KISUMU, Oct 2026 – The founder of the African Talent University, Prof Humphrey Obora, has expressed deep disappointment at the low turnout of local institutions at the World Talent Conference (WTC) 2026, despite Kisumu hosting the event.
Speaking as the five-day biannual convention came to an end on Friday, Prof Oborah said the conference, which ran from Monday at three venues including the main grounds, Mama Grace Onyango Social Centre, and Baraza Media Lab at Lake Basin Mall, was designed to change Africa’s mindset about learning.
He argued that learning is no longer confined to the four walls of a classroom, noting that the 5,614 attendees who showcased innate talents, innovations and inventions had proved that school dropouts can still build bankable products.
Prof Oborah disclosed that 17 projects have already been picked up by international investors, donors and partners for development, with a target to commercialize them by 2028.
However, he said his biggest disappointment was the cold shoulder from his own hometown. Out of dozens of participants drawn from Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Liberia and Canada, only two TVET institutions and two universities from Kisumu County were represented. The majority came from Mt Kenya, Nakuru and the wider Rift Valley.
He accused Kisumu’s political and county leadership of preferring handouts and politics to youth empowerment.
“You will go to rallies and dish out 200 shillings to the youth. Is that better than creating opportunities for them to build enterprises?” he posed.
Oborah, who noted that the conference was officially launched by the Governor of Kisumu with all CECs present, said he had written to and visited every office in the county and national government. He said he brought Africa’s first talent university to Kisumu because charity begins at home, and warned that if leaders continue to ignore youth talent, he is ready to venture into leadership himself.
“What will we say that we had this function in Kisumu and the enterprises were financed elsewhere? For what reason then did I bring it here?” he asked.
On his part, Dr Meshack Opwora, Director in the State Department for TVET, lauded the conference, saying it aligns with the government’s agenda on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET).
He said the government wants youth to acquire practical skills to become job creators rather than job seekers, and that the WTC provided a platform for TVET innovations to be nurtured into enterprises. Dr Opwora revealed that 87 development partners had shown willingness to sponsor innovations from idea to enterprise.
Ed Van Linn Vermeulen, Managing Director of Trust to Impact International from the Netherlands, said he was impressed by Prof Obora’s work.
He noted that they have partnered for four years on the reclamation of the Nyando Delta catchment, a project that seeks to reverse flooding, increase biodiversity and stop algae growth in Winam Bay of Lake Victoria.
Vermeulen said the future of the Delta restoration program lies in mass mobilization of youth talent, both through field agents working with tens of thousands of families and through high-tech monitoring, which is why he attended the WTC.
