The video features a discussion about Africa's promise and potential, focusing on the significance of investing in the continent's youthful and dynamic population. The conversation highlights the importance of building infrastructure and providing opportunities for women and young people, as emphasized by Masai Ujiri, a key participant in the talk. He stresses the promising demographics of Africa and the need to invest across diverse regions and sectors, seeing the continent as a fertile ground for talent and growth.

The role of storytelling is underlined as a powerful tool for expanding Africa's global influence. The participants, including Joel Embiid, talk about the power of narratives in sports, arts, and media to shift perceptions and showcase the continent's talent. Joel shares his journey from Cameroon to the NBA, emphasizing the power of opportunity and the potential for storytelling to inspire future generations. Both speakers acknowledge the lack of infrastructure but argue for the potential and importance of visionary investment.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. scouting [ˈskaʊtɪŋ] - (verb) - The act of searching for talented or skilled individuals, often for recruitment purposes. - Synonyms: (recruiting, searching, exploring)

But let's talk about your journey a little bit from scouting talent in Africa to leading social and economic development on the continent, you know, through basketball.

2. demographic [ˌdɛməˈɡræfɪk] - (noun / adjective) - Relating to the structure of populations. - Synonyms: (population, census, statistics)

The median age in Africa is 20 years old. Yes. And where that population is going, the demographic is, is incredible.

3. urbanization [ˌərbənaɪˈzeɪʃən] - (noun) - The process of making an area more urban. - Synonyms: (development, expansion, city growth)

When I see urbanization and cities really booming and growing on the continent, honestly, you pick wherever you want.

4. diaspora [daɪˈæspərə] - (noun) - A scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller geographic locale. - Synonyms: (expatriate community, dispersion, spread)

African diaspora, how has it had

5. philanthropy [fɪˈlænθrəpi] - (noun) - The desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation to good causes. - Synonyms: (charity, generosity, benevolence)

Yes, it's beautiful. Yeah. And they're beautiful places to go to. But, yeah, I think charity and philanthropy is incredible.

6. mvp [ɛm vi pi] - (noun) - Most Valuable Player, an award given to the best-performing player in a sport during a particular period. - Synonyms: (top player, best performer, standout)

But I'll say, look at this guy, like, sitting here. He's an mvp in the NBA.

7. ecosystem [ˈiːkoʊˌsɪstəm] - (noun) - A complex network or interconnected system. - Synonyms: (environment, network, system)

We have to make this, you know, like part of our ecosystem so that these more kids, more youth.

8. visionary [ˈvɪʒəˌnɛri] - (adjective / noun) - Thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom. - Synonyms: (innovative, forward-thinking, imaginative)

We need people to be visionaries, investors, to think, you know, like what this ecosystem can actually look like when this happens.

9. infrastructures [ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌktʃərz] - (noun) - The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. - Synonyms: (facilities, frameworks, structures)

We keep going back to infrastructures, not just in sports, education, you know, health.

10. prosperity [prɒˈspɛrəti] - (noun) - The state of being prosperous; having good fortune. - Synonyms: (success, affluence, wealth)

Investing in women's empowerment and the younger generation is crucial for the continent's future prosperity.

Joel Embiid & Masai Ujiri on Africa’s Growth, Influence

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for that warm welcome. As mentioned, my name is Bonang Mateba from sunny South Africa. And it gives me such great pleasure to sit here in front of all of you to chat about a continent that I call home, Africa. A continent that is rich in natural resources and of course a continent that, that is rich in young population eager for transformation and of course eager for change.

This morning I'm sitting with two African giants, really, and we're about to discuss some of the opportunities and challenges that Africa faces in terms of scaling up transformation and how the continents vibrant people in our culture of creativity have really positioned us for true success. So thank you very much to all of you for being here.

Masai, I'm going to start with you. Let's chat about Africa. I mean, Africa is a incredibly dynamic continent, really and an investable place, I can say. But let's talk about your journey a little bit from scouting talent in Africa to leading social and economic development on the continent, you know, through basketball. How where specifically, let me rather say should be people, should people be investing in on the continent?

First of all, thank you, thank you for being here and inviting me to speak here. My view is youth and I think strongly about, even before I go to places or regions on the continent, I would say we have to invest in the Youth. They say one out of every four persons in the world will be African by 2050. The median age in Africa is 20 years old. Yes. And where that population is going, the demographic is, is incredible.

When I see urbanization and cities really booming and growing on the continent, honestly, you pick wherever you want. There's different cultures, different people and I think infrastructure is something that we need to really look at and invest in. The last thing I would say is women. Yes, we need to invest more in women all over the world. But even particularly for me on the continent.

