My Beauty Best Teacher

A University of Michigan paper examines the unique role of the Township and Village Enterprise in China and its applicability to other developing regions:

TVEs addressed obstacles that many small businesses face in developing countries including access to capital and new markets and protection from corruption. While the structure of TVEs contributed significantly to their success, the economic and social climate and factors such as high rates unemployment also encouraged the success of TVEs. TVEs provide valuable lessons for other developing countries but, the chances of the model being replicated in another country are not strong unless their economic and social environment is similar. There are however valuable lessons that other countries can apply from the TVE model. The most important lesson is that public-private partnerships work and provide a good model for protecting infant businesses and encouraging entrepreneurial spirit. A combination of these two outcomes will help an economy grow.

Chris Kilbridge in a letter to the FT writes:

It seems that, like mosquitoes seeking stagnant pools of water, recent MBA graduates who cannot find a real job are in exodus to seek employment refuge in that bloated sector, the NGO/non-profit/ not-for-profit sector...These MBAs seeking more meaning in a job (but at entry-level Wall Street salaries) are no Mother Teresa's when it comes to social responsibility. It seems Prof Horton's research shows that working in a not-for-profit job can be, well, quite profitable.

Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, extols entrepreneurship:

I believe in Nigeria. I believe there is always going to be Nigeria. My faith and belief in this country is unshakeable. We have to live together in peace and not in pieces. Why are we important in the world today? It is because of our population. Population and our oil. It is not because the world loves the name Nigeria. No. When was the last time you heard about Kuwait or Brunei? The importance of Nigeria is the market. The population is there. The money is there. It is just a matter of having good entrepreneurs who can push this thing forward…We are not a company that is owned by government. People are still doing business in troubled areas like Congo. In fact, Congo is one of the best countries to invest in. During the war in Liberia, people were still doing business. A friend of mine opened a flour mills six months ago in Cote D’Ivoire.

Nicky Oppenheimer outlines his TEN RULES for accelerating development in Africa,They include:

• First, beware of those bearing gifts: The business of aid has become just that, a business. From NGO's professing to speak for Africans to consultants bearing high-altitude plans which seldom survive contact with the ground, their interests are as much in themselves as their professed target, their constituents more often the fee-paying donors than the African recipients.
• Instead of seeing aid as a form of assistance, Africa needs to view and use it as an investment catalyst, steering much of it towards infrastructure. New ways should be sought and developed to use aid in partnership with the private sector, leveraging it to attract greater funds and in practical ways through reducing risk in infrastructure ventures.
• The need to ensure market access...This is not just about removing tariffs but non-tariff barriers too, including agriculture subsidies. Openness to the international economy is a sine qua non for growth.
• Outsiders must, fourth, develop a differentiated view of Africa. Today’s Africa should increasingly be viewed by those who want to do business there as a differentiated continent.It consists of 54 countries
  

Steve Sharra writes about the William Kamkwamba story:

Something is seriously wrong with a system in which somebody like William is unable to proceed with school because or lack of money for school fees...On the other hand, it is not possible to tell with definitiveness whether William’s talents and hard work would have come out with such a bang had he been able to continue in a conventional secondary school. School systems can be places where individuals can indeed blossom and take off, but they are also known all over the world as places which can force one’s intellect into a conventional box and stifle one’s creativity and genius. This is a conundrum which is not easy to resolve.

Jen Brea writes:

Governments are only effective and accountable to their people when they are forced to deliver. Introduce external sources for the services and security that a legitimate government is supposed to provide and you give bad or despotic regimes a permanent lifeline.

AfricanViewpoint reports that the targets of a French corruption inquiry have resorted to the predictable and pathetic 'racism' excuse:

Congo's president-Denis Sassou-Nguesso- has condemned a French investigation into alleged embezzlement by him and Gabon's leader-Omar Bongo Ondimba- as "racist" and "colonial". There are on-going investigations on claims that Nguesso's properties are ill-gotten wealth that must be seized and sold, with the proceeds being used to build schools and hospitals in Africa. Denis Sassou-Nguesso is said to have lamented the fact that only he and Gabon's leader were targeted even though, "In France, all the world's leaders have castles and so on."