Even if it was just for 2 days. I went to Harvard, okay?
Seriously though, I was finally able to attend the annual Africa Business Conference which is hosted at Harvard. For years, I would mark it in my calendar and just never end up being able to go but this year, I told myself I had to be there – and I was!
This was my 2nd time in Boston but this time I stayed at an AirBnB with an amazing host just 10 minutes away from Harvard.
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Day 1 involved panel discussions with current Business school students, a tour of the campus and an amazing venture competition. The projects young people are working on back on the continent are out of this world! All the competitors had flown in from different African countries and their businesses covered the fields of Health Care, agriculture, digital commerce and more. 1 of the young men (looked about 16) created a program which allows folks in rural areas to literally cough into their phone and it predicts the probability of them having a respiratory disease! Another young lady has created a mobile blood bank service in my country (Cameroon) and she ended up winning 1 of the coveted prizes that night. To my surprise and pleasure, she knew of me (is a fan of the blog) and actually went to my High School!
On Day 2 , after breakfast and the keynote deliverance, there were several panel discussions throughout the day, including a panel with Ugo Mozie, Mai Atafo, Diarra of Diarrablu and Jake Bediako! I was super super blessed to have been able to meet and interact with most of these trailblazers throughout the day and I pray to God I am able to collaborate with a number of them soon. Diarra and I knew each other from Zuvaa days so it was really nice to meet in person. I did not realize just how smart she was and the algorithm she is working on that will change the way we all shop – groundbreaking stuff! Check out my Instagram for more photos and make sure you frequently view my stories to see more of what I am up to as I can’t post all the photos here.
I am so pumped and inspired from the inspiration and connections I made and cannot wait for what the rest of the year has in store for me 🙂
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