World's poorest countries.
Country GDP per capita
10 Sierra Leone $700
9 Niger $700
8 Eritrea $700
7 Central African Republic$700
6 Somalia $600
5 Guinea-Bissau $600
4 Liberia $500
3 Burundi $400
2 Congo, Democratic Republic of the $300
1 Zimbabwe $200
All of the above are African countries. Why is this this case?
Now let us compare that with the world's richest countries. Look at the gap in the per capita GDP.
Country GDP per capita
10 San Marino $46,100
9 Ireland $47,800
8 United States $48,000
7 Singapore $52,900
6 Brunei $54,100
5 Norway $57,500
4 Kuwait $60,800
3 Luxembourg $85,100
2 Qatar $101,000
1 Liechtenstein $118,000
By the way, Nigeria's GDP per capita is a measly $1,451.
The people of Africa must be doing something wrong. I think African's in general are apathetic in nature. There is little sharing of information occurring between the knows and don't knows.
You as an African, when was the last time you tried to contact a successful African, or just any successful person, to find out from them what they're doing to succeed, and how they're doing it?
When was the last time you got curious about a service that Africans need, and be the one to fill that void?
Some people would argue that African leaders are corrupt, and that is the reason for the poverty. Well, that is partially correct. However, there are corrupt leaders on every continent. but the 10 poorest countries in the world are all from Africa. Something is clearly wrong with Africa and Africans.
One other culprit I've identified for Africa's poverty is that Africans are too nice. I never thought that being nice could actually be a negative, but here you are.
By being too nice, I mean that Africans are too willing to overlook wrong-doing. This helps breed corruption, and by extension poverty.
Many would say that they don't have the start-up capital for a business. However, what have you done personally to try to get the money. It won't fall on your lap, if that's what you're expecting.
My advice for a better Africa is...
- Set a goal.
- Then be more more aggressive in the pursuit of that goal.
- Do not let anybody tell you can't do it.
- If you try once and fail, try again, and again, and again.
- If you're looking to curry favor with somebody, volunteer to work for the person for free for a while. Once the person knows you, it'd then be easier to ask for help.
- Perhaps most importantly, be of help to other Africans. If you see somebody trying, and you're able to show them the way, do it. Most people who receive help are more likely to help someone else. Soon you'd have a continent of people helping one another without reservation.
- Success is not easy. You have to be tough as nails to taste success.
Good luck.
Economic statistics provided by http://www.aneki.com/