretty nice sample of the 54 countries in Africa that we've got here. So, you will hear what's going on on the continent with respect to entrepreneurship and leadership. I want to start by, I want to start with Daniel Adugna, and he's from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and he's a young professional currently working as Project Manager for programs that target and are promoting youth development across Africa, and Daniel is passionate about issues involving food and security, and environmental protections, and economic inequality. So, Daniel, the questions I have for you, as a new generation of African entrepreneurs, what differentiates you from the older generation? You can turn the microphone, yeah. - [Daniel Adugna] Thank you, Dimy, and good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Dimy, for that question. Allow me to first maybe provide a small context on what young people and young entrepreneurship means in Africa today. In Africa, we have 55 countries. The Sub-Saharan Africa is around 50 of those. Majority of our countries, Africa's considered to be the youngest continent on the planet currently. That's because most of its population is young. More than 70% of the population in many of our countries is under the age of 40 years of age. Those whom we consider as youth, that is between 15 up to 35, make up roughly 40% of the population. What does it mean? That means that's the largest working population currently that is available. Their dependency ratio of working age population to their dependency population is very high, and this creates new opportunities within itself in terms of including for entrepreneurship, for business, for productivity, investments, and so on, but also for some negative impact as well, such as terrorism recruitment, migration, and other sources as well. So, currently the biggest focus in Africa is that how do we harness this great potential of young people, which can also become a liability, and promote and grow our countries? And here is where entrepreneurship comes in because with the number of private sector and public sector currently existing in Africa, we cannot provide employment for all our young people. And young people increasingly are going into entrepreneurship as the young generation. The older generation was preoccupied mainly in the liberation struggles, in ending wars, conflicts, and so on. Most of our countries right now are stable, despite what people hear on the media. Most African countries actually do not have war. There are like probably three or four active conflict countries currently in Africa out of the 55 countries, so we do not have that much war, active wars, currently. But the biggest challenge that Africa currently has is now how to put this work in population, and the young generation, that's what we are preoccupied with. Africa has a big gap, has missed a very big gap in development in terms of technology advancements and so on, and now young people, young entrepreneurs, are now jumping into how can Africa leapfrog into 21st Century global business? And increasingly more than ever, the world is eager to hear for new solutions, new approaches, a new outlook into the world, and we believe, as young African leaders and entrepreneurs, that Africa could be that voice and that new opportunity, not only for Africa but also for the whole world. - [Dimy Doresca] Daniel, you're touching on some very good points, but I'd like to hear Maphano Mohapi from Southern Africa, Lesotho, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. And Maphano has four years experience in the beauty industry, and Maphano is currently the Manager and the Owner of the Phano Ea Bophelo Beauty and Rehab Spa, so, it's a day spa. I always tell her, oh, I can't wait to come and enjoy your day spa. And she works on nail technicians, makeup artists, leaders, administrators and supervisors. So, Maphano, how do you see that in Lesotho, from the Southern Africa standpoint? As the new generation of entrepreneurs, what does differentiate you from the old generation? - [Maphano Mohapi] Good afternoon, everyone. It's a great pleasure to be here to speak on behalf of my fellow Washington, la Washington Fellows. I'll just carry on from what Daniel said. I think the one thing that we have to look at is especially the gap. We are probably the youngest continent in terms of gaining independence, so we are behind in a lot of things. So, we still have a long way in trying to break away from our old tradition, and culture, and just norms, in order for us to accept other developments. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is that we need to find a way, as young people, to bridge that gap. The other issues that the old generation were fighting so much for, the struggle, and when the struggle was over, they came in power. So, most of them don't want to get off, they're clinging onto the power, they don't want to get off the power. So, we don't know how to actually say, as young people, we would like to fight these powerful, so-called powerful, people who don't want to get off power. So, what we can rather do is maybe now we can try to make our own revolutions, because the old revolutions, we can't fight wars anymore and discover things. We can be innovative and creative but we can't do discovery anymore. So, what about, why don't we try to make our own revolutions? For example, in South Africa, they had the FeesMustFall Revolution. That was a big standstill 'cause the young people were able to put the whole country at a standstill to fight for a bigger cause. So, I think the difference is now we have communication and media, which is we can pass messages even faster to try and figure out how to affect change in our own communities. - [Dimy Doresca] This is really, I like the directions you are taking the conversation, Maphano. And if we go, so, we were in the East and we went South, but let's go to West Africa with Adewale Badejoko, and he has over five years experience in middle management and business consulting, and Adewale co-founded a firm called Heenspire Foods, which is a snack and beverage company that focuses on locally made and packaged products from farm produce that could have gone to waste. Adewale, if you want to kind of continue on with what Maphano was saying, what does entrepreneurship mean to you? And, as a young leader, how do you use entrepreneurship to send a message? - [Adewale Badejoko] All right. Thank you, Dimy, for the question, and good afternoon, everybody. I'm truly excited to be here, I mean, you have a lovely city, and it's quite clean, and it's a good place for me to be. Let's talk about entrepreneurship for a minute 'cause it's something that I'm so passionate about, obviously it's the reason why I'm here. Entrepreneurship, I'd like to say, is the ship entrepreneurs drive, or sail on, and for me, as a person, it's quite a lot of things. Well, what exactly is entrepreneurship, and I think we'll come to that, or get a better understanding of that, when we understand what entrepreneurship is not. So, for me, I don't think entrepreneurship is setting up a business or taking a risk, as people have said it is. I mean, anybody can take a risk. You could wake up one morning and jump off a cliff. It's a risk, right? But then, does that mean you're an entrepreneur? Another thing people say about entrepreneurship is it's about setting a business. Anybody can set up a business, I mean, we've had a lot of people who have stolen government, public loots, and started a business with it. Does that mean that they are entrepreneurs? So, what then exactly is entrepreneurship? And I think, of all the many definitions that we've had around over the years, I think there's one that actually, maybe from me, and is like my credo to what entrepreneurship basically is. An entrepreneurship is simple balance, it's making the job worth the job. So, what am I saying in essence? It's not exactly what you do. It's making what you do worth what you do. And so, if you are going to probably sweep the floor, it's not sweeping the floor, it's being the best damn floor sweeper, so much so that even if you're not sweeping their floors, nobody gets rest, like, everybody just wants you to sweep their floor, like, I want Adewale to be the one to sweep the floor. And, when you trace this down, you'll realize it's all about value, and it's what exactly you're bringing on the table. Now, let me bring this home. Now, when I got on the journey of, of course, entrepreneurship, and I was going to start a business, it was not about becoming rich, it wasn't about taking a risk upon myself, I mean, who does that? And it was not just about setting up a venture, but then something struck me, and I'd like to probably share this with you, so, I mean, the concept of value then sinks home. I was taking a trip to Legos and while I was in the car, for a wide stretch on the road were a lot of watermelons and mangoes wasted there, and I just could not rest in my spirit on that journey, I knew something had to be done. And I realized that this is not just about that scene I've seen, it's something that is endemic, 'cause about 60% of farm produce from small-scale farmers never make it down to the table. So, you have what you basically call post-harvest wastage. Everybody there is losing. I mean, and when you think of Africa, especially what the media has branded us over time, it's a continent with malnourishment and hunger, and undernutrition, which technically is incorrect, but that's not exactly the whole story. And so, here's a country producing like elephants, but then eating like ants, and then it struck me: value. How do I help this situation to actually change the narrative of what exactly this is. Well, I might get a small profit from this, yes, maybe, but then, in terms of offering value to the farmers now, they are able to save more, you know, get more money, reduce their post-harvest wastage, people get to access healthy organic food products at affordable prices. And this, basically, is the hallmark of entrepreneurship, and I think this has helped my business grow personally. So, generally you begin to understand or get a sense to what entrepreneurship is. It's not about just waking up one morning and saying, I'm not working for somebody, I want to start up my own business. You can start up your own business and be mediocre at it, so it's about making a job worth the job. Thank you. - [Dimy Doresca] Very good, very good, Adewale. I like the way you talked about the challenges that you are