Yesterday, on Citizen TV, Mr Macharia made a profound observation.
When a young lady on a panel he was sitting on kept on saying that the youth are the future of innovation and entrepreneurship (just like many do-gooders and politicos keep telling us, with their eyes firmly focused on 2017), Mr Macharia said that a healthy business ecosystem must be inclusive of all ages and genders.
While affirmative action for women and the youth should be encouraged, Mr Macharia said that putting the infrastructure in place for ALL innovators and entrepreneurs of all ages to thrive was ultimately more sustainable than trying to tilt the playing field in favour of certain segments of the society.
It reminded me of a simple fact: VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING WE USE TODAY OUTSIDE ICT WAS INVENTED BY PEOPLE ABOVE 50 YEARS, AND EVEN 60 YEARS. 80 per cent of the books we read have been written by…you guessed it! Being older does not mean one becomes less innovative…
In Israel, the entrepreneur/innovator of the year is a 69-year old!!!
Hii maneno ya moving from one extreme to another (just see what the girl empowerment is doing to our boys) is unhealthy and unnatural. And think about it. Because the youth are defined to be 18-35 years old, what happens to the young people between 35-50 years who Mr Macharia pointed out have “been in the trenches long enough - looking endlessly for jobs, trying to start businesses with very little capital, etc etc - to learn from their mistakes”?
Why do we have government funds (Uwezo, Women’s Fund, 30% AGPO) to support women even in their 70s but we do not HAVE A SINGLE FUND TO SUPPORT 36-YEAR OLD GUYS? Does it mean after 35-years men become useless?
I agree with Mr macharia wholeheartedly. We must develop the social sophistication to build sustainable business ecosystems that support ALL our people, not expend our energies on quick-sand social engineering experiments.
Just a thought.
PS: Mr Macharia is less than 40 years old and a billionaire to boot…