Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. That's the simple (and somewhat cliché) truth that drove my recent collaboration with African innovators and government leaders. We set out to answer one question: How do we bridge the skills gap for the next generation of digital creators?
The Mission
Late last year, I joined a working group focused on youth upskilling. The goal wasn't just to "teach coding" it was to build a sustainable ecosystem where young people could learn, build, and actually find work.
My role was bringing a product perspective to the table. Policies are great, but how do they translate into a user experience? How does a student in a remote area actually access these resources? We spent weeks mapping out user journeys that accounted for limited data, shared devices, and spotty power.
It's about community, not just content
One major takeaway was that isolation is the biggest killer of motivation. We proposed a "digital hub" model where learners could form local squads. Even if the learning was digital, the support network had to be physical and local.
This shifted our entire strategy from purely online courses to a hybrid model that empowered local mentors. It was a reminder that you can't solve human problems with just software—you need humans too.
"We aren't just building a workforce; we're building a generation of problem solvers who understand their own local context better than anyone else."
Moving the Needle
This collaboration is ongoing, but seeing the pilot programs launch has been one of the highlights of my year. It's messy, it's challenging, and it doesn't always go according to plan but it's real progress. And frankly, that's more satisfying than any perfectly optimized algorithm.
Status
Ongoing Partnership