At the beginnin of the year, Italy made a salacious statement. It accused France of impoverishing Africa. Italy sighted the manipulation of the French controlled CFA Franc which many see as the heart of fancophone Africa’s financial woes. Much like the world’s antiquated financial system, built arbitrarily on the values assigned by former colonial powers,…
Tag: africa
Italy’s Money Challenge: From Austerity to Freedom
Italy has faced a massive influx of foreign national and refugees to its shores, and recently made incendiary statements regarding Frances’ role in the continuing instability in Africa. Italy’s inflammatory statements likely comes out of a state of frustration and helplessness, as it grapples to handle its own economic instability and the steady consuming wave…
Making Small Farmers Count
In January of this year, Hawaii extended a series of workshops for the specialty crop block grant and marketing assistance programs. The workshops were in response to funds released by the U.S. Farm Bill and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make local farmers internationally competitive in the area of specialized crops. The six…
The Economics of Dominance: A New World Order
Just when it seemed a comprise had been reached between China and the US on trade; there was the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. Arrested in Canada for extradition on December 1, Meng faces charges levied by the US Justice Department. The unusual case has come under scrutiny and garnered nervous murmurs from sectors…
Immigration: A Historic Cost in Dollars
As the world continues to connect via globalization, advanced communication and travel, immigration has continued to rise. Most notably immigration has rose exponentially in European and Western enclaves around the world. “You should see Paris now, it’s little Africa.” She said with a chuckle. The francophone African woman I was interviewing for a story was…
Exporting Small Businesses
Census data from 2016 revealed that of the nearly 6 million businesses employing Americans in the U.S., 99.7 percent were small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Many economies think that there is a secret to the U.S. success story–and granted, without the boost of American Chattel slavery the nation likely could not have advanced at such…
Naijaland – A Journey to Opportunity
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The West and the Rest: Growth and A Green-Eyed Monster
“The West vs. The Rest,” a term coined from the ideology of famed political science professor Samuel Huntington, seems to be a growing phenomenon in the world today. In Huntington’s book, the Clash of Civilization, he appeared to be more narrowly focused on the rise of the Mideast, rather than the growing dichotomy that has…
Here’s Why Today’s Hard Work Will Not Make You Rich
Perhaps one of the biggest myths is that hard work equals success. This is a concept strongly held in Western tradition, despite its historic and present day inaccuracies. The hidden assumption behind the hard work trope is that the “worker” will be able to enjoy the production value behind his/her own hard work. This is…
Make The Deal: A Case Study on Decision-Making
Making a good deal requires understanding what you will gain and what you must lose. Deal-making is almost as old as time. Part of what makes some people better deal-makers than others, is their ability to evaluate a deal beyond their emotions. Emotions are essential in making a deal; often emotions can signal red flags…
From Naija with Love: A Book Review
During my time in Lagos, Nigeria I had a chance to read a biography that gave me a window into colonial life in Nigeria. The book, A Train Ride to Zaria by Bankole Ososanwo was set in Lagos and it helped me to understand the history of the state as well as the names of…
This is Nigeria
Recently, I was in the seaside state of Lagos, arguably one of Africa’s Largest Metropolis and Nigeria’s most successful state. As one of the smallest states in the nation, Lagos has distinguished itself as Nigeria’s most industrialized and developed state. While there, I had the opportunity to experience various cities such as Lekki, Ikeja, Ikoyi,…
