Whenever I’m in Nigeria and visit a company in Lagos, I anticipate traffic jams and leave ahead of time. Once I had to travel from Lagos Business School in Lekki to the UBA (United Bank for Africa) head office on Lagos Island – 30 km or about 18 miles. Someone recommended that I leave two […]
Access to Electricity in Africa
While in Lagos, I experienced what it means not to have a regular power supply. So I was happy to hear about “repurpose schoolbags“, schoolbags with a solar panel that charges while kids are in school. In the evening, they can be used as a study lamp. This indigenous innovation was created by two South African women. […]
Africa Meets Poverty Reduction Targets
During my stay in Lagos, I met a woman who asked me what my impressions were. I told her I found it hard to look at the poverty there, which surprised her, “Where do you see poverty?” she asked, pointing out the many signs of development there. As a matter of fact, poverty and wealth coexist […]
African Women – a Force for Peace
“Queens of Africa” is a line of black dolls inspired by the three largest tribes in Nigeria. They wear the wonderful traditional dresses of the three queens. And I love the song in the promotional video portraying the three queens—one of them is the Queen of Peace. , and obviously but most importantly, lack of […]
Trading Times Across East African Borders
My young friend Giovanni came back from a visit to East Africa last week. As part of the trip, he traveled by car from Uganda to Kenya. This involves crossing the Malaba border where trucks can wait anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks. But the driver was an expert at crossing this border, so they only […]
