Jul 2, 2026 · 40 min · 12 segments
In this conversation, recorded on the sidelines of Africa Exchange, Peter shares how his foundation is reshaping its approach to development, shifting from international intermediaries to local…
Peter LaugharnGuestHostHostAnd so as we begin this conversation, I think I want to start with With all the things that are happening right now, what, from your perspective, do you think Africa specifically needs to build now as some of these old development pathways weaken and new possibilities emerge? Yeah.
Well, I think it's actually, in all its complexity, a promising moment for Africa.
When you think about it, the global development as we know it started around the time of independence as an accompaniment to that.
And I think there is a ton more human resource talent, experience, resources in general on the continent now than at the beginning of this endeavor.
Yeah.
And for us at Hilton, that's one of the reasons we've been so enthusiastic about locally led development.
That's national governments, that's subnational governments, that's civil society, that's the private sector.
And so I think All of that can be built into, if you like, a development 2.0.
I think what was said earlier today at Africa Exchange, particularly by Moki, about the narrative needs to be right, the narrative needs to be energizing and credible, I think is really important.
This is in some ways going to be Africa's century in terms of African population, in terms of the youth concentration here who will be the leaders of the planet.
So I think we need to work both on supporting local actors and aiming as much funding toward them as possible, and then also work on that narrative.
All right.
You talk about local development and the strong conviction and support Conrad and Hilton has for this.
And so as we begin this conversation, I think I want to start with With all the things that are happening right now, what, from your perspective, do you think Africa specifically needs to build now as some of these old development pathways weaken and new possibilities emerge? Yeah.
Well, I think it's actually, in all its complexity, a promising moment for Africa.
When you think about it, the global development as we know it started around the time of independence as an accompaniment to that.
And I think there is a ton more human resource talent, experience, resources in general on the continent now than at the beginning of this endeavor.
Yeah.
And for us at Hilton, that's one of the reasons we've been so enthusiastic about locally led development.
That's national governments, that's subnational governments, that's civil society, that's the private sector.
And so I think All of that can be built into, if you like, a development 2.0.
I think what was said earlier today at Africa Exchange, particularly by Moki, about the narrative needs to be right, the narrative needs to be energizing and credible, I think is really important.
This is in some ways going to be Africa's century in terms of African population, in terms of the youth concentration here who will be the leaders of the planet.
So I think we need to work both on supporting local actors and aiming as much funding toward them as possible, and then also work on that narrative.
All right.
You talk about local development and the strong conviction and support Conrad and Hilton has for this.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.