Infotech's Mufuruki on African Entrepreneurship

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They believe that this experience has forever robbed us of our ability to be whole again, so we're deserving forever the sympathy and generosity of the rest of the world as a substitute for working to support our own development efforts.

I recognize the enormity of the physical and psychological scars that all Africans must bear as a result of these unfortunate events. I, however, do not accept that as a people we are not able to move on and build a better life for ourselves, using our own resources and labor.

The Chinese, the Indians, the Jews, the Vietnamese, and many more were enslaved, massacred, and colonized—some in ways infinitely more horrible than any African can claim. Yet their past sufferings have made them stronger. Africa's problems can be attributed almost exclusively to a lack or failure of leadership.

Dambisa Moyo recently published her book, Dead Aid, a critique of aid programs and government leadership in Africa. Do you agree with her that a deadline or cutoff of government-to-government aid is needed to force a transformation in governance and economic development in Africa?

I fully agree with Moyo and the timing of her book could not have been better, coming just as the global financial crisis was unfolding, forcing many people to reassess the future of the aid business.

I believe it is O.K. to go to the bank—or to a friendly government, for that matter—if what you are looking for is money. But you cannot turn to the bank or a friendly government for business ideas or strategies to develop a country.

Africa's poor development record can be explained in a large part by the fact that we allowed our bankers and donors to be at once the source of capital, our development ideas, and our development strategies. There is no way that can end well. Africa cannot and should not outsource its own development work.

When and why did you set up the Africa Leadership Initiative?

The Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) was set up in 2001. It was a response to what we saw then—as we still do today—as the leadership crisis facing the African continent. ALI seeks to support the emergence of a new generation of African leaders who are effective, enlightened, ethical, values-based, and ready to lead in a globalized world.

What has the initiative accomplished?

In eight short years since its founding, ALI has produced more than 200 ALI Fellows in eight African countries [Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Zimbabwe]. Most of our fellows are leading businesses in the private sector, but we also have some who are holding senior positions in the governments of their respective countries, bringing their newly acquired leadership skills and styles to bear on the events unfolding in their countries as we speak.

It has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

Hamm is a senior writer for BusinessWeek in New York and author of the Globespotting blog.

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