00:00Yes, I don't know if you've heard, but Uncle Bob has decided to release another version of Band-Aid.
00:06I know it's Christmas and I'm pissed because I thought he learned his lesson the last time.
00:11Today marks 10 year anniversary since I said no to being a part of Band-Aid.
00:16Because Band-Aid and initiatives like it over the past 40 years has cost the African continent trillions in lost revenue.
00:25From stifling economic growth, investment, tourism and more dangerously, destroying our collective dignity.
00:36And what's worse is that the BBC are even doing a whole documentary to celebrate it.
00:41Now in hindsight, I'm so glad that I said no to being a part of Band-Aid.
00:47Because I remember when they first launched the campaign, the first thing that they showed was a dead body of an African on national primetime TV.
00:55And I'm talking X-Factor.
00:57I know they might have gained the public sympathy and people might have donated their two pound a month.
01:03And they'd probably feel sorry for the continent and people in Africa, but they would never go there.
01:08They would never invest in the continent, miss an opportunity to truly uplift and support the continent.
01:15I've been doing my bit over the years, standing on business and narrating our own stories.
01:20Realigning how the world sees Africans and how Africans feel about themselves.
01:25Because it's very important that we take back our own narrative.
01:28Now these charities won't tell you this, but as you know, Band-Aid raised money for the Ebola crisis.
01:33But did you know that the Ebola crisis was actually solved by an African from Congo called Dr. Jean-Jacques Mwembe.
01:42He wasn't even credited until 2019. His story was swept under the carpet.
01:47And that's why it's imperative that we tell our own story.
01:50And we've been doing that through an educational app that we've built called Sonar.
01:55It teaches African languages and it teaches black history.
01:58Again, it's imperative that as Africans, we take back control of our narrative and our story.
02:06Now, I don't know if you've heard, but I launched the Year of Return with the Ghana government in 2019.
02:12It's an initiative that dispelled aid and encouraged trade by enabling people to be able to come and experience Ghana firsthand.
02:22But before the Year of Return in 2019, Ghana was giving out 45,000 visas.
02:28After the Year of Return, or during the Year of Return, they gave out 750,000 visas, generating 1.9 billion for the Ghana economy.
02:39And the biggest flow of funds going into the continent has not come from any charity, hasn't come from Band-Aid, nor any form of foreign aid.
02:48It's actually come from Africans in the diaspora.
02:52And I love that African-owned companies like Pay Angel are facilitating this vital flow of funds back into the continent.
03:01Do they know it's Christmas?
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