Hardy Pemhiwa

We now have 1.1 billion mobile money accounts.

That's up from only 300 million 10 years ago.

It's driving financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale.

Today, if I needed to pay my barber, the food vendor on the side of the road,

My utility bill, my mechanic, it's easy, it's accessible, it's convenient, and it's cheap.

I use my mobile money accounts.

Whether it's EcoCash or M-Pesa, it's one of those two.

But Africa's demographic dividends is also one of its biggest challenges.

I know.

A lot of people think of Africa and they think of poverty and disease and wars.

But this is not our biggest problem.

Our biggest challenge is youth unemployment.

And I think it's one challenge that AI is uniquely placed to solve.

And Africa has been able to embrace technology at an unprecedented scale.

So now that we've been through geography, let me take you into the future.

Please meet Yamurai.

Yamurai is 24.

She's a high school graduate, born in Zimbabwe and raised in Zimbabwe like me.

Like millions of her peers, she's tech savvy.

She can type faster than any of you.