Last week, we hosted an event Claiming Tomorrow – The Next Gen Collective, where we dared to dream again. The backdrop was Lagos, Nigeria, a place that has become the ‘City of Dreams,’ far beyond its reality. From the back-to-back traffic jams, to the recent record-breaking rainfall, the constant hum of the city, and the unshakeable drive for a better tomorrow that Lagosians carry, set to a soundtrack of Fela, Wizkid, Burna, and so many others, the city had a distinct buzz with the dreams of millions.
The Reality Check: Solution-Driven Spaces
The conversations at the event really brought us face-to-face with a massive reality check: the city has too much wasted potential, particularly the potential of children. When we look at how we educate our children today, it can be incredibly frustrating. On one hand, you look at the news and see this explosive, undeniable force of African talent: tech founders, designers, writers, and artists succeeding on the global stage. But then you also see the heartbreaking stories of young, deeply determined Africans risking everything to cross the Sahara or the Mediterranean, because they feel like they have to leave home to become who they want to be. It drains the continent, and it feeds right into the immigrant backlash we are seeing everywhere globally.
The immediate challenge we are facing is staggering. According to UNESCO data, sub-Saharan Africa needs to add an additional 15 million teachers by 2030 just to hit basic education goals. That is only four years away, and we aren’t even talking about advanced tech yet—we are talking about the absolute basics: math, science, and English. When you see a gap that massive, you quickly realize the traditional way of doing things just isn’t going to catch up in time.
To dig into this, we brought…
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