So youth, women, I think stand out to me. Infrastructure stands out. The different regions in Africa, there's so much richness in everything. In different places you go to, whether it's Nigeria, whether it's the southern Africa, whether it's eastern Africa, there's so much, you go to francophone Africa, there's so much richness in anything. And then Africa's talent is its people. Yeah, the people are so talented in different fields.

I'll leave, I'll leave it at that. We'll chat about the youth a little bit later. But Joel, I want to know, you moved from the, from to the US from Cameroon as a teenager and you Know, how has that, you know, being part of the African. African diaspora, how has it had. Has it impacted you rather, you know, personally and professionally?

I mean, it's helped me a lot because, you know, being from. Sorry. Thank you for having me here. No, it's an honor being here sitting with you guys, talking about, you know, these type of things. But, you know, looking at my story, you know, being from Cameroon, you know, we, you know, if we talking about sports, you know, I didn't play. I played sports growing up, but I was playing volleyball, and, you know, I was talking about infractures, and we don't have a lot of opportunities.

And it wasn't until I was 16 years old that I started playing basketball, and it just happened out of nowhere. And I was lucky enough because someone saw something in me and, you know, and he was one of the guys that gave me the opportunity. And really, you know, one of the reasons why I'm sitting right here with you guys. But this helped me a lot because the way I think about, you know, what I want to do about my life, El comes from, you know, being from Africa, you know, how I was raised, what I saw growing up, the struggle, what we had to deal with, you know, to, you know, have these opportunities.

And like you said, there's a lot of talent, but there's not enough opportunities. But, you know, I think just the background, you know, the way of life usually shapes you to, you know, just want to keep working harder and harder to be successful. Let's talk about storytelling. I mean, you've both been part of documentaries and projects that have, you know, kind of showcased the African culture to the global audience?

You know, Masai, I want to know from you, what role does storytelling play, particularly in expanding the continent's influence abroad? You know, whether it's through movies or television or even social media. Well, I think they are not told enough, really. The stories of Africa were done with. Yeah. People coming and taking pictures with kids and flies, you know, like. And, yeah, everybody thinks Africa is about just safaris. Yes, it's beautiful. Yeah. And they're beautiful places to go to. But, yeah, I think charity and philanthropy is incredible.

But we want investments in Africa. I think there's. There's plenty of room for that. I think were heading, I think, slowly in some of the right direction with leadership in certain areas, and we have to continue to grow in that. But I'll say, look at this guy, like, sitting here. He's an mvp in the NBA. If I had my phone, I'd show you A picture of him in Basketball Without Borders many years ago.

Skinny little scrunchy kid, you know that? But look at what he has become. You know, like, does everybody know that Journey? Does everybody know, you know, that that story scored 70 points in a game. One of the most dominant players in the NBA just won a gold medal. And. And there are so many of them in the league, the Pascal Siakams, you know, like, there's so many young African players, but young African players in every league, in every sport, you know, like, right at the top.

You see them in soccer, but it's also entertainment. You see what all the artists are doing. You see Tyler, Davido, Burna boy, all these people are blowing up in the world. Yeah. And we need platforms, we need infrastructure for all of this to grow. And storytelling is part of it. We have to make this, you know, like part of our ecosystem so that these more kids, more youth.

Joel has a kid. He has a kid on the way. Sorry, I don't. I have three kids. I have three kids. For me, I think we have to pave the way for that. And I know that's how he's thinking. I know that's how Pascal Siakam thinks. I know how this. How these young African players and even ex players, you know, like, really think we have to develop this platform.

And Bloomberg has done an incredible job following. They really have following some of us following the stories coming and covering. And we appreciate that. But we have to absorb this and go, even do more. Let me, you know, hand that question to you again. The importance of storytelling, you know, in expanding the continent's influence. I mean, you know, like you say, it's all about the youth.

And then for myself, you know, I feel like, you know, I just said it. There's a lot of. There's a lot of talent, but most of the time, and a lot of times we not. We are not seen. If I wasn't lucky enough, I would not be sitting here. But, you know, you gotta, you know, when you're looking at my story, you know, I just want people to understand that it's possible. That's why storytelling is, you know, is extremely important.

Because I believe, you know, growing up, watching a bunch of athletes, you know, in every sports, because I watch every sport and, you know, just looking at the success and what they did, and I kind of. That's how I dreamt, because I wanted to be at this level. I wanted to be as successful as those guys and put the work in. And I want people to understand, you know, just look at my story, you know. Yeah, I wasn't supposed to be here, honestly. But, you know, I also put the work in because of what was given to me and, you know, took advantage of it.

