The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has placed its big bet for the future. The annual letter written by Bill and Melinda Gates details the bet they are making in 2015, which doubles down on the bet they made 15 years ago, in 2000, when they founded their foundation. The bet is this: “The lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history. And their lives will improve more than anyone else’s.” They see advances being made in health and healthcare, education, food security, and even financial opportunities, especially through mobile banking. These advances will “be driven by innovation in technology — ranging from new vaccines and hardier crops to much cheaper smartphones and tablets — and by innovations that help deliver those things to more people.”

Specific breakthroughs they see coming include:

• Child deaths will go down and more diseases will be wiped out
• Africa will be able to feed itself
• Mobile banking will help the poor transform their lives
• Better software will revolutionize learning.

“Countries where girls don’t go to school or women can’t open a business will be left behind.”

Bill and Melinda Gates

Of course, none of this will be achieved without the resources of the Foundation and the help of millions of people, working individually and with other organizations, worldwide.

Read the full letter.