seeing in this too, and that's why I like to kind of, like, set the way into the challenges that you are facing and like to hear some of the things that you are doing to overcome those challenges. And let's start with Maphano, 'cause I know you have a good story on that. What are the key challenges, and how do you face, how have you faced them or continue to face them? - [Maphano Mohapi] I think, for me, when I got into entrepreneurship, was discovering that I needed to find an escape, I needed to be free. So, here I am, at the age of, when did I complete my university? At the age of 25, I've just graduated, I'm a woman, I'm a young woman, I'm disabled and I'm an African, and I live in Africa. That's a lot of challenges. Believe me. So, you graduate and you realize that there's no work, no jobs or employment, let me say, there's no employment. And even if I got employed, the infrastructure did not allow me to be able to go to those places to actually work there. So, I'm left with this challenge that I want to be, I want to be great. Everybody wants to make money and they want to build a family, have a house and just be successful. So, what do I do? So, I think entrepreneurs need to be able, first of all, to know that there has to be a problem in order for you to be an entrepreneur. So, for me, at first it was about getting a job and then I realized that entrepreneurship is not a job. Entrepreneurship is the labor of love. You have to labor for what you love and make sure you progress. So, here I am with all these disadvantages, and finally I find that I'm an entrepreneur in all the adversities that I face. I came home disabled, well, I was rehabilitated next to a developed country, which was South Africa, and I came back home and I had all these advantages. And, for me, entrepreneurship was just a weapon. And the one thing I've learned is that entrepreneurship is definitely a lifestyle, but in order for you to be an entrepreneur, it means you have to first discover why you're an entrepreneur, then you have to have capital. That is, of course, product and customers, which is a course to a business. If you don't have this formula, then there's no business. So, being a problem-solver, being a risk-taker that I was, I started this business in my room, and slowly people started progressing, and I finally built my beauty day spa where I was able to make it accessible for me, because it was about solving my problem at first. You can't be an entrepreneur without solving your problem first and then wanting other people to come to you to solve their problems. So, I had to solve my problem first, and which was, I wanted to have an accessible place where I can get people to come and feel this accessibility that I was experiencing, and, in turn, it became a business. Thank you. - [Dimy Doresca] Well, Maphano, this is good. The way you're presenting this, it's like, with entrepreneurship, you guys on the continent are challenging the unemployment problems? - [Maphano Mohapi] Yes. - [Dimy Doresca] You are also solving issues, not only are you solving them, you're creating employment for yourself but for others, but you are also solving issues of hunger and things like that. So, Daniel, what do you see, I mean, what do you think? I mean, the challenges, we know them, but how are you guys using your leadership and using entrepreneurship to tackle those challenges on the continent? - [Daniel Adugna] For me, my passion in entrepreneurship actually came out exactly out of those challenges that do exist. My full-time work in the area of projects and policy actually talks about proposing and subscribing solutions to people on how they're supposed to be organizing their lives better and their works better so they become successful. And that is in the context of the development, assistance and what we have under the U.N., and African Union, and other organizations that are doing charity work. The only problem is, for the past 50 years, it has not worked, it has failed, because despite all the big monies and donations that have been pumped, charity has actually made Africa poorer and not richer because of the helplessness and mental degradation, disempowerment that it creates to our citizens. And that's where I actually saw entrepreneurship as actually a way not only to impact and create a legacy for myself alone but actually help solve real problems and impact real people. My initial interest was in the area of the hospitality industry, where I can set up fast food chain restaurants for the big, urban expanding population in the city. Except that I discovered there's one big challenge: where do I get my chicken from? Because we do not have that big established industries, and instead of focusing on the retail of, actually, finished food, I realized that one, the actual industry where I can enter is actually the poultry production and poultry growing area business. So, that's the study and evolution that I've been doing, except for one big challenge: what do we do with the farmers? Whose land are we going to acquire and establish our venture, although establishing business is good, but the growing income disparity would become a liability to back on ourselves and it would backfire. That's where we had to redesign our model where we actually