The Managing Director of the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Dr Chizor Malize, has identified innovation, resilience and dynamism as the three essential capabilities African youth must develop to build competitive and sustainable enterprises.
Malize stated this while delivering a keynote at the 2025 TIBA Conference and Awards, a platform that recognises emerging business leaders across the continent.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Transformational Tripod for Growth; Innovation, Resilience and Dynamism’, Malize said Africa’s young professionals and entrepreneurs must be prepared to operate in an environment defined by rapid change.
According to her, success in the coming years will depend less on talent and more on adaptability.
“The future does not reward the talented, it rewards the prepared, the adaptable, and the courageous,” she said.
She described innovation as the most important tool for Africa’s competitiveness and cited Flutterwave as an example of a company that solved a critical local problem by simplifying cross-border payments.
Malize urged young innovators to develop solutions rooted in their immediate realities. “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 stated.
#On resilience, Malize said it remains the foundation on which African ventures survive unpredictable operating conditions. Referring to M-Pesa, she noted that the company’s success stemmed from its founders’ ability to navigate infrastructural and regulatory constraints.
“If innovation is the spark, resilience is the engine,” she said, adding that resilience enables entrepreneurs to convert challenges into opportunities for reinvention.
Addressing dynamism, she stressed the need for young Africans to remain willing to learn, unlearn and pivot when required. She highlighted Andela’s transition from a software training organisation to a global talent marketplace as an example of necessary adaptation. Explaining that dynamism is not speed but the ability to make intelligent shifts to remain relevant.
The MD also referenced FITC’s interventions in talent development, noting that the organisation has, for over four decades, equipped professionals and institutions through programmes including digital leadership courses, innovation bootcamps, cybersecurity training and resilience sessions under its Future of Work Academy.
She outlined three mandates for young innovators: develop original, insight-driven solutions, build resilience as a core leadership requirement and adopt a dynamic approach that aligns with global shifts. She encouraged them to stay curious, flexible and open to change.
