8 ms·

Rwanda is becoming a hub for expanding tech companies

50 points by edward 10y ago

pizza 10y ago
Not mentioned in article: - President has successfully used a referendum to grant himself third term powers, if next year's election goes his way (likely) - Lots of surveillance (skype/whatsapp eavesdropping) by govt via telecom compliance - President has lots of stock in telecoms
- henrygrew 10y ago
  True, a silent dictatorship and freedom of speech is not allowed
  - kiba 10y ago
    Did brief search about said referendum. Saw that 98% of voters approve it. Sounds like ballot stuffing.
    - max_ 10y ago
      Disclosure: East African Here. > Saw that 98% of voters approve it. That is true. And it wasn't ballot staffing. The Rwandese Love their President, he is largely responsible for the recovering Rwanda from its 1994 Genocide. All Rwandanse I personally know want him to remain president for as long as he can.
      - yxhuvud 10y ago
        For what it is worth, it is not unheard of long term leaders in western countries. It was not uncommon during the great leaps of improvement. You may want to look up Erlander or Kekkonen who each served for 30+ years in Sweden and Finland.
        ZenoArrow 10y ago
        Yeah, to be honest aside from the US I can't think of any developed countries that set limits on how many terms a political leader can stay in office. Part of me thinks it could be a good thing to adopt more broadly, though two terms seems a little too restrictive IMO.
        happyslobro 10y ago
        I have to say that the idea of an arbitrary limit on terms seems like a bad hack to fix a dysfunctional democracy. It's at least as likely, if not more so, to eliminate a good leader and clear the way for one of several bad leaders to get in. In a working democracy, people would not put up with a bad leader for more than the remainder of a term, after they show their true colours. In a highly functional democracy, a visionary leader should be able to initiate multi-generation projects and see them through to completion. Is this a scheme to prevent the members of a two party system from coalescing into a single party?
        ZenoArrow 10y ago
        Yes, it's a safety valve to guard against dysfunctional democracies. It's a compromise, and yes you will limit the service of both good and bad leaders, but that doesn't make the compromise any less valid. Many people fear change, and don't like to admit they made a mistake, and base a lot of their vote on personality rather than achievement, and as a result of these factors people can keep voting for someone even if they do a poor or mediocre job. I personally believe the best form of democracy would be something along the lines of a liquid democracy, coupled with a constitution that protected the rights of everyone (to ensure those with minority viewpoints would always be entitled to a base level of respect). If you're interested in finding out about liquid democracy, this video provides a good introduction: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0_Vhldz-8 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0_Vhldz-8
        GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
        Why do you assume that there's at most one good leader?
    - pizza 10y ago
      It might look like it, but the referendum would have gone the same way if not. Kagame's administration saw with it the largest drop in child mortality in recorded history (source: private conversation), rapid development, stability, expanded rights and political visibility of women.. and, as far as I've heard no one knows who would run the country as stably if it weren't Kagame.
- aorth 10y ago
  Yeah, and the Rwandan government was likely a customer of Hacking Team. Many documents in the Hacking Team email leak mention Rwanda: https://search.wikileaks.org/?query=Rwanda&exact_phrase=&any_of=&exclude_words=&document_date_start=&document_date_end=&released_date_start=&released_date_end=&publication_type%5B%5D=36&publication_type%5B%5D=37&new_search=False&order_by=most_relevant#results https://search.wikileaks.org/?query=Rwanda&exact_phrase=&any...
- donretag 10y ago
  Paul Kagame's anti-corruption policies are impressive. You can really see how much society can change when funds flow to the proper channels. I have traveled through ten sub-Saharan countries and Rwanda does stick out. While many countries, especially in East Africa, have terrible infrastructure, Rwanda is "civilized". Working traffic lights, street lights even on minor roads in towns, decent roads. It was the only country in East Africa where I was able to easily find a proper black middle class. I did ask locals why this is the case, and they all point to the anti-corruption initiative. It is true that much money comes from the UN post-genocide and from methane gas, but this money does make it's way to society. That said, I have a far better time in Mugabe's Zimbabwe and Zuma's South Africa. :) Corruption on that level is so blatant and destructive.
  - roel_v 10y ago
    Serious q, I've never been in Africa: what is there to do in Zim to have a good time? Did you go on safari or somerhing similar, or are there off-the-beaten-track things to do (without knowing locals) that are relatively safe to do?
    - donretag 10y ago