include the farmers as part of our supply chain. That is, we supply, we would supply them with our chicks, day old chicks, and animal feed that would grow them, and we'll buy them back, process them and supply them to the market. And that way, not only are we solving our own capacity issues in our business, but we're also growing with the community together, whom we are serving. And those challenges are actually helping us to be creative, to be more impactful, and actually be role models as well. As you mentioned leaders, it's like to be an example of how other businesses could follow suit and what young, led entrepreneurs can actually be, promoting at the same time social justice, income disparity, but also decent livelihood and dignity into our communities. - [Dimy Doresca] See, I like the fact that we've been talking for almost 15 minutes now and we have not mentioned, oh, about 20 minutes, not mentioned any government support, any, like, sitting back, waiting for government to do things for you. So, that means you are really taking your destiny in your own hands. - [Daniel Adugna] Yeah. - [Dimy Doresca] And, why is that? Is this the representation that exists right now in Africa, that the youth, the way they are challenging the status quo is trying to empower themselves using entrepreneurship or using other means instead of relying on government? So, what's happening? How are things going in Africa with respects to government supports, or what are some of the things the government are doing to support the youth, the young entrepreneurs? Adewale, yes, please, go ahead, Ade. Go ahead, Ade. - [Adewale Badejoko] I think I'd like to start by saying it begins with me, and I'm a big student of history, and when we look at this wonderful country called America, and you begin to look at the tilting points, the moments where it all changed, and you realize it wasn't exactly the governments who did that. At least, they were not existent at the time. It was men like Rockefellers coming up with wonderful innovations in oil and petroleum, even in the logistics in which these products have been transferred, and that gave a new dimension to how we transfer products. We can mention people like Henry Ford, and the whole idea of a manufacturing process line came up. The Government didn't do that, and you just get to realize that if anything really is going to happen, anything really, then it has to start with me. You need to understand where we come from, or personally, where I come from, the mindset is go to school, get a good job and start a family, and it's actually okay, right? But then, somebody needs to actually create those jobs. And you are so tough at the time, 'cause if you checked now, you'd still know that there's staggering unemployment, of course, now in Africa, especially in Nigeria. I mean, we have the largest population in the whole of Africa, and so many people are unemployed. And I'm going to leave school and join that same sector? It really doesn't make so much sense, who's serving? And really, let's be fair to ourselves, 'cause sometimes I'd like the fact that we point accusing fingers at the government and say, yes, they are the main cause of our many troubles. But, who exactly are the government? I only know people like us who we have elected into those positions. Okay, but then I realize that for anything to really happen, then it has to actually start with me. And so, when you to look at history down the line, not just about Africa or about entrepreneurship but generally, you realize that people are the ones who move history and they all usually start with one person. And you can talk about Martin Luther King in respect to the Civil Rights Movement, there are quite a lot of many names that we can mention that you and I already know. And so, if the problem is really going to change, then it actually has to be with me, and this is one of the keys or the tools that I'm using. And, you know, there's an adage in Yoruba that says, and means it's the kids that, you know, sort of put their hands in this position. It makes it easy for the parents to call. Do you get what I'm saying? Not even if I'm going to ask for the government's support, I've shown track records in terms of impact, now it's easy, and the truth is, the government could actually be clueless, they are human beings just as we are. No pun intended, but the point is they'd like to give back power, they'd like to, you know, see things happen, but then they need young people with good ideas to actually move this thing. So, I need for someone to actually show some things done already in that sector, and the truth is, yes, there's still many more problems to solve, but we're getting good feedback, so we cannot just throw our responsibilities and just put the blame on people for the many troubles in our lives. I mean, if anything will change, then it definitely has to start with us. And so, I'm starting with me, and this is getting attraction. I mean, people are beginning to join the support, people are beginning to come on the campaign, and gradually, you know what they say, one step at a time, and with this, I think we can really change it. So, yes, we'd like to have more involvement when it comes to government and, well, maybe they're doing their own little