December 2010 | Annansi.com

December 29, 2010

Watch out Silicon Valley. Chinese and Indian Entrepreneurs Are Eating America’s Lunch

…India’s and China’s successes
aren’t due to their education systems, but despite them. You’ve
probably heard of Indian outsourcing hotspots like Bangalore and
Chennai, but it’s not just call centers and software sweatshops
Americans now need to worry about: Technology entrepreneurship is
booming all over in China and India, and is beginning to innovate;
these startups will soon start competing with Silicon Valley. The
next Google could well be cooked up in a garage in Guangzhou or
Ahmedabad.

Indian and Chinese children are
very much like their counterparts in the United States —
intelligent, open-minded, and motivated to change the world. They
receive poor education on average, but many are able to rise above
that. And the United States is giving an unintended boost to these
countries by sending away highly educated skilled foreign
workers.

South Africa formally invited to join BRIC group of emerging global powers

South Africa has been formally asked to join the BRIC group of major emerging markets, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, bolstering its position as Africa’s champion.

Chinese President Hu Jintao wrote a letter to his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, to inform him of the decision and inviting him to the BRIC’s third heads of state meeting in Beijing next year, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in a statement on his ministry’s website today.

South Africa, which has a population of 49 million compared with China’s 1.36 billion, is betting on raising its clout on the world stage by joining BRIC, while strengthening political and trade ties within the bloc. The country accounts for about a third of gross domestic product in sub-Saharan Africa and will offer BRIC members improved access to 1 billion consumers on the continent and mineral resources including oil and platinum.

Joining the group is “the best Christmas present ever,” South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told a reporters in Pretoria today. “We will be a good gateway for the BRIC countries. While we may have a small population, we don’t just speak for South Africa, we speak for Africa as a whole.”

More at bloomberg.com

December 8, 2010

Growth and spending of African consumers (video)

Here’s a very informative video interview on African consumer growth, spending and attitudes. Courtesy of ABN Digital.

December 2, 2010

Top 100 global thinkers of 2010

Foreign Policy Magazine has named their top 100 global thinkers of 2010. The list, which I’ve outlined below, is a mix of policy makers, advocates, and media professionals among other global influencers. A special congratulations goes out to Rosa Whitaker (#53), Ory Okolloh (#59), and Ethan Zuckerman (#81), all of whom I’ve had the pleasure of connecting and sharing ideas with. View the full list below, and read the full story on the Foreign Policy website:

Beginning with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates (1), who teamed up to prove that even in tough times great new ideas can emerge, to forecasting economist Nouriel Roubini (12) to political leaders Barack Obama (3) and Angela Merkel (10), FP presents more than just their big ideas. Once again we took a unique survey of this very smart crowd. Nearly two-thirds participated to give you insight into their thinking on everything from how Obama’s doing to their preference in new-age reading device (iPad, by a lot). But don’t take our word for it — take the same questionnaire we sent to our FP 100 and see how your answers match up against theirs. – Foreign Policy Mag.