I was honored to be on Manuela Saragosa’s show, In The Balance, on BBC World Service to talk about African Enterprise and the lack of affordable capital to make them grow.
What do African businessmen and women need from their governments and big institutions in order to help them start up new ventures? The President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, answers some of the criticisms over lack of capital. And the founder of Ghana’s biggest home-grown technology company, Herman Chinery Hesse, spells out why foreign aid can hinder – rather than help – business in Africa.
I have been pleasantly caught caught off guard by the reaction to my venture capital post (which is how I ended up on the show). I am glad this conversation is happening and hope it continues in earnest, until we are able to reserve the negative attitudes (and practices) keeping African SMEs from attracting funding.
