Panel, Conference Presentation
Investing in African Prosperity (updated)
Milken InstituteTony Blair, Bill Gates, H.E. Paul Kagame, Strive Masiyiwa, Rhonda Zygocki, Michael Milken
- Africa's population is projected to comprise 25% of the global total by 2050, with seven of the ten highest global growth rates expected to occur on the continent.
- Rwanda's ambition to reach middle-income status by 2015 is viewed as a precedent for 25 of Africa's 54 countries achieving or nearing similar status.
- Chevron plans to deploy energy investments ranging from $5 billion to $10 billion over the next decade, while leveraging a $15 million Niger Delta commitment to mobilize $100 million with 17 additional partners.
- Strive Masiwaya predicts that mobile money services, currently growing at a 10% compounded monthly rate in Zimbabwe and accounting for 20% of its GDP, will transform healthcare, transport, and education across Africa.
- Mobile device penetration is expected to enable African schools to utilize tablets and cell phones for curricula within less than five years, with operators establishing dedicated divisions in key sectors.
- Bill Gates anticipates the rotavirus vaccine will achieve 100% coverage in Africa within two years, up from an expected 60% baseline.
- The global polio eradication campaign is projected to require six years to complete, with funding estimated at 40% from philanthropy and 60% from governments, aiming to save over a million lives in Nigeria alone.
- Ethiopia is expected to transition from a recipient of famine relief to a substantial grain exporter with guaranteed supply certainty.
- Infrastructure energy commitments are increasing significantly across seven African countries to address power shortages, contingent on stability and government execution capacity.
- Tony Blair intends to expand an initiative recruiting international companies to spend one year assisting governments in delivering programs of change.
- Chevron expects to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission within its workforce, a step anticipated to facilitate disease elimination across three African countries.
- Strive Masiwaya asserts that local partnerships and empowerment strategies will enable African businesses to withstand economic crises and hyperinflation similar to Zimbabwe's.
- Chevron projects that certifying local suppliers to international standards will foster broader local economic growth across industries.
- Bill Gates notes that while the world is close to eradicating guinea worm and polio, the final three countries with polio (Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan) present significant challenges.
- Successful polio eradication is expected to save billions previously spent on child protection, allowing resources to be redirected to other health activities.
- Africa remains an underexplored continent regarding resources above and below ground, presenting immense opportunity for industrial and social progress.