Tuesday, September 30, 2003
‘His company is treading where diplomacy has failed’: An interesting -- and refreshingly different -- take on Africa by the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor. Instead of the usual hand-wringing about Western colonialism and lack of big-government development programs, some young, Western-educated African entrepreneurs and leaders know it’s time for Africa to help itself. Here’s profile of the MIT-trained founder of Africa Online. And here’s another on a young woman who got her MBA degree at George Washington and went on to found Africa’s largest private bank. ... FYI: During my trip to Africa, MBA educations were a hot, hot item in West Africa, with signs plastered all over, advertising various business-school programs. A typical sign would often say something like ‘Boston MBA School’ or ‘Boston School of Management.’ Lord knows what type of nightmare entrepreneurial scams they were pulling. But slapping the name ‘Boston’ in the title was obvioulsy a tres cool way to evoke prestige. ... The ultimate problem facing African development: government corruption. ... Says the Africa Online founder on why he refused to pay out handsome bribes: “It was like being part of the mafia."
