What It Will Take: Building an Autonomous Africa

At the perimeters of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, I had the privilege of speaking at a webinar hosted by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Digital Frontiers Institute — a global conversation on Scaling Impact Through Women in Digital Finance. The discussion brought together leaders shaping the future of financial systems through policy, regulation, and innovation.

But for me, it was more than a panel discussion. It was a chance to pause and reflect on the work I’ve spent the last decade doing — building ecosystems, telling stories, and imagining an Africa that is not defined by what others give us, but by what we create for ourselves.


From Storytelling to Systems-Building

I often describe myself first and foremost as a storyteller. My journey into digital transformation didn’t begin in a boardroom or a policy meeting — it began in 2013, when I started a blog. That space became a mirror for my ideas and a magnet for other young people who wanted to contribute to Africa’s digital story.

Their curiosity led me to found what is now the Ntha Foundation, and later, Kwathu Kollective, Bien Corporation, and Q2 Corporation. What began as an attempt to train 30 young people has grown into a movement that has impacted over half a million across more than 20 countries. Through digital skills training, innovation hubs, and creative economy programs, we are not just teaching skills — we are nurturing capacity, confidence, and community.

I’ve worn many hats along the way — from working with UN Women and the Malawi Revenue Authority, to managing a World Bank project, to leading global expansion strategy at Microsoft Xbox. But the throughline has always been the same: Africa has the potential to build the systems that serve it.


Policy Is Not Our Problem — Implementation Is

In my time with the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office, one conclusion became painfully clear: countries like Malawi are not short on policy. In fact, we are policy rich — but implementation poor. We have strategies, frameworks, and white papers for almost everything.

What we lack are the mechanisms, incentives, and mindsets that move those policies from paper to practice. Too often, development is still framed as something done for us, not by us. We wait for roads to be funded, for grants to be disbursed, for solutions to arrive from elsewhere.

And yet, every thriving economy in the world tells a different story. Redmond is not just a city — it is the ecosystem that Microsoft built. Michigan is synonymous with the automobile industry because Ford made it so. Economies are not created by policy alone; they are built by people who produce.

Africa does not need more policies. We need to enable Africans — especially young Africans — to become doers. We must create policies that unlock capacity, incentivize innovation, and support the people building new industries.


Unlearning Colonial Narratives About Women and Work

As we talk about innovation and growth, we must also confront the social and cultural narratives that shape who gets to participate.

My mother was the first female inland marine captain in Africa. Growing up, I believed women could be anything — and in Malawi, women who excel are celebrated. But beneath that celebration, data still reveals a sobering truth: women remain concentrated in lower-paying professions, and even when they lead, they often earn less.

Much of this is not inherently African. It is the residue of colonial narratives that redefined our societies and our gender roles. Historically, Malawian women have held power — as chiefs, leaders, and decision-makers. We must return to those roots and redefine empowerment on our own terms.

This also means transforming the systems that shape opportunity. Our education systems, for example, were not designed to cultivate innovators — they were designed to produce clerks for colonial administrators. If we want a different future, we must start at the foundation. Capacity building cannot begin at 25 — it must begin at five. We must teach our children not just to get jobs, but to create them.


AI and the Next Frontier

Working inside Microsoft gave me a front-row seat to another seismic shift: the rise of artificial intelligence. Many senior engineers are convinced that the traditional job market as we know it may not exist in the next decade. Automation is advancing so quickly that tasks once requiring teams of engineers can now be performed by a single AI system.

This reality should not frighten Africa — it should galvanize us. Because while much of the Global North will spend the next decade adapting existing systems to AI, we have the rare opportunity to build ours from scratch. AI can help us do in months what once took years, and with a fraction of the resources.

In my own work, I’ve seen this firsthand. Projects that once required 30 people can now be executed — better and faster — by a team of three. If we integrate AI into our education, governance, and development strategies from the ground up, Africa can leapfrog into the future rather than play catch-up.


The Power of Visibility and Networks

One truth I’ve learned along the way is that people see themselves through others. I believed I could become a powerhouse because my mother was one. Today, I look at Sarah Bond — a Black woman leading Xbox — and know that I too can lead at the highest levels.

Representation is not just symbolic; it is strategic. When we spotlight those who build, lead, and innovate, we expand what others believe is possible. Networks of visibility — where African innovators are not just participants but protagonists — are critical to changing the narrative about who we are and what we can do.


Toward an Autonomous Africa

Everywhere I go — whether I am building a hub in Malawi, speaking at the UN, or sitting in meetings at Microsoft — I carry the same belief: Africa must build systems that are ours.

Autonomy is not isolation. It is the ability to stand on our own feet, to shape our own future, and to negotiate with the world from a position of strength. It is a continent where young people grow up believing that they are not waiting for solutions — they are creating them.

And it starts now — with how we educate, how we legislate, how we innovate, and how we see ourselves. The Africa we want is not a dream deferred to the next generation. It is a project that begins in ours.

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