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Old 06-16-2013, 01:01 PM
 
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Some good ideas on African development.



Businesses Will Develop Africa - YouTube
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Old 06-16-2013, 02:37 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
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Can you summarize what he said in less than 22 minutes?

Having seen only the very short blurb, I strongly suspect that Africa's "entrepreneurs" have already played a strong role in diverting Africa's wealth to themselves. What else do you think those "entrepreneurs" have been doing with their wealth and their discretion to use it? Or is it believed that, suddenly, a whole new body of entrepreneurs will magically come from nowhere and altruistically see that this great pool of wealth is used to enrich the undereducated and undernourished? Growing coffee (as shown as the example 20 seconds in) will not feed a single African, unless some of the cash-crop profit is allowed to trickle down to the workers, and so far, no high-falutin' economist has found a way to make that happen.

Africa does not need more "people like this" who went away to European universities and leaned to parrot the talk of western free-market capitalist investment economists. It needs people who went away to European universities and studied agronomy and medicine and civil engineering and plain old literacy and then went back to Africa and took off their neckties and walked out of their air conditioned high-rise office buildings and started showing Africa how to do what it needs to do to feed its people and educate it children and treat its own health care needs and develop its own drinking water sources.

That is not done overnight by walking over to a toggle that says "free market economy" and switching it to ON.

Last edited by jtur88; 06-16-2013 at 03:12 PM..
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Old 06-16-2013, 05:53 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
Having seen only the very short blurb, I strongly suspect that Africa's "entrepreneurs" have already played a strong role in diverting Africa's wealth to themselves. What else do you think those "entrepreneurs" have been doing with their wealth and their discretion to use it? Or is it believed that, suddenly, a whole new body of entrepreneurs will magically come from nowhere and altruistically see that this great pool of wealth is used to enrich the undereducated and undernourished? Growing coffee (as shown as the example 20 seconds in) will not feed a single African, unless some of the cash-crop profit is allowed to trickle down to the workers, and so far, no high-falutin' economist has found a way to make that happen.

Africa does not need more "people like this" who went away to European universities and leaned to parrot the talk of western free-market capitalist investment economists. It needs people who went away to European universities and studied agronomy and medicine and civil engineering and plain old literacy and then went back to Africa and took off their neckties and walked out of their air conditioned high-rise office buildings and started showing Africa how to do what it needs to do to feed its people and educate it children and treat its own health care needs and develop its own drinking water sources.

That is not done overnight by walking over to a toggle that says "free market economy" and switching it to ON.
I don't see none of that applying to that guy.

Entreprenuers haven't been Africa's problem. It's been governments who have made good business climates difficult in their countries with bad policies.


" This helps to explain why doing business across much of Africa is a nightmare. In Cameroon, it takes a potential investor around 426 days to perform 15 procedures to gain a business license. What entrepreneur wants to spend 119 days filling out forms to start a business in Angola? He's much more likely to consider the U.S. (40 days and 19 procedures) or South Korea (17 days and 10 procedures). "

Dambisa Moyo.

Last edited by Motion; 06-16-2013 at 06:03 PM..
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Old 06-16-2013, 06:48 PM
 
Location: Maryland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
Can you summarize what he said in less than 22 minutes?

Having seen only the very short blurb, I strongly suspect that Africa's "entrepreneurs" have already played a strong role in diverting Africa's wealth to themselves. What else do you think those "entrepreneurs" have been doing with their wealth and their discretion to use it? Or is it believed that, suddenly, a whole new body of entrepreneurs will magically come from nowhere and altruistically see that this great pool of wealth is used to enrich the undereducated and undernourished? Growing coffee (as shown as the example 20 seconds in) will not feed a single African, unless some of the cash-crop profit is allowed to trickle down to the workers, and so far, no high-falutin' economist has found a way to make that happen.

Africa does not need more "people like this" who went away to European universities and leaned to parrot the talk of western free-market capitalist investment economists. It needs people who went away to European universities and studied agronomy and medicine and civil engineering and plain old literacy and then went back to Africa and took off their neckties and walked out of their air conditioned high-rise office buildings and started showing Africa how to do what it needs to do to feed its people and educate it children and treat its own health care needs and develop its own drinking water sources.

That is not done overnight by walking over to a toggle that says "free market economy" and switching it to ON.
As a committed free marketer I have to say I agree with much of what you say.
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Old 06-16-2013, 09:24 PM
 
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Checkout his views on "Fair Trade".


Quote:

He is equally critical of the “fair trade” mark, which he describes as “compassionate consumption” with little impact and little profit trickling down to the growers.

“Fair Trade is not a sustainable model,” Rugasira insists. “It is a Western kind of charity model that cannot work. It cannot develop or claim to be developing, growing farming communities by adding pennies to pounds of coffee, and then doing all the roasting and packing overseas.”