causes, but if we really want to move things, and really, who moves things, I think it's people, not really the government. Thank you. - [Dimy Doresca] Thank you, and you can start sending your questions to me and I'll start asking them questions from the audience. I got the first one here. So, it seems that the entrepreneurs and leaders from Africa, whom we've heard from this year and last year, are particularly attuned to community building and social entrepreneurship. Do you think that's true? - [Adewale Badejoko] I think we should not say or think profit and purpose are mutually exclusive. I think there's a right blend between making profit and actually balancing purpose. I mean, when we even have this money, what do we do with them? So, I think it's true that we have people, not just particular about themself, and if I could say something, one of the things that actually set Africa some miles back isn't because we don't have intelligent people there. - [Dimy Doresca] But is it really people from your generation that is more focused on social impact ventures, Maphano? - [Maphano Mohapi] I will answer this question from a personal point of view. When I started my business, it was for my personal interest, was for me to personally make profit, was for me to personally grow. But then, when you become good at entrepreneurship, you become a leader, and it just automatically happens. So now, people, remember when you become a leader and your people now recognize you, people start looking up to you, people start admiring you, people start asking you questions, people start coming for you to advise, and then you realize that you're actually a social entrepreneur. It's not that you wake up and say, I'm going to be a social, you just impact silently in the dark, and then everything comes to the light, and then that's how you become. - [Dimy Doresca] That's really good. - [Maphano Mohapi] A social entrepreneur. - [Dimy Doresca] So, really, you didn't decide to be a social entrepreneur. It's just things that you've seen. You see how you can impact. - [Maphano Mohapi] Yes, yes. - [Dimy Doresca] Very, very, very good. Very good. So, watermelons going to waste. So, what can you do with them? I've seen dried mangoes, but dried watermelon? What do you think? - [Adewale Badejoko] Well, I mean, we could come up with the technology that dries watermelon up, but it will no longer be worth that meal enough. This is what we decided to do. We realized that our people make produce but can afford food products. We make but conflict is so difficult to find on our table. So, what we do with this watermelons and products like produce like watermelons is to apply simple processing techniques, and that sort of prevents their lifespan a bit. So, we make jams with them, we make juice with them, we make fruit salad, we make nut mixes. And so, instead of save the lifespan for this product and help them to travel, you should also understand that most of the production and force, when it comes to agriculture in Nigeria is done in the rural communities, and most of the consumption is done in So, when this produce travels on this not so good roads, a lot of bad things, so, you know, accidents and all of those things. So, what we do is we try to reduce all of this, the problems along the value chain, right? And so, we turn them, using simple techniques, into product that's able to move faster or move better rather than having the produce just waste. That's what we're doing. I'm also looking out to more technologies to help us in, you know, improving it. - [Dimy Doresca] Now, did you have a problem with big companies? Did you perceive any problems or solutions, or difficulties for small farmers for their products to be selected for distribution process? So, basically, how do you face, 'cause there are a lot of big companies owned by the older generation, how do you face their competition? How do they see you guys as the young entrepreneurs? Daniel, maybe you can take a stab at this. - [Daniel Adugna] Thank you, Dimy. The big corporations and the companies are still there. There is the other set of companies that were set up in the previous generations and, true, linking to the previous question, they don't necessarily think social entities. They are purely pro-business, pro-profit, as most businesses are. And oftentimes, also back home in the business environment, we don't have that healty competition environment. So, most of your competitors think of you as the enemy first and not necessarily as a long-time partner or anything else. So, the immediate strategy for them would be to actually crush you and to get you out of their market before you even have your wings to fly. But some of the remedy or some of the opportunities come also with it. Like I mentioned at the start, if young people are the largest population group in the country, that's also a huge power of consumption, that's also the largest group of electorates, that's the largest group of the working population, and so on. And young people have the added advantage of connecting better to their peers. So, that means we are not necessarily addressing the same market segments that they have been addressing, we are addressing market segments that are actually emerging, both that are created through the changed and emerging lifestyle changes that are coming with the new, emerging middle class, but also looking at the new demand that has been created as new, young middle classes flourishing. So, that's, I believe, how the two are mutually coexisting, like we're trying to get out of their way, but also they're relatively slow on social media, on the internet, and things like that, so we try to exploit that to our advantage as well. - [Dimy Doresca] Very good, very good. The next question we have is what role, if any, should the rest of the world have in Africa? Should we be replacing development aid with foreign investments? Or something else? 