Bach Institute for Human Development CEO Delivers Keynote at Africa Skills Week, Advancing Continental Partnership with the African Union
HARARE, ZIMBABWE — Dr. Elijah Bach, CEO of the Bach Institute for Human Development (BIHD), delivered a high-profile keynote address at the African Union during Africa Skills Week in Harare, Zimbabwe. Sharing the stage with the President of Zimbabwe, the African Union Commissioner, and ministers representing 49 countries across the continent, Dr. Bach’s address focused on the intersection of advanced technology and human capability.
His keynote, titled "The Future of Skills in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Technology and the Human Premium," explored how artificial intelligence is making information and intelligence abundant, thereby shifting the highest economic value toward uniquely human traits.
"As A.I. makes information and intelligence abundant, it will lose its value, and what becomes scarce will become valuable," Dr. Bach stated during his address. "Attention. Empathy. Judgment. Trust. These are what I call 'the Human Premiums' that A.I. cannot generate, and something that will become scarce and therefore, valuable."
Highlighting projections from the African Development Bank—which notes that 10 to 12 million young Africans enter the job market annually while only 3 million jobs are created—Dr. Bach reframed this demographic trajectory as a massive opportunity. With Africa's youth population projected to double to over 830 million by 2050, and global populations rapidly aging, Africa is uniquely positioned to lead the rising care economy. He noted that this ethos is already embedded in the local philosophy of unhu or ubuntu—"Munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu" (A person is a person because of other people).
Advancing Strategic Partnerships with the African Union
In addition to addressing continental leaders, Dr. Bach held a meaningful meeting with the AU Commissioner and their team to advance a formal partnership between BIHD and the African Union. The collaboration aims to make BIHD’s professional certificate programs—spanning senior care, childcare, parent coaching, special needs support, and mental wellness—accessible to learners across the entire continent.
During the summit, Dr. Bach outlined three major commitments for Africa:
Building to Share: Developing localized African editions of BIHD curricula written with local partners, aligned with African cultures and languages.
Building for Recognition: Integrating BIHD programs into national skills qualifications frameworks and the African Continental Qualifications Framework to ensure seamless skills mobility from Accra to Addis Ababa.
Building Partnerships: Cementing formal institutional frameworks with the African Union Commission and individual nations across the continent.
Through BIHD’s integrated training model—which features AI-avatar simulation training, online accessibility, groundbreaking evaluation tools like the Care Quotient and Human Premium Index, and a direct employment-matching marketplace app—the Institute anticipates enrolling over 1 million students globally by 2027.
"No country owns the human premium," Dr. Bach concluded. "This continent, with the world's youngest population, and one of its oldest philosophies of what it means to be a person, is very well placed to claim it. Let us make that a profession."
About the Bach Institute for Human Development (BIHD)
The Bach Institute for Human Development is a nonprofit foundation and institute dedicated to training, certifying, and elevating care as a vital global profession. Through innovative online curricula, evidence-based pedagogies, and direct employment pipelines, BIHD equips individuals with the critical human-centric skills required to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence.
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