By Our Reporter
Ugandan techpreneur, Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, has been sworn in as the African Representative on the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) Executive Committee.
Ms. Nabuuma, who is the founder and CEO of the CHIL Artificial Intelligence Lab Group and a co-founder of Solerchil Technologies, took oath as part of the new executive to serve until 2024.
This was during the Commonwealth Youth Forum, held ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM), under the theme ‘Taking Charge of Our Future’.
“I grew up in Africa, schooled in Africa and started my business in Africa before I scaled to the rest of the world. I therefore know each problem every entrepreneur faces in their journey and it why I accepted the Commonwealth appointment,” says Ms. Nabuuma on her new role.
As the African Regional Representative, Ms. Nabuuma will support the overall governance of the Council in their respective regions. She is accountable to the General Assembly as the official link between the CYC and the African continent.
Ms. Nabuuma will also be an advocate for young people in the Commonwealth is considered an ‘ambassador’ for the Council in Africa. She will as well coordinate and promote the work of the council at the African regional level.
“I am here to look out for ways to help tech entrepreneurs get training, scale their innovations, and get linked to the investors willing to invest in the African tech ecosystem. Every young entrepreneur is my priority because I am one of them.” She noted.
The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), which is led by a nine-member executive team, acts as a coalition of national youth councils and other youth-led civil society and private sector bodies from across the 54 member countries of the Commonwealth.
The other members of the Commonwealth Youth Council include the Chairperson, Vice Chair – Partnership & Resources, Vice Chair – Policy & Advocacy, Vice Chair – Inclusion & Engagement, Asian, Caribbean & Americas, Pacific representatives, and the Special Interest representative.
The Council works to mobilise, amplify and action the voices of young people and advocate for governments to meaningfully engage and develop young people. It partners and collaborates strategically with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other organizations with a focus on youth development and global change.