In a powerful address to Africa's emerging business leaders, the head of a leading financial training institution has outlined the critical capabilities needed to thrive in the continent's future economy.
The Transformational Tripod for Growth
Dr Chizor Malize, the Managing Director of the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), identified three non-negotiable pillars for success during her keynote at the 2025 TIBA Conference and Awards. Speaking on December 2, 2025, she told the audience that innovation, resilience, and dynamism are the essential capabilities African youth must cultivate to build competitive and sustainable enterprises.
Malize emphasized that the operating environment for young professionals and entrepreneurs is now defined by rapid, unpredictable change. She argued that raw talent alone is no longer a guaranteed predictor of success. "The future does not reward the talented, it rewards the prepared, the adaptable, and the courageous," she stated.
Innovation Rooted in Local Reality
Dr Malize positioned innovation as the primary tool for enhancing Africa's global competitiveness. However, she stressed that true innovation must be deeply connected to local contexts. She praised companies like Flutterwave for exemplifying this principle by simplifying the complex challenge of cross-border payments.
"This is the kind of innovation to pursue; innovation rooted in solving real problems, innovation born from local insight, innovation that transforms complexities into opportunities," she advised the young innovators in attendance.
Resilience as the Survival Engine
Moving to the second pillar, Malize described resilience as the foundational quality that allows African ventures to withstand volatile conditions. She referenced the journey of M-Pesa, whose founders successfully navigated significant infrastructural and regulatory hurdles. "If innovation is the spark, resilience is the engine," she noted, explaining that this quality enables entrepreneurs to turn obstacles into chances for reinvention.
Dynamism: The Art of Intelligent Pivoting
The third capability, dynamism, was framed as the continuous willingness to learn, unlearn, and pivot strategically. Malize clarified that dynamism is not merely about speed but about making smart shifts to maintain relevance. She highlighted Andela's evolution from a software training firm to a global talent marketplace as a prime example of this necessary adaptation in action.
FITC's Role and Final Mandate
Dr Malize also detailed FITC's longstanding commitment, spanning over four decades, to building these capabilities through its Future of Work Academy. The organisation's programmes include digital leadership courses, innovation bootcamps, cybersecurity training, and dedicated resilience sessions.
She concluded with three clear mandates for the continent's youth:
- Develop original, insight-driven solutions to local problems.
- Build resilience as a core, non-negotiable leadership requirement.
- Adopt a dynamic mindset that aligns personal and business goals with global shifts.
Her final encouragement was for young Africans to remain perpetually curious, flexible, and open to change as they shape the continent's economic destiny.
