How African countries can use “Offset” in domestic procurement
Part of the mission of our newsletter, Unleash Africa, the website, unleashafricantrade.com blog, and the book, “Unleashed: A New paradigm of African Trade with the World,” is to share useful information with readers and, hopefully, leaders and policy-makers of African countries. The intention is to make an impact on several fronts. (1) To stimulate intense […]
A Matrix of Export Opportunities for African Countries
To paraphrase the late Park Chung Hee; South Korea decided on export-oriented industrialization in 1963 because they realized at the time that their domestic market was too small and too poor on which to base the prospects for the nation’s economic survival. Conversely, the world market presented many opportunities for affluent consumers that needed products […]
African Countries should Copy Success
Every successful country, business or enterprise is founded on a model of previous success. Western societies are a great example of how to model success because each Western country has borrowed from the success of other Western countries in all areas of socio-economic arrangements. Asians have done the same. In that Asian economies have copied […]
“AntiPatterns”: Impediment to Development of African Countries Part 1
“It seems that the most predictable occurrence is that African countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa are always ready to accept the illusion of “freebies” but fail to see the bait and switch. As the right hand offers “freebies,” the left hand is raping the country.” There are many impediments to deep structured growth in African […]
Strategies that will enable African countries to keep more of their money
To become economically successful African countries have to do two things simultaneously: (1) They have to keep more of what they earn; and (2) they must sell more of their products and services to the world. By products, I am not only referring to commodity exports but also manufactured goods as well services. Services that […]
China and African countries: A conundrum for Western Nations
“….The person who is spreading ‘disease’ cannot be trusted when they profess to have a cure for the same disease.” It is amazing how much hand wringing and consternation there has been in Western circles about the amount of business the Chinese are doing in African countries. That the volume of trade between China and […]
Deploying all of the above trade strategy — compensatory trade techniques
There is no debating the fact that African countries have had a checkered history in fostering an environment that facilitates economic development. At the heart of it is trade strategy or lack thereof of African countries. With very few exceptions, innovative trade finance tools have been underutilized by countries of the continent. There is a […]
US Business and Missed Opportunities in African Countries
U.S. business has missed many opportunities in African Countries.In discussing whether or not US business should be more interested in doing business in African countries, it is important to be specific about what the statement relates to. US businesses are in Africa, by the hundreds in fact. The question is not whether US business is […]
“Tear-jerkers” for checks: NGOs and African countries
That “Aid” has never lifted any country from poverty is a historical fact. The most important principle in providing aid should be to, first, do no harm, the doctor’s creed. Applied to aid and the dispensing of it, it means that aid should not worsen the present or future condition of the recipient. It means […]
Culture and Success: Two Peas in a Pod
Americans are imbued with the “Ant” mentality: they have a “never say die” spirit. This is very antithetical to how Africans have come to view life. Africans have a resignation spirit that is borne of the traditional “heirarchicalism” of African societies. There is a tendency to never question elders. It is a learned behavior to […]