Mr. Masiyiwa shared several positive developments on food security and agricultural efforts in the panel on advancing food security among the extreme poor.

Quotes

One of the most exciting developments that we are beginning to see is that the African Green Revolution has begun to happen. It is no longer a question of if there is a Green Revolution in Africa – it is happening.

There are two things that are critical. One is the role of women farmers. Because ...over 70% of our food is grown by women small holder farmers. The African Green Revolution has to be small holder led. We have to not only increase that productivity; we have to shift the narrative from poverty to prosperity. We have to find a way to drawn the young people into agriculture, including young women.

Through AGRA and the funding support we have received from [USAID], we have today created more than 100 seed companies who are producing now a third of all the hybrid seed produced in Africa between them.

Biography

Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman and Founder, Econet Wireless

Strive Masiyiwa is the founder and chairman of Econet Wireless, a global telecommunications group with operations and investments in over 15 countries. His interests also include renewable energy, financial services and hospitality. Masiyiwa sits on several international boards, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relation’s Global Advisory Board and the Africa Progress Panel. He chairs the Alliance for a Green Revolution and co-chairs the AU/WEF partnership, GROW Africa. As a philanthropist, his contributions to education, health and development have been widely recognized. Masiyiwa and his wife finance the Higher Life Foundation, which provides scholarships to over 42,000 African orphans.