00:05[FOREIGN] That is a well-known Swahili
00:10proverb that means unity is strength,
00:15division is weakness.
00:19At first glance I may not look like it,
but I'm from Kenya and
00:22I've always been a very proud Kenyan.
00:25I represented the country for over ten
years as an international swimmer.
00:28And was given the biggest honor of my life
when I was chosen to carry the Kenyan
00:33flag into the opening ceremony of
the London 2012 Olympic Games.
00:40My swimming career took
me all over the world and
00:43within that, many parts of Africa.
00:45I visited cities from Cape Town to
Casablanca, from Dakar to Dar es Salaam.
00:52And I always felt incredibly at
home in all of these cities.
00:56As I was travelling around Africa and
competing, I was fiercely competitive.
01:01And I wanted to do everything I could
to get my hand on the wall first and
01:05bring a medal back home to Kenya.
01:08But at the same time, I formed deep
01:11friendships with many of the swimmers I
was up against from just about every one
01:16of the 55 nations recognized
by the African union.
01:24And I'm sure the implications of these
experiences were seeded back then and
01:30But it's only over the last year that I've
begun to understand their deeper meaning.
01:36I now believe that it will be better for
Kenya, Africa, and
01:40the world if Africa were
to become more united.
01:46The more united Africa will
mean a more prosperous Africa.
01:49And we'll finally complete the Africa
rising narrative that is being told
01:56And in these times of
rising nationalism and
01:59isolationism in different pockets
of the world, a more united Africa
02:04could just be the inspiration the world
needs for greater global unity.
02:11When I arrived at Stanford in 2016, one of
the first things I did was interview for
02:16position on the leadership team for
02:18the 10th annual African Business
Conference held here on campus.
02:22I was part of the group of students
from all over Africa, not only that,
02:28And we worked hard to
try to put on the most
02:31successful African Business Conference
we'd ever had here in GSB.
02:34Pulled a lot of all nighters and we
ended up putting on one of the most well
02:39attended student organized conferences
in the history of the GSB.
02:44We were all very proud
about what we had achieved.
02:47And as I thought about it, again the
implications, they didn't really hit me.
02:53I'm at Stanford, of course I'm going to be
in part of a high performing team, right?
02:58>> So conference experience done,
03:03Out of that experience at the conference
though, I started an interview channel.
03:06And sat down with some of my classmates,
run some interviews.
03:11And many of them are actually
in the audience today.
03:13And out of that experience I
got invited to go and cover
03:16the silicon valley African film festival
that is held every year here in San Jose.
03:23At the festival, I was part of a group
of people, again from all over Africa,
03:27from all over the world in
fact united in celebrating
03:31the unique cultures of different
countries of the continent.
03:34But it really felt that we're all coming
together with one voice in celebration.
03:39And as I was running around the conference
trying to source interviews for
03:42the red carpet, I bumped into this
one man called Ayouba Karamoko.
03:50As I started questioning him, I started
to learn a little bit about him and
03:53that he's a musician,
martial artist, teacher, and
03:57I'm asking where he's from and
he says, I'm from Africa.
04:00I said, yeah, most people here are,
can you be a little more specific?
04:06>> So he grudgingly tells me he's from
04:11And we continue interview and
I'm thinking, okay,
04:14I'm not sure why he's being so
grudging about this.
04:18And I asked him what brings
him to the film festival?
04:24And he talks about coming to support the
African filmmakers that were there, but
04:28also that he's releasing a new album.
04:31The name of the album,
The United States of Africa,
04:35Act 1, the awakening.
04:39And looking back that spoke to me
a lot of what was going on for
04:42me, but I was still resistant,
I was like big idea, yes.
04:46But realistic, not so sure.
04:48Came back to Standford got back to work.
04:52And then I heard that one of my
heroes was coming to Silicon Valley.
04:58And not just to Silicon Valley,
he'd be coming right here to the GSB to
05:02speak on the very stage
I'm standing on right now.
05:04His name is Strive Masiyiwa.
05:07For those who don't know,
he's one of Africa's great businessmen.
05:11He's built a telecom business that spans
the whole continent connecting people,
05:16and he started it with just $500.
05:19He was persecuted under Mugabe's
regime in Zimbabwe, and
05:22against all odds,
has built something quite incredible.
05:26And I was part of 20 students that
were actually invited to come and
05:30have lunch with him after he spoke.
05:34And so we all assembled in Sewell
Boardroom in Bass Library to wait for
05:39him to enter the room.
05:40And as we're lining up,
he enters the room and I put out my
05:45hand to greet him as one always does.
05:50And I instinctively say,
sir, it's great to meet you.
05:54My name is Jason, I'm from Kenya.
05:58And he doesn't say anything.
05:59So we're there, holding hands,
I'm clasping his.
06:03And he turns to the rest
of the students assembled.
06:07And he says,
I want you to introduce yourself, but
06:10I want you to say you're from Africa.
06:12And then tell me your town or
city of origin.
06:19I'm from Africa, in the city of Nairobi.
06:23And now the synopsis in my head
were firing out of control,
06:27because I do has been a little of,
I'd say offended,
06:30when people abroad would refer to
Africa as if it were one country.
06:34And he was Strive Masiyiwa,
one of my heroesm telling me not to
06:39vilify that kind of thinking,
but to in fact encourage it.
06:43And the challenge he laid
out to us as future business
06:46leaders in Africa was clear.
06:48In order to drive a more
progressive development agenda,
06:52we have to become more united.
06:54As a complete market,
Africa is 1.2 billion people,
06:58$4.4 trillion combined economy,
07:01youngest population in the world
that is expected to double by 2050.
07:07He said this population growth
could be a blessing or a curse and
07:11it's incumbent on us to
make sure it's a blessing.
07:14To do that we need to become more united.
07:16Some more goods are used internally.
07:19Increased trade between the thriving
cities that I've been so
07:23lucky to visit and we have to form teams,
like I was a part of at the business
07:29conference to lead organizations that can
provide the jobs that we'll be needing.
07:35And not to say there's not going to
be a lot of challenges along the way.
07:38This is a difficult proposition.
07:40But it doesn't mean it's not
something we should strive for.
07:45it's oftentimes that the things most worth
doing in life are the most difficult.
07:54Since I last gave this talk,
six weeks ago, there have been
07:58some developments and
44 African nations have now signed out
08:03an agreement to create
the African Continental Free Trade Area.
08:09It's a first step and
the momentum is there,
08:12but we must continue to accelerate it
to get to a United States of Africa.
08:19[FOREIGN] It is easier to cross the ocean,
08:25if we're all swimming together.
08:31Thank you.
>> [APPLAUSE]
![Welp, Here's what the Fed *Just* Said [Fed FOMC Minutes]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fl8u23oq1E9E%2Fhqdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
