While most regions of the world witness increased standards of living,
better health care, and greater economic opportunity, Africans continue to
face famine, wide-spread disease, high levels of political corruption, and
war. Consequently, Africa has grown poorer with each passing decade
since gaining its independence. Although isolated examples of high
growth and sound institutions exist in Africa, the billions of dollars spent by western governments in
foreign aid have made little difference to the lives
of ordinary
Africans. With problems mounting
and ideas for solutions dwindling, Africa is in more need of a new vision of
development than any other corner of the globe.
Poor leadership and poor ideas have made poor people even poorer.
The facts are tragic:
There are more poor countries in Africa than in any other region of the
world.
There are fewer free countries in Africa than in any other region of the
world.
There is little foreign direct investment.
While sub-Saharan Africa has just over 10% of the world's population, it
is home to more than 60% of all people with HIV/AIDS. In 2004, an
estimated 2.3 million Africans died of the disease.
Under-five child mortality rates are highest in Africa, with 174 children
out of every 1,000 dying from disease and armed conflict.
There is less gender empowerment in Africa than in other regions.
There is a tremendous amount of armed conflict.
Despite this formidable challenge, the great hope for Africa lies with its
people.
While western elites hold conferences on how best to redistribute
wealth, unsung entrepreneurs are quietly erasing – at the micro level –
devastating problems of poverty in some of the poorest places in the
world. This fresh perspective – that the solutions to world poverty are
not to be found in international aid bureaucracies so much as in the
hearts and hands of the world’s poor themselves–is being developed and
substantiated in order to
provide policy makers
and opinion leaders with new information about which institutions hold the
most promise for Africa by supporting enterprise-based solutions to poverty.
In Africa, local enterprise has been the most successful solution to poverty
to date. Whether in the growing textile industry in southern Africa, the
flower trade in Kenya, fish processing in Senegal, or tourism in east and
southern Africa, Africans who enter the world market and trade are finding ways
to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty.
Some African leaders recognize that trade is the true path to
prosperity. In Botswana, Mauritius, South Africa, and Kenya, trade volumes
are rising and entrepreneurs are creating new opportunities for people.
These relatively successful countries serve as beacons for the rest of the
continent, showing what is possible, and also offering examples of effective
public policies – policies that enable entrepreneurship, property ownership and
stewardship, and that help strengthen local communities and civic life.
Better still, even in the most oppressed African countries, there are good
examples of persevering entrepreneurs working at the local level. This
suggests that even in the worst of situations, the potential of the human spirit
and free enterprise is strong.
Today, Africa is the development challenge. The potential for
human flourishing in Africa is enormous and the possibility of realizing the
benefits of Africa’s people lies with Africa’s people.
Enterprise Africa! seeks to uncover the hidden
successes that are making a difference in the lives of Africa’s people
today. Through this, we hope to demonstrate that solutions need not be
imported from abroad, but only unleashed from within the continent.
Enterprise Africa! provides resources for people
who care about the future of Africa and the rest of the world, so they can
make better decisions about what to do about the very real horrors of extreme
poverty on the continent.
Based on intensive and long-term field work that depends on
the local knowledge of individuals within Africa, we offer customized activities
for the following audiences:
