This TED Talk features education activist Angie Murray Mirwa, recorded live at TED Women 2019.

Most of you will know about the challenges faced by my beloved continent, Africa.

Too many people are poor.

Millions of girls don't have access to school,

and there aren't enough jobs for the rapidly growing population.

Every day, 33,000 new young people join the search for employment.

That's 12 million for three million for more jobs. In sub-Saharan Africa, less

than one in four young people are likely to get wage or salaried work. The chances of making

a secure living are even slimmer for poor and rural young women. They cannot afford an education,

and they do not have the same access to wages,

loans, or land as men.

This leaves entire communities trapped

in a vicious cycle of poverty, inequality, and hopelessness.

But I'm not here to narrate the doom and gloom,

because we also know that a youthful population

presents an opportunity to kick-start economic growth

and solve global challenges.

And in fact, there is a growing movement in Africa

of educated young women who are stepping up and using the power of their network

and the two we call social interest to uplift communities. I'm one of the leaders of the

organization behind this movement, an organization that also supported me through school. And I have seen social

interest multiply the impact of our work. Social interest is a way to pay back interest on a loan

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