And there's a lot of people that are waiting for that opportunity. And like I said, looking at my story, I just want people to dream and believe that it is possible. Now, Masai, you mentioned early on, you mentioned the youth, you know, in Africa. And 20 years into giants of Africa, your ethos is Africans dream big. What inspires you most about the next generation of Africans? Well, they are smarter than us.

Yeah, they are, for one. Yes. And sometimes we come off next generation. Next generation. Well, we have to accommodate and we have to really absorb this next generation and give them this platform to really, really perform. Storytelling is such a big. Yeah, it's such a big part of it. I look at what South Sudan did in the Olympics, you know, like what Lua Deng a story. Yeah, like that.

I look at the NBA and what they are doing in Africa. I look at all the young African players playing. There's so many things, you know, that. And the talent and we don't have infrastructure. Yeah. How can we say. How can you imagine? We can say that in Nairobi, in Accra, in Johannesburg, in Abidjan. There's no arena. There's no arena.

But if I count all the artists that are going crazy in this world, they cannot actually do a tour in their own continent, but they can come and sell out Madison Square Garden and then hop. Yeah, to. To Scotiabank arena and then go to United. They can go to all these places and sell them out. But in our continent, we don't have, you know, that opportunity does that next generation that we have to prepare for. And we need people to be visionaries, investors, to think, you know, like what this ecosystem can actually look like when this happens.

We do have the facilities. Yeah. We do have 30, 40 years buildings that have been built how many years ago in the colonial days, and nothing has been done in prime locations in all these cities. So back to your question. I think that this next generation, we have to prepare them. We have to find a path. Just like maybe there were these little paths that were found for us. They were not so open.

And there's plenty work that these guys have done, we've tried to do. We have to find, you know, like those. Those little paths and make it a little bit easy for the youth and especially women, especially young girls of the continent. I love that. Najoa, I want to know your foundation Works towards improving the lives of young people in Cameroon. You know, like Masai said. What do you think is needed to help them flourish?

I mean, I think, you know, we keep going back to infrastructures, not just in sports, education, you know, health. I think, you know, you know, mentors. I think, you know, those are some of the keys role models, you know, like, you know, Masai, you know, he's been a role model, you know, especially for me being in this situation, like for a long time I've always wanted to do. All I cared about is, you know, like helping people.

And you know, since I became a father, that became even more amplified because I look at my kids, you know, I look at the legacy I want to leave. You know, I want them to understand, you know, the world, you know, they have everything. But growing up, we didn't have everything. But I want him to understand that's not in other countries where we grew up is not that way. So I think the focus on youth infractures mentorship I think is a big deal because he's helped me a lot.

Same question to you. You mentioned the youth, you mentioned women. What is needed to help our continent flourish and to help the youth flourish and to help young women flourish. I think we, we need to look at the. We, we need to, we need to look at the continent better. You know, like even inside the continent, leadership needs to be better. I think outside the continent, the diaspora are doing an incredible job, you know, like affecting.

You don't have to do big, big things. Yeah. People sometimes think you have to go back and do grand things. You can start like little. And I want people to actually think of Africa as a place of investment. I know sometimes it's not that straightforward, but there are unbelievable people that you can work with. There are many people, I think in our circles, in our world, in different aspects of life that you can actually work with in Africa. They're incredible countries that you can go to.

Let's not. I'm going to reemphasize it again. Where every other continent is getting older and Africa is getting younger. There's something there. Yes, there's something that will change and we have to pay attention to that. To say one out of every four people is going to be African by 2050. Let's go back and really think about that and think about the talent that comes from there. When I say that there's 100 LeBron's and 100 indeed walking around Africa and we haven't been discovered.

Listen to Embiid's story. And he says how he was close to not being here. Yes, very close to not being here. There are some of them that are 30 years old, 40 years old, and maybe they never saw a basketball, but they are this tall and they are physically, like, this big. Yes. But they never saw a basketball because there was no infrastructure. Right. Yeah. There was nowhere to play.

Why do you think Africans dominate the world in soccer? Because as soon as we come, if I bring a football right now, me and Embiid now will show an exhibition to all of you here. Because we came out of our mother's wombs and the first thing we did was kick a ball. Yes. In your backyard, you don't need much facilities. That's why the talent is super. Other sports we have to encourage, whether it's basketball, swimming, anything, we really have to encourage.

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Musa Jawahar. Thank you very much. Africa is young. Africa is dynamic, passionate, investable and ready. So that's it, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Thank you.

AFRICA, INNOVATION, LEADERSHIP, STORYTELLING, INFRASTRUCTURE, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, BLOOMBERG LIVE