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You don't get it because you haven't lived there. How can you "consider operations" in places that don't have a reliable banking system? Just imagine how it's l

by tx 18y ago

You don't get it because you haven't lived there. How can you "consider operations" in places that don't have a reliable banking system? Just imagine how it's like (i've seen it first hand: natural exchange + cash in envelopes). How can you run a business, pay salaries and expect some work to be done, if electricity randomly gets shut off several times a day, when there are no banks that people trust and inflation can jump 100% at any moment? How can you do technology in countries where Internet access is 5 to 10 times more expensive than in the West (even with their standards of living)? How can you explain to your investors that 30% of your capital was spent bribing the officials (you don't have a choice). Again, I admire your thinking but that's more like dreaming. I worked in ex-USSR and have friends from Nigeria (one of the most developed nations there) and believe me, dealing with all that shit makes you so inefficient, that even cheap labor won't help. Things will improve of course, and rather quickly -- nearly all soviet block contries are great places for doing business now (compared to what they were 15 years ago), but that's another matter.

wheels 18y ago
I spent about a month in Africa last year, split between four countries. I believe what you're saying for, say, Nigeria, but you're wrong in believing that it's on the high end of the spectrum. It's in fact in the bottom third (HDI, GDPpC). It's a different world in the more developed African nations. Countries like South Africa and Botswana have stable currencies, functional democracies, reliable banking and readily available cheap broadband. Edit: Just checked, broadband prices are a little higher (about 30%) than I pay in Germany at the first couple sites I hit. Edit 2: The gap between the rated HDI (Human Development Index) between Nigeria and South Africa is about double the gap between the US and Mexico.

by tx 18y ago

wheels 18y ago

I spent about a month in Africa last year, split between four countries. I believe what you're saying for, say, Nigeria, but you're wrong in believing that it's on the high end of the spectrum. It's in fact in the bottom third (HDI, GDPpC). It's a different world in the more developed African nations. Countries like South Africa and Botswana have stable currencies, functional democracies, reliable banking and readily available cheap broadband. Edit: Just checked, broadband prices are a little higher (about 30%) than I pay in Germany at the first couple sites I hit. Edit 2: The gap between the rated HDI (Human Development Index) between Nigeria and South Africa is about double the gap between the US and Mexico.