Council Post: A Shift In Global Power: Is It Time?

Nelson Mandela, possibly the world’s greatest visionary of our time, lived and suffered for a vision of the future that cost him 27 years of his freedom. He believed in a better world, where black people and white people were treated equally and had the same opportunities and access to education and jobs.

Mandela understood isolation and persevered through 27 years of imprisonment because he could see there was a better future worth fighting for.

What inspired Mandela must inspire us during this difficult time. We must envision a future that is different than our past. We must see the global disruption as a catalyst that will propel us into a new and better future that respects our planet and each other.

One of the most powerful questions we should all be asking is what do we want to take with us into our collective future? What do we want for our planet, our nations, society and our way of life? What seemingly impossible problems do we want to solve? Now is our moment to dream of a better world so we can start to make it a reality.

By 2050, just 30 short years from now, 25% of the world’s population is expected to live in Africa, with 25% of the world’s workforce on the continent. That will require 25% of the world’s jobs to held by Africans. How can we start to think about building an Africa that is ready to serve the world? How do we educate and train the workforce of the future? With 50% unemployment projected later this year in South Africa alone and 25% unemployment projected in the U.S., we must start to think about reinventing economic structures and reimagining individual income provision and global distribution of services and jobs. We’ve seen how inextricably linked we all are. First climate change sought to remind us that if one part of the world suffers, we all suffer, and now a global pandemic highlights how a disaster in one region of the world can quickly turn into a disaster everywhere. Now is not a time for nationalism. Now is a time for collaboration and international cooperation to support the survival and recovery of our planet and humanity. Now is the moment for big-picture thinking.

Africa has an incredible opportunity at this moment to leapfrog its development and level an incredibly uneven playing field by implementing radical change, capitalizing upon technology, revolutionizing schooling through online learning platforms and testing revolutionary ideas such as universal basic income. Could unemployment numbers as high as 35% (or even 50%, by some projections) be subsidized by creating a baseline level income for all to prevent starvation, mass homelessness and potentially huge civil unrest across the continent? Could investment in the region see incredible returns as opportunities are accelerated? Africa could take the lead, demonstrating to the world how new ideas could be implemented and simultaneously tackling the huge issues of poverty and inequality, paving a way for other continents to follow. U.S. entrepreneurs and investors could facilitate a shift in global power by focusing energy and efforts on the growth of African economies by investing and by doing business in the region.

Fortune favors the brave, and never has there been a better time for embracing radical change. Opportunities will open up to make an incredible impact across the globe if we are willing to leave behind some redundant ways of thinking. African nations have an opportunity to demonstrate a new way forward. Africans are already resilient, patient, persistent and able to overcome huge challenges. Now is the time to turn these disadvantages into strengths.

So, instead of only investing in companies on U.S. soil and focusing all our energies on home shores, we must widen our perimeters to build a more equal world that is prepared for future realities.

This crisis will end. We can be certain our days of disruption, confinement, isolation and social distancing will end. We will get back to buying and selling. We will be able to attend gatherings again where we’ll celebrate with each other with additional passion and fervor. We will put COVID-19 behind us, but how the world looks on the other side is up to us.