My Beauty Best Teacher

Della Bradshaw reports in the FT on Ian MacMillan who asserts that:

If philanthropists endow the seed funding for societal wealth enterprises, in many economies, particularly developing ones, it should be possible to attract local entrepreneurs who are quite happy to live with the smaller profit streams eschewed by their counterparts in wealthier economies..."A powerful appeal to philanthropists is that their contributions have a chance to remove problems ... and the associated recurrent 'annual tin cup' dependencies. Perhaps the idea behind the proverb -- give a man a fish and he soon goes hungry, teach him to fish and he eats forever -- represents a viable option in today's world.

MacMillan's methodology is simple. "You don't just go in with your cowboy boots and spurs," he says. Instead, he and his students from across the university develop ideas they think will combine the dual function of creating businesses while addressing social problems(pdf), then put the initial idea into practice with seed funding and appoint a local entrepreneur to run the business.

Commenting on western perceptions of Africa in the media and its celebritization ,Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stated that:

What I find problematic is the suggestion that when, say, Madonna adopts an African child, she is saving Africa. It's not that simple. You have to do more than go there and adopt a child or show us pictures of children with flies in their eyes. That simplifies Africa. If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to engage with the other Africa...She finds CNN's coverage of Africa "exhausting" because of its refusal to let Africans do the talking. "They go to the Congo, for example, line the Congolese people up in the background, and then have a Belgian, who they say is a Congo expert, tell us about the Congo. And I think, 'Well, how about you bring the Congolese forward so we know what life is really like?' Sometimes I think, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could become the voice explaining America or England to the world.' It would never happen."

Rasna Warah writes (reg reqd) in the Nation:

THOSE OF US WHO HAVE worked for, or are working within, the development industry are familiar with the many poverty-reduction conferences, seminars and workshops that we have to attend as part of our work, or for what development professionals like to call “networking opportunities”...The “hottest” topics on the international development agenda these days is Africa...I mean the Africa that development professionals love to dwell on – the poverty-stricken, disease-ridden Africa that is being managed by kleptomaniacs and dictators...IN OTHER WORDS, THE AFRICA that is the raison d’etre of the international development industry, the one that makes Bono, Bob Geldof, Madonna and Angelina Jolie shed real tears...At almost all poverty-reduction seminars and conferences, the word “poverty” is used interchangeably with the word “Africa”. To some extent, this association is justified. Africa has the largest proportion of people living in extreme poverty (over 40 per cent), and 34 of the 50 poorest countries in the world are African...Countries that have managed to reduce poverty have done so through improving economic management, adding value to their products, increasing investment in infrastructure, specialising and investing in key profitable industries, making distribution of wealth and services more equitable, and ensuring that governance structures are accountable and sustainable.
Unfortunately, these issues are rarely discussed at poverty-reduction seminars and conferences.

In an interview with the African Banker, Tutu Agyare stated:

“The capital markets in Africa are beginning to open up and open up significantly. That has surprised many bankers. For example who would have forecast 12 months ago that, by this time this year, Nigeria’s markets would see $3bn worth of new issuances? Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, even Zimbabwe are all offering investment opportunities.
“Nigeria’s market has made average returns of over 30% this year and Zimbabwe’s returned over 100% this year even after adjusting for inflation, so there’s a lot of interest, a lot of investment. Yes, there is strife and there are problems in Africa; problems in Côte d’Ivoire, in DR Congo, in Guinea, in Sudan, in Eritrea, in Somalia, but the risk/potential balance is right in many countries.

Matthew Green at the FT reports on the Nigerian Capital Markets:

Some banking stocks have trebled in the past six months alone – the most spectacular sign of the shift in the country’s status from marginal emerging market play to star performer.
Driven by a combination of government reforms, debt relief and high oil prices at a time of heightened appetite for new types of risk, the gains have revealed a glimpse of untapped potential and looming hazards...A tougher line on money laundering and a newly-awarded BB- sovereign debt rating added to the allure at a time when global funds were turning to Africa as an antidote to dwindling returns in established pastures.
The sheer size of the country’s debt and equity markets has enticed hedge funds that worry about liquidity in smaller sub-Saharan countries, while strong domestic buying insulated Nigeria from a global sell-off in March

AltNigeria compiles a few lessons from India and China.Prefacing,"...We ought to learn that progress does not take a millennium to accomplish. Economic independence has to be wrestled from the powers that presently be, nothing will be handed to us on a platter..."

Roma Luciw reports:

According to Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist Richard Bernstein, Africa presents investors with both “tremendous potential” and “tremendous risk.” In the next decade, he believes it should above all provide them with opportunity.
“Traditionally Africa has not been a place where more risk-oriented emerging market investors would invest, but that is changing,” Mr. Bernstein said in a report. “Investors in search of higher returns have increased their risk tolerances and have begun to search for greater returns from so-called frontier markets.”
Africa's economic expansion has exceeded global growth and is expected to continue to do so in the coming years. The continent may be on the cusp of an “unprecedented stage of economic development,” one that will benefit 100 companies in more than 20 countries, he said.