12 ms·

Re: "What unique advantage does being from Africa give you?" I am in Cape Town, South Africa and let me tell you it is one of the most beautiful cities in the

Re: "What unique advantage does being from Africa give you?" I am in Cape Town, South Africa and let me tell you it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with a university producing decent CS graduates (Mark Shuttleworth), beautiful weather, vineyards on our doorstep, plenty of African color and positive energy, terrific advertising talent, and the typical South African work ethic. South Africans love work. To answer your question, what unique advantage does being from Africa give you? Objectivity.

sgt 16y ago
+1 I'm also there. It's a great place for startups right now, in my opinion.
seunosewa 16y ago
There's nothing uniquely African about beautiful cities. And what does that have to do with "objectivity"?
- jorangreef 16y ago
  The point is that Cape Town is African and beautiful and provides a unique vantage point from which to observe the world. More directly, Africa's juxtaposition of financial poverty and spiritual wealth, can teach humility and offer perspective. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happen to them all.
Terretta 16y ago
Cape Town has very little to do with the Africa most of the world is thinking of. OP's question is about Nigeria. Not so long ago, Nigeria wouldn't even let you in if your passport had a South African stamp. The problems and opportunities in Cape Town for startups have, in my experience, no relevance to Lagos, Kinshasa, Abidjan, Accra ... As you're from Cape Town, you know this is the real problem: http://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/africa-in-perspective/ http://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/africa-in-perspec... Most people have no idea Africa is larger than US, Europe, India, and China combined, but without infrastructure on most of the continent and so tribal that even greed takes a back seat to boosting a friend from the village. These aren't bad things, they're just different--and Kaapstad, Africa's first permanent European settlement and now considered the most entrepreneurial city in South Africa, may not offer the best model for addressing the OP's problem.
- jorangreef 16y ago
  Thanks for the interesting link. The world may have a "huts and lions" view of Africa and may find it convenient to classify Cape Town as no longer "African" because it's more developed. But I would question that sort of definition of Africa as necessarily implying "third world". As you say, people must regard Africa as a whole, from North to South, East to West. What's needed is more definition, more detail, more brush strokes within the outlines. Talking about all kinds of African cities (including Cape Town) will help in that respect.

sgt 16y ago

+1 I'm also there. It's a great place for startups right now, in my opinion.

seunosewa 16y ago

There's nothing uniquely African about beautiful cities. And what does that have to do with "objectivity"?

jorangreef 16y ago
The point is that Cape Town is African and beautiful and provides a unique vantage point from which to observe the world. More directly, Africa's juxtaposition of financial poverty and spiritual wealth, can teach humility and offer perspective. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happen to them all.

Terretta 16y ago

Cape Town has very little to do with the Africa most of the world is thinking of. OP's question is about Nigeria. Not so long ago, Nigeria wouldn't even let you in if your passport had a South African stamp. The problems and opportunities in Cape Town for startups have, in my experience, no relevance to Lagos, Kinshasa, Abidjan, Accra ... As you're from Cape Town, you know this is the real problem: http://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/africa-in-perspective/ http://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/africa-in-perspec... Most people have no idea Africa is larger than US, Europe, India, and China combined, but without infrastructure on most of the continent and so tribal that even greed takes a back seat to boosting a friend from the village. These aren't bad things, they're just different--and Kaapstad, Africa's first permanent European settlement and now considered the most entrepreneurial city in South Africa, may not offer the best model for addressing the OP's problem.

jorangreef 16y ago
Thanks for the interesting link. The world may have a "huts and lions" view of Africa and may find it convenient to classify Cape Town as no longer "African" because it's more developed. But I would question that sort of definition of Africa as necessarily implying "third world". As you say, people must regard Africa as a whole, from North to South, East to West. What's needed is more definition, more detail, more brush strokes within the outlines. Talking about all kinds of African cities (including Cape Town) will help in that respect.