      I could talk a lot about Africa. Loved it. Everything is off the beaten path, which is why I loved it. Outside of the known spots (Egypt and the northern countries, South Africa), there is no mass tourism. No bus loads of tourists that start taking pictures as soon as they step off. Zim was unique. At that point, I already spent almost two months in East Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi), and my entrance (into Harare) was an eye-opener. A saw white people. Not tourists or the occasional white person, but actual residents. Lots of them. They had nice cars and went into nice stores. Good luck finding stores in East Africa. Technically, my first stop in Zim was the Chimanimani Mountains. Lovely day hike. But it was on the border with Mozambique (I only traveled through Moz) so it felt the same. Harare was a nice enough capital. I was amazed that the national museum was actually selling the art it was showing. Amazing pieces for great prices. If I was not traveling for months (and I actually had a home), I would have purchased some art. Amazing sculptures. Zim had the best sculptures, Malawi the best wood cravers. Went to a jazz club, more first show in Africa. I did not do any safaris in Zim (did them in Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia), but I went to a place called Antelope Park. I had mixed feelings about it. The great Zim ruins were interesting because it is the oldest manmade structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Nothing else of its kind on the entire southern half of Africa. Took an overnight train from Bulawayo to Vic Falls. Slow. Decripit. Beer was $1 (cheaper than a supermarket) and we finished their entire stock. Plus our liquor. They called ahead to get more at another stop and we finished that as well. Fun fun times. Victoria Falls of course was amazing. I highly suggest going to Africa for vacation. I dream about going back. Was more of a fan of Southern Africa over East Africa. Overall I felt safe in Zimbabwe. Better than Cape Town and forget about Jo'burg.
SoftwarePatent 10y ago
This journalist [1] wrote a great book [2] about the lack of press freedom in Rwanda, and western complicity in press crackdowns. He's an amazing guy--accepted a job at Goldman during college, then reneged on the job to fly one-way to Africa and become a freelance journalist. That's without any experience as a journalist! [1] https://twitter.com/anjansun https://twitter.com/anjansun [2] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/bad-news-last-journalists-in-dictatorship-anjan-sundaram-review-rwanda-paul-kagame https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/bad-news-last-...
- bilbo0s 10y ago
  Gets worse than that actually. Much of this "prosperity" is driven by warlords stealing resources from places like Eastern Congo. And that's where everything Rwandan gets really nasty. A guy named Laurent Nkunda once cleared an entire city of roughly 75 000 people. (Goma. Many of those were running so fast that children and the elderly were left behind. Which made for some pretty sad sights in the aftermath.) I had a Swiss friend who was an observer (UN) in Congo and had to come stay with us in Houston to decompress before going back to her family in Lausanne. She had the misfortune of being assigned an inspection tour in the East. She toured the Congo Army lines... fine ... no major problems. As she approached the lines of Nkunda's forces she saw a wall built from dead bodies... and the wall was topped with the heads. Yeah... it only got worse from there. Rwandans do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth. But I suppose it's easy to overlook that stuff if you're making money. And to be fair... a LOT of people in Africa do these things. Of course, we don't usually do business with those people.
  - throwaway201606 10y ago
    It is my opinion that it is a terrible statement on current affairs that this comment is ranked so high. While all the things said here are true, they: a) happened more than 20 years ago in 1990 ( http://abt.cm/QNKiYt http://abt.cm/QNKiYt ) b) have little or no direct bearing to the issue at hand (Rwanda and its place in the current technology marketplace) In my mind, a similar example might be reading something about say, for example the state of technology in Kenya and the top comment being about what happened there during the Mau Mau uprising. Yes, the correct would be factually accurate but that time does not represent the country today. And, most of all, WTF really? Stop with red herrings. The country is working like crazy to grow and develop and instead of "nice job getting from a where you were to b today", all you can offer is "yeah, but your dad and mom did terrible things 20 years ago". Almost every nation in the world, developed or not, has parts of its history where its' peoples and governments did things - that they now deeply regret and would rather forget - as part of becoming the nations that they are today. It just happens that some, not all, African nations are going through those things in our lifetime. We need to be fair in our positioning and evaluation of others especially if we perceive that they are making their way out of being on the low end of our assessment curve. No need to introduce extra huddles of history to the information we share especially if those hurdles are not contextually relevant. Finally, the last sentence in that comment is worth some disassembly. - The first part: "Rwandans do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth. But I suppose it's easy to overlook that stuff if you're making money. And to be fair... a LOT of people in Africa do these things. Of course, we don't usually do business with those people." Please share some evidence around this. Else, STFU with opinions that hold no ground. And even if it were true, how is it different from, for example, the way western economies deal with African and Middle East nations that have natural resources they are looking for. Don't these economies do "do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth" Should Africa make a decision along the lines of " Of course, we don't usually do business with those people."? My two cents, definitely written while wearing my heart on my sleeve. Saved a screenshot of your quote on img just in case it goes AWOL because don't want to end up sounding like a nutjob if if it does. Link to original quote here http://imgur.com/aYjzkUE http://imgur.com/aYjzkUE