'Cause I remember, Daniel, you mentioned that development aid has been really a problem instead of a solution. So, should we be replacing development aid with foreign investment or something else? What do you guys think? I mean, the Mandela Fellows in the audience, you also can jump in if you want, so. Fèmi, you're dying to provide an answer. - [Fèmi] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I was not dying to answer the question. That's funny, actually. Yeah, I mean, for the past 40 or 50 years, since independence was around the 1960s, I think the West came up with the international aid to Africa. But when we try to, I mean, to make a summary of what has been achieved in Africa for the development with international aid, we just realize that the international aid has not done so much in Africa because the international aid in Africa makes just 2% of the GDP of Africa. What, you know, some people in the Western countries used to think that's like I mean 50, not 20%, that's it, just 2% of the GDP. And, unfortunately for us, when we received the international aid, it's through a paternalistic standpoint. Because this country, we receive the international aid from where the pharma colonizes. I'm from a French speaking country, so I know a bit about what is happening between Britain and France. When we receive an international aid, most of the time, it's through a top down management system. It's France who will decide how we have to invest that money. We are the ones who know our needs, it's not France who knows the needs of the We'd better know our needs, so, it's better saying, okay, we are ready to help you and you just try to find out in which sectors you have to invest in, instead of saying, you have to invest in this, you have to invest in that. So, this has not done so much good to Africa and that's why we say that we have to stop with international help. We are open today, I mean with the generation of today, we are open to partnership, we are open to collaboration. That's why the Chinese collaboration with Africa is welcome today, because when we discuss with Chinese today, when we discuss with these Chinese people, of course, there are some huge gaps to fill, but when we discuss with Chinese people, we discuss on an equal footing. I mean, when we go to the discussion table, we'll talk business on a win:win relationship. Just to give an example, the first thing to change in my country that we needed, years back, the first thing to change in my country was built by challenge. It was a 40 million dollars interchange, but actually, it was built for free through an international corporation. But in the backyard, we know it's business because, you know, that kind of tax exemption, when they import the goods in the country, the kind of facilities that they have. But this is what I call, I mean, a win:win partnership. We have that interchange that admits traffic between the North and South, the northern part of the country and the southern part of the country this year and we're, like, growing our business through that interchange that connects all the parts of the country. So, this is just an example of what is happening. And as I said, for sure, we have to fix some gaps but we are more open to collaboration. That's why the group was very keen on not letting our brothers and our sister not using the word help. We don't need help, we don't need international aid. We want collaboration and partnership, and with them, the generation of today, the young leaders of today, that we can achieve more through that lens, that point of view. That's it. - [Dimy Doresca] Very good, Fèmi, very good. You could not have said it better. And Fèmi co-founded an agricultural company that, he's a farmer, by the way, he forgot to say that. He's a farmer and he specializes in organic farming with some of his partners, so that's what he does. And to elaborate on what he said, the African diaspora send more money back home than foreign aids. The African diaspora send more money back home than foreign... - [Fèmi] In 2012, they sent home 40 billion dollars. That was the money that came from abroad to Africa and no international aid or international corporation got to reach that level. - [Dimy Doresca] That level. So, it's just to put it into perspective for you to understand. But I have another question that I'd like you guys, you know, to elaborate. Maybe that's also how it's part of the international aid. So, government corruption can be a stumbling block to entrepreneurship. Was this a problem in your business ventures? What can be done to reduce the bureaucratic corruptions? - [Maphano