All Quotes

"But what did I do? I went to a research project the East African Agricultural Productivity Programme and presented my plan."

"They wrote me a letter to take to the bank to guarantee my loan if I fail to repay it."

"The bank then accepted to give me startup capital."

"In 2006 I was an AWARD grantee at IITA and this really transformed me as an individual."

"The following year I got the YARA award."

"The training was for scientists but they brought me in as a woman in business."

"Everyone said I was out of my mind."

"They said business is a male dominated area and that the private seed industry hardly existed in Uganda."

"The bank actually shut the door in my face."

"They told me I don’t have a business history and they cannot run such a risk. *They were not going to give me any money."

"I named it after the largest body of water on the continent."

"I felt it showed that I will always be here."

"In the early years it gave me the confidence every day to wake up and say, I am not going anywhere."

"Who would have thought so many years ago that as the only girl-child of four siblings my path would lead to Uganda’s electricity distribution utility and managing such an important public service."

"In Africa it is said that ‘it takes a village to raise a child."

"I was fortunate to grow up in an extended family environment."

"I went to a faith based girls’ only school where discipline and values were instilled in us."

"This I believe is the important cornerstone that gave me the courage to follow a career path probably not traditionally set out for women."

"One of the early defining moments in my working career was during my first job as a sales executive in a company dealing in office equipment."

"When I had contracted a sale, which was ten times the average salesperson’s daily output."

"It dawned on me that there are no limitations to the possibilities that can be achieved."

"I rose through the ranks to executive level at Umeme Ltd."

"Energy distribution company listed on the Ugandan and Kenyan stock exchanges."

"At the time of my intern year, the graduate training programme, which ran for two intensive years and hosted by the then publicly owned utility was a public entity."

"This exposed me to the entire business."

"Today I am managing 600 permanent employees and 1,000 contracted staff."

"I am proud to be the first female Executive Director to the board of Umeme Limited, a company and sector for which I hold so much passion."

"Through my efforts together with the Umeme team, the country has been able to more than double the number of households."

"That are connected to electricity over the past 10 years."

"The increase in access to electricity has improved the livelihood of households and communities and Uganda and has been."

"We have close to 1,500 people benefiting from the project."

""As we move forward and continue to optimize platforms and also data prices continue to get cheaper for people to come online and create, I think you are going to see more and more people and realize their full potential on the platform."

"Work hard and smart with a goal to be better than you were the day before."

"Don't waste time make everything you do and everyday count."

"Our AI research centers are going to benefit the continent in a lot of ways, and we’re already seeing some of those benefits."

"My dream is that as we move into the future, we’re going to have more and more African startups like (Nigerian fintech company) Moniepoint that become unicorns (privately owned companies valued at more than $1 billion) on this continent, because I truly believe that’s where we’re headed."

"Now, clearly, there’s a lot of challenges that we need to overcome. The digital divide on this continent is still there. Hence the reason why we really wanted to make sure that we invested in Africa in the right way – across every single value chain that matters to be able to help Africa achieve its full potential."

"Of course, there’s the challenges that AI can present: there’s misinformation, there’s cyber security challenges if people use it the wrong way. As Google, we talk about being bold, being responsible. It’s about working with the communities, with academia, with governments to make sure that we have frameworks for developing AI that best serves the citizens and the communities that we serve. The important thing is that we are rolling out AI responsibly and that we are mitigating the risk associated with AI."

"We are constantly working with governments to make sure Africa is prepared for the changes that come along with new technologies. Our AI sprinters report, which provides a roadmap for developing countries to take advantage of AI’s potential, highlights four key recommendations."

"We believe that the continent has huge potential for growth; it has the youngest population in the world, many of whom are early adopters of digital tools. We want to help the continent to overcome many of its reported challenges and we think we have the capacity to do it in conjunction with our partners, such as governments and innovative entrepreneurs. We are already making some inroads, with our products supporting an estimated $16bn in economic activity across Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. Our products are more than tools, they are engines for economic growth. 70% of businesses in the region have already indicated that our tools are crucial to their operations but we want to see more progress, at a faster speed."

"But if we all come together, which is where the challenge and the opportunity lies, and work on this collectively, then Africa will truly rise."

"https://www.bizcommunity.com/article/google-alex-okosi-africa-an-opportunity-more-than-a-challenge-365668a#"

"We need to build a mindset right now across the entire value chain that Africa's opportunity shouldn't be continued to be just opportunity."

"Otherwise, it's a story about the potential we talk about for the next 10 years. And every single one of us must take on the ownership that we are part of the solution."

"But I am optimistic that Africa is more of an opportunity than a challenge."

"To ensure economic and societal growth, it’s vital that everyone is given the opportunity to harness the benefits of technology."

"Collaboration between governments, businesses, and financial institutions is crucial in creating an enabling environment for digital trade. This includes developing regulatory frameworks, financing solutions, and digital infrastructure."

"I believe that digital trade has the potential to transform Africa’s economy and improve trade relations with the rest of the world. However, to achieve this goal, we need to address the challenges of infrastructure development, regulatory frameworks, and digital skills training."

"That’s why I’ll say protected."

"It was not about how easy, it was about intention, because leadership is about intentions."