I didn't attend the Africa HealthTech Summit as an expert. I showed up as a curious explorer, notebook in hand and plenty of questions in my head. I ended up catching a glimpse into the future of healthcare, or should I say the present? From what I saw, the future is already here.
Over three days, I wandered through exhibition stands, talked to exhibitors, learned a few things, and made new connections. There were interesting conversations over coffee with delegates from across Africa and beyond. I also found myself sitting in forums that brought together government leaders, international organizations, tech gurus, doctors, innovators, entrepreneurs, students, and all sorts of interesting people working to shape the future of healthcare.
One of the sessions that stayed with me was a fireside chat featuring two inspirational speakers. I walked in expecting the kind of serious conversation you would naturally associate with health data, artificial intelligence, and digital health.
Instead, I got interesting stories.
And sometimes, when you are trying to understand where the future is taking us, stories can tell you more than a presentation full of big words and impressive numbers.
And I love stories, especially the kind that leave you feeling inspired. Give me a good story about where someone came from, the obstacles they encountered, and how they found their way forward, and you have my attention.
The session had two fireside chats, a format that is essentially a relaxed, conversational interview in front of an audience rather than a formal presentation. The first featured Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Chairman of the Africa HealthTech Summit, in conversation with Nithya Ramanathan, CEO and co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics. The second featured Fred Swaniker, hosted by Georgie Ndirago.
Nsengimana took us back to his childhood in Karongi, where his mother was a teacher. Before he was old enough to enroll, he would follow her to school, sneaking into classrooms and learning alongside older children. He eventually skipped three classes.
He wanted to become a priest and went to Nyundo Seminary before life took him in another direction.
Then came medicine. Then the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi interrupted his studies. Later, he discovered computer science, a field some people apparently thought was mainly for typists.
He pursued it anyway.
His journey eventually took him to Singapore, where he earned an MBA, and later to Harvard, where he studied public administration. From there, his path led into leadership, public service, and the world of technology.
The gathering was titled “Whose Intelligence? Rethinking Ownership in Africa's Health Data Economy.”
But somewhere between the childhood stories and the discussion about data sovereignty, I stopped thinking about it as a technical session.
The chairman’s journey breathed life into the discussion.
Then came Fred Swaniker.
Born in Ghana, raised across Africa, and recently became a Rwandan citizen, Swaniker spoke about education, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence.
And then things got interesting.
He has a digital twin.
A digital version of himself that can participate in meetings and interact with people on his behalf. He even receives a weekly report to keep up with what his digital self has been doing.
And his AI twin also joined us in the discussion. The interesting part? For a while, you couldn't tell which one was the real Fred Swaniker and which one was his digital twin.
But his conversation went much deeper.
He talked about entrepreneurship and the period when he had left a prestigious McKinsey career to build something of his own. There were times when he couldn't afford a cup of coffee during meetings and had to hope someone else would pick up the bill.
I liked that story.
We often meet successful people at the peak of their careers. We don't always see the person who would wake up in the morning without the slightest idea of where his next meal would come from.
He also spoke about Silicon Valley and wondered what was so different about the place. Was the water different?
No.
One difference, he suggested, was that Silicon Valley would give a young person a chance. That made me think about the young people I meet through Turning Pages.
Then he said something else that has stayed with me.
If you are someone who has access to this room, there is no ceiling. Well, I paraphrased that one. I don't remember every word exactly, but I remember the feeling.
By the time the session ended, I had forgotten that I had walked in expecting a discussion about healthcare.
I had encountered childhood, leadership, entrepreneurship, AI, data, opportunity, and ambition.
And, as a travel writer, I realized something else. Sometimes you don't have to travel very far to go somewhere completely unexpected.
You just have to walk into the right room.