Mohapi] Can I? - [Dimy Doresca] Yes, Maphano. - [Maphano Mohapi] As usual, I'll talk from my experience. So, when I was starting out to expand and start my business, there was this so-called opportunity that the government was giving funds to the youth and they can go and apply for these funds to start their businesses. So, I rode my wheelchair there several times, I think about 10 times. They took me back every time to correct my business plan, which did not need correction, and further, after the delay, we discovered that they had taken some money for their own benefits. So, I think this is a very big issue in a sense that there's a lot of corruption and it's not helping us develop as much as we can, which is why we had looked on to other things, like a plan for the Mandela Fellowship, to find a way and maybe find solutions as to why these problems keep persisting, because we're trying to develop, but then other people are not, the government is not looking at it that way. So, I think I had a problem in that because I was delayed, and I couldn't find any funds to start the business and had to continue with the business in my room for about a year, and I think we still have a big problem in that situation. - [Dimy Doresca] Anybody else want to elaborate on what really the young leaders, young entrepreneurs, are doing to challenge the corruption issues in Africa? - [Adewale Badejoko] Can I just add one suggestion? - [Dimy Doresca] Yes, add it, yeah. - [Adewale Badejoko] I'd like to first of all say government corruption does not really affect entrepreneurship, they affect lives, social-wise, welfare and every other sector, and I'll be lying to say Nigeria is not witnessing that as well. Thankfully we have a President who's actually built his whole campaign agenda on the anti-corruption war. But then, as a young person, I think we have a very big power which has become an integral part of our life, and that brings me to social media, which we are exploiting answers too. I think it would be senseless of me to just wake up and walk to Aso Rock, where it's like the seat of power, and try to sort of cause an arrest there and try to solve the government corruption. And then, we should know this is something endemic and it's not going to sort of change overnight, and I'm not going to really achieve so many things if I should have taken that line of action. But then, I think it requires a blind act, and in my own case, it's using the tool at my disposal to be able to, you know, move one or two things and change people's mentality. But then again, it starts with me, and you must, how is it said now, if you must preach equity, you must come with clean hands. I mean, it's easy for us to judge, you have to remove the speck from your own eyes before you see the log in other people's. But then, as a young person, I think I'm way off thein social media, and young ones, like myself, that I know, are actually using this tool to change what used to be the previous status quo. And so, you see wonderful graphics, you see wonderful videos, you see for graphics, showing some government activities, sharing knowledge on these issues with the public, and one of such is the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. Even when the government was going to sit back on this issue, we used social media to gain international support, and we've seen quite a lot of developments in that area. Thank you. - [Dimy Doresca] Thank you, Adewale. We've got one other question here. Can you give a profile on what young people in Africa value and seek through their lives? Do they want a huge family, a big house? What are their aims and goals in life? Pablo, Pablo. - [Pablo] Everybody, hi, my name's Pablo. I come from Equatorial Guinea, a country that has been suffering forever. Like, what do we want in life? I thought I'd get into anywhere, I was a very good That's something we also want to achieve in life. Going back to the question, sorry for this, the question of foreign aid. There's a saying that if you give a man a fish, you are feeding him for tonight, but if you show him how to fish, then he will be independent. That's why I don't like foreign aid. But what I think Africa wants today, we don't want to have kids that die from malaria. We want to finish that. We want to be able, when we sit at the table with the correct country, talk to them, collaborate, not for asking for help, that's what we want. We want to make our continent be great. That's why I left donors from saying that. Because if you don't make your people great, if you always go out to ask for help, you're not going to make it in life, you're going to be dependent. So, we are not seeking big houses. The foreign leaders of our country, when they were coming to the West, they were coming to ask for help. Once that was dished out, they'd go home and they'd sit with their power. They killed all their opponents and they stay there. But us, we come for collaboration, to make you come to Africa and enjoy what we've come to enjoy here because we can have foreign exchange. Not just going to Africa to, let's say, to see people die from hunger, but coming to Africa as my, where's my friend, Leslie? - [Leslie] This one. - [Pablo] Ya, we're going to the bridge, Victoria Falls, to see the