Why I am proud to be an African woman

This week I am especially proud to be Kenyan. This week, regardless of the ills we gripe about I am standing tall on the realm of possibility and opportunity. Africa has been catapulted into the forefront of entrepreneurship conversations, and hopefully we can start to change our narrative.

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit may be over in Nairobi and President Obama may have left, but the trajectory that we are on will last for years to come. I hope.

My pride does not come from the fact that it took a sitting US president visit in order for our roads to be beautified, or that the city was being cleared of street families for the auspicious occasion. Of course, it irks me to no end that our mere existence is not sufficient for beautiful and clear streets. But since I am on a decidedly upbeat disposition, I will nitpick another day.

My pride comes from being part of a country, a continent that is unapologetic about wanting better, dignified lives for its citizens, about wanting economic prosperity and self-sustenance. A continent which embodies resilience, talent, innovation, milestones in technology and a vibrant youth population.

It used to rankle me to no end, when, sometimes from lack of knowing better I heard people referring to Africa as if it were a country. Though the former is a statement borne of ignorance, I have found myself, more and more, referring to the continent as a borderless, infinite realm of possibility. So much that foreigners have asked me why we hardly ever identify myself by my specific country.

Over the past five weeks, I have had the privilege of spending my days in the company of some of the smartest, most ambitious young Africans from 17 different countries. Being among accomplished tech-preneurs and bankers, filmmakers and media personalities, entrepreneurs in the agriculture and tourism spaces, does something to your sense of belonging.

It expands your realm of possibility and pushes you to think bigger. It reinforces that no matter how different we perceive ourselves to be, we are more alike than we think. We have the same indefatigable dreams and the same desires to create a lasting legacy.

There is a reason why there is so much to learn from North America, not to the exclusion of other nations but because the inequalities we have dealt with or continue to deal with so resemble each other. While the economy is developed, in states such as Atlanta where I am based, the race dynamic is still very rife and conversations around equal opportunity for all ongoing. It is not a stretch to draw the parallels with our ethnic tensions especially how ethnicity interferes in economic participation.

For those who participated in the Summit, that platform created a launching pad that will reap rewards for years to come. But the underlying feeling, and I can completely understand this, what about those other youth who do not have the global stage that was afforded their peers? How does their vision translate into reality?

Every time I think of entrepreneurs being catapulted into success by finding the sweet spot between their work and passion I recall an example that brings this to the fore. About six years ago, I stumbled upon a couple living in North America.

By the day, they were professionals, working in a corporate environment at jobs they liked but not loved, and that did not give them the freedom they craved. In their free time though, they made an adventure out of renovating their house and chronicled their work through their blog.

They did it neither for the money (it made none at the time) nor fame, rather just to inspire other people with what they learnt from one day to the next. Six years later, they have both quit their day jobs, their online site supports both the renovations they carry out and the products that they sell and they are raising their family with the freedom and flexibility that they were so yearning for.

I refer to this story for two reasons. There has been a certain amount of concern expressed at the significant focus on ICT based entrepreneurship, with youth who are not tech-centric feeling like they have been left out.

The continent is unencumbered with heavy investment in most aspects of technology. This makes leapfrogging easier, and there is no more proof of that than in the internet and mobile spaces. Leveraging off these just needs a bit of creativity and positioning, but it creates an unprecedented capacity for growth.

Second, technology and the Internet are great enablers. They afford us great opportunities to, with some thoughtfulness, design our own media campaigns on a low budget and create publicity for our causes. And they allow us a much bigger platform to get our voices heard on whichever venture we're engaged in.

Most of all, they give us a relatively safe and inexpensive space to fail fast, fail often, fail better and shorten our learning curve, a journey that is imperative for entrepreneurs.