50 points by edward 10y ago

pizza 10y ago

Not mentioned in article: - President has successfully used a referendum to grant himself third term powers, if next year's election goes his way (likely) - Lots of surveillance (skype/whatsapp eavesdropping) by govt via telecom compliance - President has lots of stock in telecoms

henrygrew 10y ago
True, a silent dictatorship and freedom of speech is not allowed
- kiba 10y ago
  Did brief search about said referendum. Saw that 98% of voters approve it. Sounds like ballot stuffing.
  - max_ 10y ago
    Disclosure: East African Here. > Saw that 98% of voters approve it. That is true. And it wasn't ballot staffing. The Rwandese Love their President, he is largely responsible for the recovering Rwanda from its 1994 Genocide. All Rwandanse I personally know want him to remain president for as long as he can.
    - yxhuvud 10y ago
      For what it is worth, it is not unheard of long term leaders in western countries. It was not uncommon during the great leaps of improvement. You may want to look up Erlander or Kekkonen who each served for 30+ years in Sweden and Finland.
      - ZenoArrow 10y ago
        Yeah, to be honest aside from the US I can't think of any developed countries that set limits on how many terms a political leader can stay in office. Part of me thinks it could be a good thing to adopt more broadly, though two terms seems a little too restrictive IMO.
        happyslobro 10y ago
        I have to say that the idea of an arbitrary limit on terms seems like a bad hack to fix a dysfunctional democracy. It's at least as likely, if not more so, to eliminate a good leader and clear the way for one of several bad leaders to get in. In a working democracy, people would not put up with a bad leader for more than the remainder of a term, after they show their true colours. In a highly functional democracy, a visionary leader should be able to initiate multi-generation projects and see them through to completion. Is this a scheme to prevent the members of a two party system from coalescing into a single party?
        ZenoArrow 10y ago
        Yes, it's a safety valve to guard against dysfunctional democracies. It's a compromise, and yes you will limit the service of both good and bad leaders, but that doesn't make the compromise any less valid. Many people fear change, and don't like to admit they made a mistake, and base a lot of their vote on personality rather than achievement, and as a result of these factors people can keep voting for someone even if they do a poor or mediocre job. I personally believe the best form of democracy would be something along the lines of a liquid democracy, coupled with a constitution that protected the rights of everyone (to ensure those with minority viewpoints would always be entitled to a base level of respect). If you're interested in finding out about liquid democracy, this video provides a good introduction: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0_Vhldz-8 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0_Vhldz-8
        GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
        Why do you assume that there's at most one good leader?
  - pizza 10y ago
    It might look like it, but the referendum would have gone the same way if not. Kagame's administration saw with it the largest drop in child mortality in recorded history (source: private conversation), rapid development, stability, expanded rights and political visibility of women.. and, as far as I've heard no one knows who would run the country as stably if it weren't Kagame.
aorth 10y ago
Yeah, and the Rwandan government was likely a customer of Hacking Team. Many documents in the Hacking Team email leak mention Rwanda: https://search.wikileaks.org/?query=Rwanda&exact_phrase=&any_of=&exclude_words=&document_date_start=&document_date_end=&released_date_start=&released_date_end=&publication_type%5B%5D=36&publication_type%5B%5D=37&new_search=False&order_by=most_relevant#results https://search.wikileaks.org/?query=Rwanda&exact_phrase=&any...
donretag 10y ago
Paul Kagame's anti-corruption policies are impressive. You can really see how much society can change when funds flow to the proper channels. I have traveled through ten sub-Saharan countries and Rwanda does stick out. While many countries, especially in East Africa, have terrible infrastructure, Rwanda is "civilized". Working traffic lights, street lights even on minor roads in towns, decent roads. It was the only country in East Africa where I was able to easily find a proper black middle class. I did ask locals why this is the case, and they all point to the anti-corruption initiative. It is true that much money comes from the UN post-genocide and from methane gas, but this money does make it's way to society. That said, I have a far better time in Mugabe's Zimbabwe and Zuma's South Africa. :) Corruption on that level is so blatant and destructive.
- roel_v 10y ago
  Serious q, I've never been in Africa: what is there to do in Zim to have a good time? Did you go on safari or somerhing similar, or are there off-the-beaten-track things to do (without knowing locals) that are relatively safe to do?
  - donretag 10y ago
    I could talk a lot about Africa. Loved it. Everything is off the beaten path, which is why I loved it. Outside of the known spots (Egypt and the northern countries, South Africa), there is no mass tourism. No bus loads of tourists that start taking pictures as soon as they step off. Zim was unique. At that point, I already spent almost two months in East Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi), and my entrance (into Harare) was an eye-opener. A saw white people. Not tourists or the occasional white person, but actual residents. Lots of them. They had nice cars and went into nice stores. Good luck finding stores in East Africa. Technically, my first stop in Zim was the Chimanimani Mountains. Lovely day hike. But it was on the border with Mozambique (I only traveled through Moz) so it felt the same. Harare was a nice enough capital. I was amazed that the national museum was actually selling the art it was showing. Amazing pieces for great prices. If I was not traveling for months (and I actually had a home), I would have purchased some art. Amazing sculptures. Zim had the best sculptures, Malawi the best wood cravers. Went to a jazz club, more first show in Africa. I did not do any safaris in Zim (did them in Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia), but I went to a place called Antelope Park. I had mixed feelings about it. The great Zim ruins were interesting because it is the oldest manmade structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Nothing else of its kind on the entire southern half of Africa. Took an overnight train from Bulawayo to Vic Falls. Slow. Decripit. Beer was $1 (cheaper than a supermarket) and we finished their entire stock. Plus our liquor. They called ahead to get more at another stop and we finished that as well. Fun fun times. Victoria Falls of course was amazing. I highly suggest going to Africa for vacation. I dream about going back. Was more of a fan of Southern Africa over East Africa. Overall I felt safe in Zimbabwe. Better than Cape Town and forget about Jo'burg.

