One of my strengths is my ability to talk and communicate with people.

The majority of small-holder farmers in Africa are women and, in urban areas, you're primarily looking at women-led households. So we can't solve hunger if we don't have gender-sensitive programming that addresses access to opportunities for women, whether it's through education or tools for cooking, like solar-powered stoves.

When people are hungry, when a mother or father is facing a child that they can't feed, you can't ask that family to lay down their arms.

If we're afraid to stand in our own skin with those we work with, then how do we lead those who have no voice at all?

What we need in Africa is balanced development. Economic success cannot be a replacement for human rights or participation or democracy... it doesn't work.

A lot of times when a film is a success, the fans of that film take ownership of it - it becomes their property.

Entrepreneurialism, to me, means being able to fail. And I believe that kind of leadership is not necessary only in business, but it's necessary for running countries, too. You've got to be able to believe in something strongly enough that you want to do it even if there's a risk of failure.

Hopefully in the future, generational challenges will be measured by achievement, not gender.