What happens after a brilliant idea is conceived?
That was the question at the heart of the “Youth in Digital Health” session at AHTS 2026. It took the conversation far beyond healthcare.
Africa has no shortage of young people with bold ideas. Having an idea is one thing. Building is something else. Selling? That is a completely different ballgame.
Who provides the funding? Who opens the door to the market? Who connects a young innovator with the right mentor, investor, or partner? And how does a young solopreneur navigate the maze from a brilliant idea to a viable business?
Then came another question that caught my attention.
How can African products go continental and eventually global?
Technology knows no borders.
I agree.
But sitting there, I thought: policies and regulations do.
A solution that works in Rwanda may need a different approach in Zimbabwe. Take it to Nigeria, and the landscape changes again.
The bigger challenge, perhaps, is not a shortage of ideas. Maybe it is the bridges that connect those ideas to the world.
The bridge between academia and industry.
Between an inventor and an investor.
Between a prototype and a customer.
Between a young entrepreneur and the resources needed to keep going.
I didn't walk out of that room with a formula for solving any of these challenges. And perhaps that was the point.
The session did not offer a definitive answer. It left me with more questions and a feeling that the conversation should continue.
I am now working on a booklet titled AHTS 2026: Through the Eyes of an African Explorer. It will soon become part of the reading material used in the Turning Pages program.
Through this publication, the conversation will move beyond the Kigali Convention Centre.
It will find its way to Turning Pages sessions at venues across the continent. Professionals, young innovators, and curious minds can pick up these questions and keep the conversation going.
Because perhaps the most interesting part of a good conversation begins after everyone has left the room.