How you (really) change the world __Building the skills of the future... investing in young minds!

Some of you have asked how the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship got started. When he died in 1999, I had already spent a long time thinking about how to honor him. Joshua Nkomo had stood up for me when so many had been afraid even to talk to me, simply because for several years the then-President of Zimbabwe had opposed my plan to set up a private sector mobile network business.

After doing research, my wife and I decided in 2006 to sponsor a new scholarship program, for high achievers, separate from the Higherlife Foundation's high-volume education program for orphaned and vulnerable children [which has now funded over 350,000 kids].

Overall we currently have about 20,000 kids on scholarship, starting at primary school level. We have done this since annually since 1996. We generally provide support for things like school fees, accommodation, books, and uniforms, based on need. Some kids even get food packs.  It is considered the largest scholarship program, funded by private individuals, on the African continent. We do not take external funding on our education programs. It is done exclusively by our family and our businesses.

The Joshua Nkomo Scholarship that we introduced in 2006 was designed initially to sponsor 100 Zimbabwean students per year, who were the most gifted kids nationally after high school [secondary school].  As the country has 10 provinces, we divided it into 10 students per province with a requirement that 50% were young women.

I am not involved in the scholar selection process and never have been. Our Higherlife Foundation is led by my wife and oldest daughter, and the scholarship selection process is run by a professional team.

Since it was launched, the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship program has supported about 3,050 university students to achieve their academic dreams in every field imaginable. Many students also transitioned to universities around the world, and a significant number received scholarships for Master's and PhD studies. I'm proud to say I've heard our program has now produced something like 1,830 medical doctors, and even some Rhodes Scholars, which is really hard to do!

When you go to the link you will see that the merit-based selection criteria is based in part on leadership potential and high school A-level marks, with a minimum requirement of 14 points. As a matter of interest, gender balance for the most recent cohort was I think 60% female and 40% male. Scholars must also agree to take part in training in entrepreneurship, and several hundred hours of community engagement, such as mentoring younger students, clean ups, etc.

Soon, we will begin to roll out a program to train engineers. Without engineers, Zimbabwe [and all our African nations] cannot enter the AI revolution and will be left behind. The emerging plan is to support the training of both engineers and scientists [of all kinds] to ensure our country's future in technology.

Now in its 19th year, our Joshua Nkomo scholarship alumni have created a community network called "the Joshualites." Once in a while, some of the Joshualites write me comments here on LinkedIn or my Facebook platform. Your kind words, career and academic updates, and also your stories of how you are also giving back to your communities, mean more than you can know.

In December when I received an honorary engineering doctorate at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, what a surprise to find one of our Joshualites there, too, in her robes, being awarded an actual PhD in Engineering the same day! 

I also had the blessing to meet four Joshualites in January at an online surprise celebration organized for my birthday. They each took a few minutes to share what they are doing now, and are all really remarkable lights of hope. 

I'm deeply honoured we were able to play our small part in their journey toward greatness, and servant leadership in their communities. I won't mention any specific names because I don't have permission, and also because I don't want to leave anyone out. We're proud of all of them.

In sharing this post today, what I want you to see is that changing the world is not that difficult. It can be done one child, one student, one dream, at a time... one kind act here, and one there.

One of my favourite passages in the Bible says: "If you cannot be faithful with just a little, who shall entrust you with a kingdom?"

It does not start when you have billions. It starts when you can help one person. Remember what I said long ago: "I do not give because I have; I have because I give."

Let those who have ears to hear, hear.