NPR: Rwanda’s Economy: An Unlikely Success Story – This year, Rwanda moved up seven spots on the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness index to number 63 out of more than 140 countries. In recent years, it has reported an average, annual GDP growth of more than 7 percent, a success that can be traced back to President Kagame. Kagame “transformed Rwanda by eliminating problems that have plagued other African economies,” yet some wonder if “the country’s grand experiment [can] live on beyond the rule of its creator.” (Frank Langfitt)
CNN: How ‘Afropreneurs’ will shape Africa’s future – Young Nigerians have adopted the buzzword “Afropreneuer” to describe the “bright, independent and tech savvy entrepreneurs using creative thinking and the power of innovation to take over Africa’s economic destiny.” The goal of many “Afropreneurs” is to enable access to information so that other young men and women can “solve their problems without having to rely on government.” (Teo Kermeliotis)
Forbes: Stop Wasting Foreign Aid: Let’s Import Millions Of New College Students Instead - Iqbal Quadir, founder and director of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT, believes that with America’s impressive higher education system, we should be focusing on encouraging foreign students to take their education here in the states, simulating the US economy by making it a major export as Australia and New Zealand have, all while giving people in developing countries a chance at quality education. (Iqbal Quadir)
IPS: Tractors revolutionize agriculture in Chad - Chad has a wealth of arable land, but a “hellish cycle of famine” that has prevented it from ever being developed, until just recently. The government has set out on an initiative to provide farmers with tractors and farming equipment that will help them overcome Chad’s harsh climate, even so “the most laziest of farmers” will be drawing a profitable yield. Alongside teaching local farmers basic farming techniques, Chadians are already seeing a huge increase in their harvests. (François Djékombé)
