Barbara Glover

We launched the second cohort of #SheProtects at GISEC and I am excited about our ambition to support young women studying tech. Transforming the UAE workforce requires private sector partnerships, that prepare our youth through work-related learning. #SheProtects is not just another training initiative; we have incorporated two global certifications from Microsoft and CPX. Ensuring the young women gain practical knowledge and experience, that is recognized globally by any entity leveraging Microsoft or CPX technologies. In this cohort, Microsoft and CPX expand the opportunity to 150 young women across the UAE, building their skills and preparing them for a future in Cyber Security. Thank you to our leadership and the team who champion this initiative relentlessly across both Microsoftand CPX. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eaAyQnXa

One of the most expensive mistakes in African venture capital is treating patience like weakness. A founder says: “We need more time to understand the economics.” Investor hears: “They’re not scaling fast enough.” A founder says: “We need to prove one market properly first.” Investor hears: “Where is the pan-African expansion?” And then we wonder why some well-funded companies grow quickly… only to spend years trying to fix the fundamentals afterward. Look at some of the lessons from our own ecosystem. Copia raised more than $120 million. Sendy raised more than $26 million. MarketForce raised $40 million. All built around real African problems. All attracted serious investors. And all eventually had to confront the same brutal reality: Africa does not care how impressive your funding round was. The economics still have to work. The customer still has to pay. Distribution still has to work. Infrastructure still has to exist. Margins still have to survive. And moving from Kenya to Nigeria or Rwanda to Ghana is not the same as opening another office in California. Different regulation. Different currencies. Different purchasing power. Different sales channels. Different infrastructure. Sometimes you are not scaling one business. You are learning a new market all over again. That is why I think Africa needs a different kind of investor. Not an investor who accepts mediocrity. Not someone willing to wait forever. Patient capital. Capital willing to ask: How important is the problem? How large can this become if we solve it properly? Are customers genuinely paying? Are we learning faster? Are the economics improving? Is this company building something Africa will still need in 10 years? And then stay long enough to help build it. Because some of Africa’s biggest opportunities are not another app. They are: Energy. Agriculture. Healthcare. Logistics. Infrastructure. Hardware. AI. Manufacturing. These are difficult businesses. They require deployment. Infrastructure. Trust. Regulation. Integration. Sometimes years of learning. You cannot finance a 15-year problem with a 3-year attention span. Africa certainly needs ambitious founders. And when the model works, they should move aggressively. But investors need to stop confusing speed with progress. Sometimes the company taking longer is not failing. It may be doing the hard work required to build something that actually survives. The real opportunity in African venture capital may not be finding companies that can grow the fastest. It may be finding problems big enough to deserve patient capital — and founders capable of staying with them long enough to solve them.

Dr Clement Adjorlolo, PhD (Pr.Sci.Nat) made opening remarks, at the FAO / African Union Development Agency-NEPAD Session on Tools and Methods to Support the Design and Implementation of Policies for Agrifood Systems Transformation at the side event of the 22nd #CAADP Partnership Platform happening in Harare, Zimbabwe. #CAADP #KampalaDeclaration #Agenda2063 #TheAfricaWeWant Nardos Bekele-Thomas Estherine Fotabong Fotabong Manyewu Mutamba Zipporah Maubane Millicent Kgeledi Rudo E. Makunike African Union-DARBE AGRA World Bank Group (WBG) World Food Programme Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation African Union

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜𝟰𝗗 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘁 @𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗟𝗦𝗘) 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. ◾️ On the panel exploring AI's impact on the quality of jobs, Sabina Dewan of JustJobs Network pointed out that work carries rights and entitlements, opens paths to economic mobility, and gives people a sense of purpose and any real conversation about AI's effect on working lives has to account for all three. JustJobs Network brings a research and evidence lens on AI’s impacts on worker wellbeing and prosperity through the Asia AI4D Policy Observatory, while also leading the FutureWORKS Global Knowledge Hub, which examines how AI, demographic change and climate change are reshaping labour markets across the Global South. ◾️ In the session on national perspectives on quantitative and qualitative impacts around the world, Haroon Bhorat of the African Growth and AI Network (AGAIN) project shared that where informal work is the norm, entire categories of jobs go missing from the data altogether. ◾️ At the Forum, a new report co-authored by Prof. Fola Adeleke, PI at the African Observatory on Responsible AI, was announced: 𝘼𝙣 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙄 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖, examining strategies and publicly available drafts from 16 African countries to highlight what governments are prioritising, the commitments they are making, and how ready those commitments are for implementation. ◾️ Also in the room: Dr. Pria Chetty, Principal Investigator of the Just AI Center hosted by Research ICT Africa, representing one part of a much broader African policy research community; Bomi Okuyiga, Senior Program Officer for South and Southeast Asia at International Development Research Centre (IDRC); and Dr. Barbara Glover, Principal Investigator of Advancing Responsible Artificial Intelligence in African Union Member States implemented by AUDA NEPAD. Conversations like these are what it will take to prepare for AI's reshaping of work at the highest levels, and across every region grappling with it on its own terms. International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - Research, Science and Technology Global Research and Technology Development portfolio

Listen/watch a conversation on AI in Africa; we discussed priorities for AI investments, policy positioning and implementation framed through the International Monetary Fund departmental paper “Unlocking the Potential: AI in Sub-Saharan Africa”. The paper presented by Martin Schindler models how targeted AI investments can lead to GDP growth, Bringing new evidence for AI as a tool for digital transformation. Great insights from fellow panelists Kalpana Kochhar, Minister Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani and Zeine Zeidane; all made possible by Alexis Akwagyiram excellent moderation. Additional insights were provided by Dr. Fonteh Akum in his opening remarks. Read the IMF paper here >>> https://lnkd.in/ekGMeENQ Carnegie Africa Program https://lnkd.in/eZ6SscvW