Daily Brief: African Middle Class, Nokia Mobile Money, SME vs. Gov’t on AGOA

Here’s your Daily Brief for August 27th:

Growing middle class and Africa’s demographic opportunity (via Annansi Chronicles) – This article piggy-backs well off my previous post on “How Not to Write About Africa” and the branding/marketing problems involved. This is a good look at Africa’s growing middle class. There are also three awesome videos which I have embedded at the bottom of this post.

Nokia Eyes Emerging Markets With Obopay-Powered Payment Platform – Mobile banking has swept across Africa as an alternative to traditional bank accounts. In Kenya, only about 10% of potentially eligible Kenyans hold an bank account – largely due to high associated costs. It appears that Nokia is finally entering the market with their own payment platform. Nokia’s already large presence throughout BOP markets positions itself well to quickly become a leader in the mobile money market. Here’s a post on the topic written by mobile entrepreneur Ken Banks.

SMEs not exploiting Agoa, says official (via Business Daily) – This article states that, in Kenya, the government is claiming that small and medium size enterprises are “failing to seek technical help from relevant government agencies on how to exploit opportunities under the African Growth Opportunities Act (Agoa)”. It’s not surprising to me, given the inherent mistrust between small business and the government. Maybe the government ought to decentralize such programs. It would likely increase SME participation, thus increasing AGOA related trade, thus increasing GDP. Win-Win, right?

Image consultants see entrepreneurial path in soft skills teaching (via Business Daily) – This is an interesting article on the role of “Image Consultants” in Kenya.

Africa’s Growing Middle Class Videos:

The Nigerian Middle Class:

Growth in Ghana:

Middle Class Life in Nairobi, Kenya:

Hale Martin

I see the dilemma of news coverage--appealing for help for poverty and disease while at the same time not inaccurately depicting a lost cause. I think too often the media focuses on the sensational negative to sell their stories. Consequently, I think most Americans have a severely distorted view of Africa--I think I do! I would love to see more of its bright points (what we could call a balanced view that is so out of favor in the media). I think it would encourage the world to take Africa more seriously and not see it as that lost cause. Closer to the mainstream.

Marco Puccia

I think it's all about balance. CNN World, BBC, and Al Jazeera all have very balanced coverage of Africa and the rest of the world. One thing they do, though, is have documentary-style news. In the US, our news is so sensationalist that it loses its credibility.

I do think our severely distorted image of Africa has major implications in how we engage the continent both in terms of trade and aid.