“South African entrepreneurs have discovered a stunningly large and lucrative market: Africa’s poor. By providing services that the developed world takes for granted, the entrepreneurs are making money — and making lives easier.” Megan Lindow reports from Cape Town on Seeking Riches From the Poor. [Wired News]
One of the examples she gives of innovative high tech solutions given Africa’s lack of infrastructure: “One such company, Fundamo, developed a system allowing people to make payments from their mobile phones. The company first tried to sell its technology in the developed world but, given the pervasiveness of credit cards, potential clients saw little point. Instead, the system has taken off in Zambia, where the demand for a cellular banking platform is high.”
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I was surprised the other day to see a post on the website of the International Specialist Group for Commerce and Economics about selling shoes in the Congo. It said, simply, “I would like to host a shoe vendor [to visit] my country. There is a need for shoes.”
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