The Business has an article which points out the “two contradictory but equally damaging perception problems” which Africa faces. The first is that western investors have the mindset that Africa is full of “poorly run countries” which means that the image of the stronger economies are often contaminated. On the other hand, the legal system and trade regulation in individual countries particularly the smaller one generally puts off potential investors.
The article goes on to suggest that one way to overcome the problem may be regionalisation. While a single pan-African exchange may not be achievable, or even desirable, a compromise could develop with regional hubs. These would be centred around the Nigeria stock exchange in west Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange leading the merger of southern African stock markets, while Nairobi and Tunisia lead the merger of eastern and northern African stock markets respectively.
I continue to be an optimist about the economic prospects of Africa over the next 10years because I feel a real sense of Africans trying to move things forward. However, I find it hard to understand why African artists are not featured on Live 8, the apparent suggestion that Live 8 organisers want “to keep the millions of eyes around the world glued to the television and [he] felt if it was some remote part of China or Latin America if it was an unknown artist … people might switch off”. Do we really need a concert to tell the world that Africa is poor? I doubt it. (Do Ghanaians really care about Live 8?).
Going back to my optimism which stems from my observation of the attitude of young Nigerians around UK universities towards going back to Nigeria to see the opportunities which they can create utilising their past experience. It is tough call. The critical thing is not to discourage fellow Africans but help them “manage expectations”. For example, infrastructure may take longer to put in the place or red tape may exist to slow the progress of the new start-up. I have noticed people [fellow Africans] are not very kind when criticising business plans or ideas as they tend to shoot the idea to the extend that individual will never mention the concept again in his life. I am not saying don’t shoot down the idea but I employ you to remember that your criticism should be like rain, gentle enough to nourish a start-up’s growth without destroying the roots.
I got this article “The Africa You Never See” a couple of months back through a friend and managed to come across it again at Feld. This time I had the chance to read the whole article and I will encourage you to take a few minutes to do the same.
Consider a few facts: The Ghana Stock Exchange regularly tops the list of the world’s highest-performing stock markets. Botswana, with its A credit rating, boasts one of the highest per capita government savings rates in the world, topped only by Singapore and a handful of other fiscally prudent nations.
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The failure to show this side of Africa creates a one-dimensional caricature of a complex continent. Imagine if 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing and school shootings were all that the rest of the world knew about America.
— George Orwell: Politics and the English Language; Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. #