wonders of Africa. That's what we want our continent to be, equal to the Western world, equal to the United States. At least, I want my country to be free of corruption. I'm not going to become corrupt. I don't want to do that. I want my country to be in the news about good things, not only because CNN is going to tell that some of my Presidents have stolen money. That's not what we want to hear. We want to hear that people in the continent live like people in Abu Dhabi or in Qatar. We want our country to be great and that's the message. We are not willing to have the big house or the big mansion, but if I work to earn it, that would be good. Not from stealing from my people. That's my answer to that question. - [Dimy Doresca] You want to give some, let's take Barrack instead, yeah. - [Barrack Ogwell] Yeah, thank you, my name's Barrack Ogwell. I'm from Kenya. A very important question has been posed, what do we want, what motivates us? We all want a good life. During the weekend, we went through to, and when the bus entered the compound, I thought now we are at the old capital. Because the house was so huge and the compound is spacious, and it's so nice, it's a nice feeling. And then, I told my friends, we need leaders to be making connections in the North. That nice feeling, that is what we want. We want an improved quality of life. We want freedom. Development is freedom. We want to purchase items, you want to go shopping that you don't have to look at the price of something, you're just free. But that's your hope, that is what we want, and that is what we're working towards, not just for us but for our families, for our parents, for our friends. We want the quality of life to improve. It's so hard for you not to get that. Like, you are out there fighting and someone cannot even afford breakfast, someone cannot afford to buy a book to maybe read, someone thirsting for knowledge. So, that is why you are coming up with all these solutions, not just to, like, improve the quality of life for others but to generate income, to raise up our capital income. That is what motivates us. We want to make Africa a better place and we want to get all those people out of We want to create jobs, we want to create employment opportunities. We want to, like, with even development goals, let these goals be inspiring us in each and every way. I'll give you a personal example. Did I tell you my father was sick? And we took him to hospital. And then, he was being treated for neuron disease. Then he took the information of an Oncologist who was staying in America to, like, this is my problem, and in less than six months, the outcome was nice. So, that transfer of technology from America to the Oncologist in Kenya is what saved my father, and that is the transfer to technology and knowledge that we need, and that is what we are looking for, what we want. Like, when we are here, we want to learn about your technology, we want to learn about these technological ways of doing things. In Kenya, it used to take you like two months to list a company. Right now, the government, you can use their portal to do everything, it's online. It only takes you a week to list a company. It takes you a day to file for the name and the name of that code. I think that kind of technology that the youth in Kenya are using will eliminate all of this bureaucracy and make sure that it's a nice environment to work in and operate our business. So, we want a good life. When you come to Kenya, like the way you walk around the streets now, people are smiling at you and they're just happy. That is what would convince us. So, we hope that those of you who are planning to come to Africa, everyone will be making that we're smiling at you all the time. You'll have the nice feeling of being in Africa, just like the way all of us are here. See, we are smart, we are nice people, you know. So, if that is working, it would be very nice. - [Dimy Doresca] Alright! That's a nice way but I have to end this for us. This is great, and thank you again to our panels, thank you to all the Mandela Fellows in the audience, and we thank the Iowa City Council of Foreign Relations for inviting us again this year. So, Thais, back to you. - [Thais Winkleblack] Thank you. Well, just as I thought last year when I met your first year Mandela Fellows who came to Iowa, when I hear you all speak, I can't help but have a lot of hope for the world, so. So, Daniel, and Maphano and Adewale, I would just like to sincerely thank you especially, and we have a very small token of affection. We hope you'll come back for your second cup once you've expanded your businesses and have, you know, become international in your scope, and maybe we'll see some beauty industry in the United States that we'll say, oh, that's Maphano, we know here, so. Thanks again to our sponsors, the University of Iowa's International Programs, the University of Iowa's Honors Program and the Stanley UI Foundation Support Organization for their generous support. And we also thank today's special financial sponsors, Mace and Kay Braverman and MidWestOne Bank. With that, we'll close today's program and I know everyone in the audience wishes all of you every success, and we look forward to hearing your stories in the future, so thank you.