In Africa, we've inverted this development model. We expect governments to drive development, innovation, and investment, perpetuated by the FDI narrative. Foreign investors prefer dealing with bureaucratic states over dynamic African entrepreneurs, demanding government guarantees and concessions that slow progress.
The result? Stifled economies: governments are inherently slow, risk-averse, and mired in red tape, unable to respond to market dynamics like agile private players.
Western economies thrived because private pioneers charted new territories, with governments following to regulate and level the playing field.
Africa lags in development because government-led models crowd out innovation, favor cronies over creators, and rely on external aid/FDI that reinforces dependency, instead of developing local financial markets by generating liquidity and deepening financial services.
To accelerate:
Empower African entrepreneurs with access to capital (e.g., diaspora funds, local VCs).
Shift FDI to partner directly with private sector innovators, not just governments.
Let governments regulate fairly, while private enterprise leads investment and risk-taking.
At LECHA Energy, we're proving this works by driving private-led renewable projects that outpace bureaucratic hurdles. Development in Africa must flip the script – private sector first, government as enabler.
What's your view? Should Africa prioritize entrepreneurs over state-led initiatives?
Let's discuss!
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