Inspired by this post on Nubian Cheetah
"Here are some key things Africa needs to grow into a outsourcing destination.
1. We need redundant and reliable Internet broadband infrastructure ex. Eassy fiber cable and SAT-3 cable are starters, also we need more Internet infrastructure.
2. We need the Diaspora to come back and start building the Infosys, Wipro's and Tata's of Africa.
3. We need Governments to earmark or allocate IT parks or Tax free zones only for science, Hi-tech or outsourcing related businesses.
4. We need more IT education, we simply lack this right now. Africa needs more programmers in Java, html, and other related IT fields.
5. Last but not least, ..."
What do you think? It looks sort of easy/viable, right? What's the problem then?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Whole American Job Search thing
If you're coming right out of school especially, try AFTERCOLLEGE.com It yields more relevant job leads arranged in a more usable manner than say Monster or Careerbuilder.
I've been looking for a job for a while now and find that the site rocks! Good luck with your job searches. Are there tools that you find particularly useful? Please share. By the way, MonsterTRAK is very cool too, depending on your school.
Let's toast (palmwine, anyone?) to having a vibrant job market and awesome job sites for Nigeria/Africa/? soon.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Number
People are different...it would seem that some people actually like the hustle, wondering aloud "what would you do everyday if you didn't have to work?"
What would YOU do? Read these stories from the nineties about dot-com boomers' retirement.
Some people can easily visualize a point beyond which more money wouldn't make them happier, while some continue to strive for more.
Read these Silicon Valley stories...and weigh in about The Number. Thanks.
What would YOU do? Read these stories from the nineties about dot-com boomers' retirement.
Some people can easily visualize a point beyond which more money wouldn't make them happier, while some continue to strive for more.
Read these Silicon Valley stories...and weigh in about The Number. Thanks.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Blog Carnival
Good Africa articles at African Loft. Check it out! 
The Loft also hosts a blog carnival promoted by Benin, which features great African business blogging by a diversity of authors.
Experience the previous blog carnival here.
Submit articles for the next blog carnival here.
The Loft also hosts a blog carnival promoted by Benin, which features great African business blogging by a diversity of authors.Experience the previous blog carnival here.
Submit articles for the next blog carnival here.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Investing in Africa/M.East Via ETF
Carl T. Delfeld submits: Do we need an exchange-traded fund for Africa? Why would anyone want to invest in Africa with its high levels of poverty, corruption and bureaucratic roadblocks? Nicholas Vardy notes that between 1995 and 2005, African stocks showed compound annual growth of 22%. Last year, the stock market in Kenya rallied 46%, and the local index is up 9x in dollar terms over the past ten years. In 2006, equities in Morocco were up 75%, 69% in Uganda, and 55% in Botswana. Nigeria's stock market's capitalization has doubled over the 12 months to about $45 billion.
Then there is the China factor. The Chinese leadership has targeted China as a region where there is a great power vacuum they wish to fill not to mention ample natural resources to fuel its 10% plus economic growth. Trade between China and Africa soared 40% to a record $55.5 billion last year. Direct investment has reached a cumulative $6.5 billion and a third of Chinese oil now comes from Africa.
Nigeria has been doing particularly well with a GDP that more than doubled between 2003 and 2006 and thanks to strong oil exports has foreign exchange reserves of just under $50 billion. These markets are, of course, rather thin making an ETF problematic but don't be surprised to see an African ETF in the next year or two...Yahoo notes
Note:
There is already One: GAF
Profile: The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P/Citigroup BMI Middle East & Africa Index. The fund will invest at least 90% of assets in the securities that comprise the index. The index is a market capitalization weighted index that defines and measures the investable universe of publicly traded companies domiciled in emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. It includes companies located in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. The fund is nondiversified
Then there is the China factor. The Chinese leadership has targeted China as a region where there is a great power vacuum they wish to fill not to mention ample natural resources to fuel its 10% plus economic growth. Trade between China and Africa soared 40% to a record $55.5 billion last year. Direct investment has reached a cumulative $6.5 billion and a third of Chinese oil now comes from Africa.
Nigeria has been doing particularly well with a GDP that more than doubled between 2003 and 2006 and thanks to strong oil exports has foreign exchange reserves of just under $50 billion. These markets are, of course, rather thin making an ETF problematic but don't be surprised to see an African ETF in the next year or two...Yahoo notes
Note:
There is already One: GAF
Profile: The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P/Citigroup BMI Middle East & Africa Index. The fund will invest at least 90% of assets in the securities that comprise the index. The index is a market capitalization weighted index that defines and measures the investable universe of publicly traded companies domiciled in emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. It includes companies located in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. The fund is nondiversified
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