SoftwarePatent 10y ago

This journalist [1] wrote a great book [2] about the lack of press freedom in Rwanda, and western complicity in press crackdowns. He's an amazing guy--accepted a job at Goldman during college, then reneged on the job to fly one-way to Africa and become a freelance journalist. That's without any experience as a journalist! [1] https://twitter.com/anjansun https://twitter.com/anjansun [2] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/bad-news-last-journalists-in-dictatorship-anjan-sundaram-review-rwanda-paul-kagame https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/bad-news-last-...

bilbo0s 10y ago
Gets worse than that actually. Much of this "prosperity" is driven by warlords stealing resources from places like Eastern Congo. And that's where everything Rwandan gets really nasty. A guy named Laurent Nkunda once cleared an entire city of roughly 75 000 people. (Goma. Many of those were running so fast that children and the elderly were left behind. Which made for some pretty sad sights in the aftermath.) I had a Swiss friend who was an observer (UN) in Congo and had to come stay with us in Houston to decompress before going back to her family in Lausanne. She had the misfortune of being assigned an inspection tour in the East. She toured the Congo Army lines... fine ... no major problems. As she approached the lines of Nkunda's forces she saw a wall built from dead bodies... and the wall was topped with the heads. Yeah... it only got worse from there. Rwandans do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth. But I suppose it's easy to overlook that stuff if you're making money. And to be fair... a LOT of people in Africa do these things. Of course, we don't usually do business with those people.
- throwaway201606 10y ago
  It is my opinion that it is a terrible statement on current affairs that this comment is ranked so high. While all the things said here are true, they: a) happened more than 20 years ago in 1990 ( http://abt.cm/QNKiYt http://abt.cm/QNKiYt ) b) have little or no direct bearing to the issue at hand (Rwanda and its place in the current technology marketplace) In my mind, a similar example might be reading something about say, for example the state of technology in Kenya and the top comment being about what happened there during the Mau Mau uprising. Yes, the correct would be factually accurate but that time does not represent the country today. And, most of all, WTF really? Stop with red herrings. The country is working like crazy to grow and develop and instead of "nice job getting from a where you were to b today", all you can offer is "yeah, but your dad and mom did terrible things 20 years ago". Almost every nation in the world, developed or not, has parts of its history where its' peoples and governments did things - that they now deeply regret and would rather forget - as part of becoming the nations that they are today. It just happens that some, not all, African nations are going through those things in our lifetime. We need to be fair in our positioning and evaluation of others especially if we perceive that they are making their way out of being on the low end of our assessment curve. No need to introduce extra huddles of history to the information we share especially if those hurdles are not contextually relevant. Finally, the last sentence in that comment is worth some disassembly. - The first part: "Rwandans do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth. But I suppose it's easy to overlook that stuff if you're making money. And to be fair... a LOT of people in Africa do these things. Of course, we don't usually do business with those people." Please share some evidence around this. Else, STFU with opinions that hold no ground. And even if it were true, how is it different from, for example, the way western economies deal with African and Middle East nations that have natural resources they are looking for. Don't these economies do "do some pretty nasty things around Africa to steal their wealth" Should Africa make a decision along the lines of " Of course, we don't usually do business with those people."? My two cents, definitely written while wearing my heart on my sleeve. Saved a screenshot of your quote on img just in case it goes AWOL because don't want to end up sounding like a nutjob if if it does. Link to original quote here http://imgur.com/aYjzkUE http://imgur.com/aYjzkUE