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Chasing the Cheetahs

More than 40 percent of Africa’s people are under 15—and they’re getting ready to change the way the continent works.

They’re motivated. When American talk show host Oprah Winfrey was criticized for donating $40 million to build a school for girls in South Africa instead of donating the money to inner-city schools in the U.S., she talked about the difference in attitudes. "If you ask the kids [in the U.S.] what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers," she told Newsweek. "In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school." This may go a long way toward accelerating the progress of the next generation in Africa.

Its members have values. A study by The Coca-Cola Company found African youth draw their role models from intellectual and artistic leaders. In Morocco, youth point to their new king; in Kenya, poets and artists; in South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Their heroes are determined by the value systems of their countries.

They combine old and new. In every country, young people have their own language. In Kenya, for example, youth might speak in Swahili when talking about their everyday lives, but turn to English for discussions of jobs or philosophy, while Sheng—a hybrid of Swahili and English along with other Kenyan dialects—is the dominant language of rappers on music videos playing on the plasma screens in the newer matatus (minibuses) that crisscross Nairobi. In an article in National Geographic, Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina discussed the "dual personalities" of Nairobi youth. "This is the tension that best defines Nairobi: to try (and often fail) to live within the world views of our traditional nations; to try (and often fail) to be seamless, Western-educated people; to try (and often fail) to be Kenyans—still a new and bewildering idea." African youth have a complex and textured experience, connected to global trends and local traditions. Old and new exist side by side the way English and Swahili come together to create Sheng.

Youth are fast and connected. A Television commercial for engineering conglomerate Siemens A.G. illustrates the impact of cellular phone networks. A native of a Tanzanian village returns from abroad sporting a new "leopard" hairstyle, his head painted with spots. He calls his family on a mobile phone from the airport saying he has a surprise for them. But admirers with cellphone cameras take his photo in the city and send the image across the country, even to his home village. While he’s in transit, all the salons begin offering leopard hairstyles. By the time he arrives home by bus, everyone in his village is sporting the same hairstyle. When his family asks him about his surprise, he just shrugs. Through connections and speed, the young generation has gained a different view of the world. One cheetah (or leopard, in this case), connected with a cellphone, can transform an entire society.

Rising aspirations and the demographics of a youth market have created a tremendous demand for education. This can be seen not just in the need for uniforms, as demonstrated by Enbee’s business in Zimbabwe, but for colleges and universities.

New educational technologies are spreading across the continent, thanks in part to public-private partnerships. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development launched a project to bring technology to 600,000 "e-schools" in more than 16 African countries in a decade. The project was designed to provide schools with equipment such as computers, TVs, radios and telephones with the help of corporate partners including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Oracle and Cisco. The goal is to equip African youth with the knowledge and skills to participate in the global economy.

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