Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe has warned that Africa’s growing young population represents a crossroads: either they will innovate and change Africa for the better, or destroy it if left waiting for nonexistent jobs. The professor stressed that failure to nurture innovation will deepen youth unemployment and inevitably lead to instability across the continent.
He delivered the caution during the launch of SoonPay, a global fintech firm rolling out a digital platform for simple money transfers and financial services at Makerere University.
Prof. Nawangwe’s warning came as he detailed the high stakes of Africa’s current technological gaps. He argued these gaps mirror historical moments, such as the expulsion of the Moors from Spain in 1492, which ended centuries of African leadership in engineering and intellectual advancement. He said this turning point paved the way for slavery and colonisation, destroying the continent’s civilisation and technology for 600 years.
“For 400 years our people were taken away,” he said. “Even after slavery ended, it was followed by 200 years of colonisation.”
The Vice Chancellor maintained that Africa cannot afford to be left behind again, particularly in the face of the artificial intelligence revolution. He recalled attending an international conference where most African presenters were contributing from institutions abroad.
“They asked whether Africa is again going to be left behind in artificial intelligence and the digital revolution. We cannot allow that to happen,” he said.
Prof. Nawangwe strongly challenged claims that African graduates lack practical skills, arguing instead that the problem is the absence of industries capable of absorbing them.
“Where are those industries?” he asked the assembled students. “You are the ones who should create them.”
He stressed that Africa’s future depends on research, education and technological advancement, not political debate.
“Politics will not liberate us from poverty,” he said. “What will liberate us is education, research and innovation.”
Prof. Nawangwe commended the students for attending the engagement after completing their examinations, reminding them that they are “a very small fraction of the population” and “the cream of Africa.”
“You must determine Africa’s history from this point onwards,” he added.
SoonPay Chief Executive Officer Frantz Morency used the engagement to unveil an initiative aimed at expanding blockchain-driven financial and healthcare tools in Uganda. Morency, whose company is American, noted that SoonPay understands the historical exclusion Africa has faced from industrialisation, the global financial system, the internet and artificial intelligence.
“For far too long we have been excluded from industrialisation, the financial system, the internet and AI,” he said. “Our youth are the future, but they have not been given opportunities to participate.”
He confirmed that the rollout is supported by academic partnerships, global sponsors and private-sector players. Morency applauded Makerere’s Dr. Cathy Mbidde and Dr. Madden for their role, noting the initiative follows months of technical collaboration.
The SoonPay CEO argued that the global disparity in technological development, noting that the United States accounts for about 61 percent of blockchain revenue, is “unacceptable.”
“What I have seen here shows that young Ugandans want this knowledge. They just haven’t been afforded the opportunity,” he said.
SoonPay’s long-term objective is to close gaps in education, technology and digital economic participation by offering training and tools that support entrepreneurship.
“We must learn this technology not only to participate in the global market, but to create businesses and opportunities here,” Morency said.
