Rev Lwazi Kondlo
African Methodist Council
African Methodist Council Youth Movement
Date: 19 March 2026
Conference Theme: Youth Quake in Africa: Driving Transformation and change
Topic: Revitalizing Sustainable Economic Pathways for African Youth
Understanding the theme
Revitalize- restore something to life, make it active or strong again
Sustainable- the ability to maintain
Economics – management of scarce resources
Pathways- Models
Introduction
Life before the first industrial Revolution
o Historians use the term “Feudalism” to describe the pre- capitalist order based on entirely on agricultural production
o Ownership and use of land were at the center of the second and economic organization during feudalism
o People lived off the land, using their hands
o Wealth was defined by ownership of land and People. “Wealth in people” the ability to control labor.
First industrial Revolution
• Tools to work the land were invented
• The inventions that made the greatest difference were the machines that harnessed nature’s energy-, water, steam, and coal- to perform even more complex and dangerous task that human could not do.
• Experts believe that the introduction of the steam engine was the great invention of all time.
• First railway lines were built
• Manufacturing moved away from cottages in residential places to large building powered by water and steam, known as “factories”
• Formers made more money because of the tools to work the land and railway to transport goods
• Factories became drivers of the economy
• Coal mines in demand
Second industrial Revolution
o This revolution ran on the industrialization of electricity and petroleum
o Henry ford developed a new way of manufacturing vehicles. He introduced the assembly line and standardized the procedure and techniques of manufacturing cars
o More cars were manufactured because of the assembly line
The third industrial Revolution
• Digital revolution – invention of new technology to enhance productivity
• Hardware and software
• The internet
The fourth industrial revolution
o Advanced technology
o Artificial intelligence = introduction of robotics
o Blockchain technology
o Crypto currency
The analysis of the industrial revolutions
• The rich invent money by inventing new product and services
• They create value and the money is chasing the valuewhile many of us are chasing the money instead of chasing value creation
• Every revolution had economic victims and victors = New skills replacing old skills
Knowledge is power
o Knowledge is the new currency. Knowledge has always been currency
o The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind. If it is trained well, it can create enormous wealth. If not trained it can also lead you to extreme poverty.
o Those who know rule over those who don’t know. Knowledge helps you to creative, innovative, full of ideas, ahead of others, and have more substance with ease.
o The is no superior race but superior knowledge
o What you know determine how far you can go
o Great economic opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with your mind.
o Knowledge and application of it is what give you leverage in life
o It is what you know that is your greatest wealth. It is what you do not know that is your greatest risk
o Elon Musk, Warren Buffet,
Chines, US, India and other big economies have understood that knowledge is power.
o They created an industrial identify for themselves
o Create a niche and dominate the space. This gives you power
o Unfortunately, it seems like our niche is religion. We are good at creating big churches
o We need to learn the model from big economies and rebuild it for our own context
o Our education system is assisting us as well. Our education is not contextual.
Financial intelligence
Financial knowledge that gives you an ability to make better financial decision
It is profitable to keep people financial uneducated and poor.
Financial intelligence is made up of these four main technical skills
Accounting
• Financial literacy – understanding the language of finance
• Understanding assets vs Liabilities, Debt, cash flow, income, expenditure, compounding interest, inflation, balance sheet, etc.
• If we want to succeed financial or economically, we must understand the language of money. Understand what money is, how to make, manage and multiply it.
Investing
• Investing is the science of money-making money
Understanding markets
• The science of understanding supply and demand
The Law- regulation
Cashflow Quadrant
The cash flow quadrant is a way to categorize people based on where their money comes from
o E for employee
o S for small business/ self-employed
o B for big business (500 employees)
o I for investors
Core Difference
Employee
o Someone builds a business and employ you
o You get a salary and all other benefits like pension fund
o Tax disadvantages
Small business/self employed
o You become your own boss. You created a job for yourself
o You work and get paid and you don’t work and you don’t get paid
o Sales or commission base or you offer a product or a service
The business owner
o You own and control a system
o You put together teams to do the work
o The system can operate without you
o E.g Shoprite, MacDonald, MTN, FNB, Sasol garage
The investor
o The investor makes money with money
o Deployment of capital- Money works for you
o Money is converted to wealth
o E.g Warran buffett, Ray dailo, Allan gray, alexanderForbes group
Those who control the economy are in B and I
The poor and Middle class are in E and S
It is not easy to get into B. it takes a special kind of people
I need knowledge and capital. You accumulate assets likeShares, bonds, real estate, commodities
The easiest way is to own what you consume
As young people we must buy assets and grow with them
Crowd funding: use this model when you lack capital
Future economic drivers
FinTech (Financial Technology)
Combines finance and technology to enable innovation in the financial sector
This describes the mobile applications, software and other technology that enable users and enterprises to access and manage their finances digitally.
E.g. Digital Banking: Banks without physical branches, such as Tyme bank.
Digital payments and transfers: Platform like PayPal
Blockchain and crypto currency
Blockchain technology a decentralized, distributed and immutable digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers. It ensures security, transparency, and trust without intermediaries by using cryptographic.
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography, operating on decentralized blockchain technology rather than a central authority. It acts as a medium of exchange, often used for online payments, investments, or hedging against inflation
Decentralized no government or bank regulates it; it uses a peer- to – peer network
Investment\store of value: investors hold assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum hoping for value appreciation
Artificial intelligence – The simulation of human intelligence by software coded systems.
Coding: The process of creating instructions for computers and electronics devices using programming languages to perform specific actions
Cyber Security: the practice of protecting systems, networks, programs, devices, and data from digital attacks, unauthorized access, or destruction.
AgriTech: It is the use of technology to enhance agricultural productivity. E.g. Automation, using autonomous tractors, robotics harvesters and automatic weeding systems to replace manual labor.
Conclusion
Education = cultivate the mind
Skills= Specialize, have a special Trade
Context= African economic solutions for African economic problems
The future= innovation
