Benjamin Fernandes, founder of NALA, argues that human movement is the clearest signal of ambition. He challenges us to recognize talent as the emerging world’s greatest export—and to create opportunity where ambition begins, not just where it arrives. Benjamin Fernandes Founder and CEO NALA Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. He grew up in Tanzania, earning scholarships that took him to America at the age of 17. Benjamin was the youngest African in history to be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions. Fernandes founded NALA, a fintech startup that is on a mission to build payments for the next billion. NALA operates across 21 countries in Europe, the US and the UK with nearly 150 employees. In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world. In 2023, Fernandes was listed on the Top 100 Changemakers list for Africa. In 2024, Forbes online featured Fernandes on their daily cover with a cover story This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
More from TED
- 9:58What we talk about at the secret world champions' meetings | AnnMaria De Mars | TEDxFargoBeing best in the world requires three things; arrogance, humility and perseverance. You also need talent and luck, but without the first three, no one will ever know your name. Dr. AnnMaria Rousey De Mars is a small business owner, serial entrepreneur and was the first American to win the world judo championships.She is president of 7 Generation Games, a tech startup she co-founded. Dr. De Mars has a doctorate specializing in Applied Statistics and Psychometrics, was a professor for seven years, then left academia to found a statistical consulting company. She was one of Forbes 40 Women to Watch over 40, an AARP Purpose Prize Fellow and the first woman president of a national judo organization. In 2022, she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California State Athletic Commission. She has been the lead developer on 14 games to teach mathematics, authored scientific articles in academic journals on topics ranging from factor analysis to needs of rural educators in schools serving Indigenous students, and wrote a book on matwork techniques for judo and MMA fighters. She has four children and nine grandchildren. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- 10:51Bringing Back Music Lost for 2,500 Years | Tharun Sekar | TEDxElliots BeachWhat does music from 2,500 years ago sound like? Until recently, no one knew.Tarun Sekar, shares how a simple question "Why do we only see Western instruments , where are our own ancient Indian instruments ?"led him on an obsessive journey to resurrect the Yazh, an ancient Tamil harp lost to history for over two millennia. With no working instrument to study, no recordings to guide him, and only fragments of poetry from Sangam literature, Tarun spent a year piecing together clues from ancient texts. His curiosity refused to let him quit & he succeeded in bringing back a sound unlike any Guitar or Veena, a voice from India's forgotten musical past coming alive again. Tarun proves that small curiosities can unbury centuries of silence. His work challenges us to ask: What melodies & wisdom from our own heritage are we ignoring? Can Entrepreneurship be our way to explore our world & build what matters? The Artist who brought Back 2500-Year-Old lost music Instrument This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