Rugasira is passionate about this issue, so he goes on: “Globally, the annual value of the coffee which producers sell is put at $25bn, whilst the coffee which is actually traded and sold in Western markets stands at $128bn! So ‘fair trade’ coffee may have been sourced from rural farmers in Africa, but the real profit margins go to companies in the developed world.


Andrew Rugasira: 'Fair trade is not the solution'
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Old 06-17-2013, 09:32 AM
 
Location: New York City
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I attended an African development conference at an Ivy League university a few months ago. There were quite a few young entrepreneurs from Africa sitting on panels and making presentations. I was shocked by what they had to say.

They were all upper-middle and upper class Africans who were interested in promoting African fashion, pop music, film, social media, etc. In short, they were no different than upper-middle class Americans. The problem is that the US is a rich, developed economy, and Africa is not.

It was “white people” at the conference who wanted to take about food security, infrastructure, education, health care, etc.
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Old 06-17-2013, 10:23 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tpk-nyc View Post
I attended an African development conference at an Ivy League university a few months ago. There were quite a few young entrepreneurs from Africa sitting on panels and making presentations. I was shocked by what they had to say.

They were all upper-middle and upper class Africans who were interested in promoting African fashion, pop music, film, social media, etc. In short, they were no different than upper-middle class Americans. The problem is that the US is a rich, developed economy, and Africa is not.

It was “white people” at the conference who wanted to take about food security, infrastructure, education, health care, etc.
Then where do Africa's tech and fashion entreprenuers fit? Africa needs those things also. I understand the need for food security but someone also needs to be developing Africa in the areas of fashion,music,film and social media.
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Old 06-17-2013, 04:56 PM
 
Location: New York City
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Motion View Post
Then where do Africa's tech and fashion entreprenuers fit? Africa needs those things also. I understand the need for food security but someone also needs to be developing Africa in the areas of fashion,music,film and social media.
I’m from an upper-middle class background, live in Manhattan and have an elite education. My friends and I all want hip jobs trendy in media, fashion, publishing, film, theater, etc. I know that world very well and how seductive and emotionally fulfilling those jobs can be.

However, as a day job I also work on African development issues and assist companies investing in Africa. I’ve been there many times and know first hand the enormous challenges facing the continent. I’ve interviewed subsistence farmers, traveled over dangerous roads, attended funerals for malaria victims, etc. For Africa to develop it needs its Western-educated citizens to tackle these problems.

Africa obviously needs both—much in the way that India and China are simultaneously developing industry, manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure as well as technology, film, media, fashion, etc.

Right now Western-educated African tend to be children of the elite, especially senior politicians and wealthy executives. Their interests are the same as the children of the elite in the West.
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Old 06-18-2013, 12:09 AM
 
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Andrew Rugasira seems like a genuine caring guy, I wish there were more like him that were really trying to help the people. I agree with Jtur88, not many are going to be trying to help the poor better their lives. It's too bad people aren't judged on what they are and do in life rather than on how much they have.

Have you ever heard of Abalimi? This group has done much to teach people how to help themselves. From their website below. ‘We are Abalimi. We are the Farmers.’ is a short documentary film (see YT video below, its only about 8 minutes) about Abalimi Bezekhaya, an urban micro-farming organization operating in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa. Abalimi Bezekhaya teaches people how to create their own garden, grow – and potentially sell – their own vegetables, and feed their families. Through a series of programs, Abalimi helps to alleviate poverty, empower communities and promote a better state of wellbeing.


Since 1994 (South Africa’s first free elections) Abalimi has capacitated community groups and organizations to initiate hundreds of urban agriculture (UA) environmental action (EA) model projects. Our average success rate has improved, from under 50%, to 90%. Before 1994 it was impossible to work developmentally among our target group, who were engaged in a vicious political struggle. Before 1994, all we could do was support thousands of households each year to plant temporary vegetable gardens.

Abalimi supports individuals and community groups to develop their own organic vegetable gardens in order to supplement their diet, improve household food and nutritional security and provide sustainable additional income. It is our experience that organic group gardening facilitates community building, personal growth and development of self-esteem.

The scale of this gardening varies. A small well-organised home food garden can provide food for the whole family and may even provide additional income.

Producer groups with larger areas like the The Powerline Project (SCAGA) sell to the local community. This group has a regular market day where locals buy fresh organic produce. Together with a growing number of other gardening groups, excess produce is also sold to organic retail outlets in the City".

Abalimi Bezekhaya


We are Abalimi. We are the Farmers. - YouTube
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Old 06-18-2013, 01:16 AM
 
7,512 posts, read 11,320,513 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
I strongly suspect that Africa's "entrepreneurs" have already played a strong role in diverting Africa's wealth to themselves.
Can you provide some examples of African entrepreneurs that have been doing that? You sound like you're mixing up African entrepreneurs with corrupt government officials who usually do the "diverting" you're referring to.

If anything African entrepreneurs are stifled by bad economic policies coming from their governments.


Hard to be entrepreneur in South Africa, just too many obstacles! | moonofthesouth.com

Last edited by Motion; 06-18-2013 at 01:42 AM..
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