Across Africa, business, investment, technology, artists, entrepreneurs, and innovative leaders are transforming many countries. Traverse City native Jake Bright discusses how TEDxTraverseCity RE-Evolution themes of Citizenship, Contribution, Community, and Courage shaped him growing up and led him to write an award winning book on those same principles reshaping a continent.


Jake Bright is a writer, award winning author, and Whitehead Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association with a focus on business, politics, and foreign affairs. He contributes as an editor and independently for publications including TechCrunch, The Financial Times This Is Africa, and U.S. News & World Report. Bright is a frequent commentator to media outlets and his business reporting has received "Best Business Column" distinction by The Week magazine.

In 2015 Bright and Africa business expert Aubrey Hruby published The Next Africa: An Emerging Continent Becomes a Global Powerhouse with Macmillan Publishing. An Axiom Best Business Book Award winner, TNA details Africa’s transformation story driven by business, investment, entrepreneurs, and technology. Book related events, media, and speaking have included spots with Bloomberg News, The New Yorker, HuffPost Live, Fortune, World Affairs Council, C-SPAN, CNBC Africa, the White House Silicon Valley Africa Forum, Mic.Com, and others.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx