The Undelivered Promise: Rwanda’s Internet
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Erik's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
The Undelivered Promise: Rwanda’s Internet
"Mr. Wyler, an executive based in Boston who made his fortune during the tech boom, said he would lace Rwanda with fiber optic cables, connecting schools, government institutions and homes with low-cost, high-speed Internet service. Until that point, Mr. Wyler, 37, had never set foot in Africa — he was invited by a Rwandan government official he had met at a wedding. Mr. Wyler never expected to start a business there; he simply wanted to try to help the war-torn country."
This is an interesting story, partly because here is a guy who wanted to invest in Africa and do a good thing. That’s what many people, including myself, are asking for. If outsiders want to help Africans, then do it through investment money, not aid. The problem is, Greg did just that and has yet to see a major return on his investment.
This is the type of negative investment activity that shines a bad light on Africa as a whole. Believe me, others will not invest because of his story. Regardless of whether it’s his fault, the Rwandan governments fault or any number of other things. The fact is, the investment isn’t panning out (yet), so it will scare off other investors.
Here’s another bleak quote:
"The result is that Africa remains the least connected region in the world, and the digital gap between it and the developed world is widening rapidly. “Unless you can offer Internet access that is the same as the rest of the world, Africa can’t be part of the global economy or academic environment,” said Lawrence H. Landweber, professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who was also part of an early effort to bring the Web to Africa in the mid-1990s. “The benefits of the Internet age will bypass the continent.”
So, while our governments mess around, squabbling over incoming undersea cables. And as the private sector telecoms monopolies kill our global competitiveness, what are we supposed to do?
Part of the answer is to band together and make a case for change. Take a look at what Eric Osiakwan is doing with AfriSPA and work with Google representatives like Joseph Mucheru in Kenya to get some legislative change working in our favor. Become part of the local community trying to do something - don’t just sit back and expect it to happen on its own.
The Undelivered Promise Rwandas Internet - To learn more about this author, visit Erik Hersman's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The New York Times is running a story on the promised, but undelivered, widespread high-speed internet that Greg Wyler’s Terracom promised 4 years ago.
"Mr. Wyler, an executive based in Boston who made his fortune during the tech boom, said he would lace Rwanda with fiber optic cables, connecting schools, government institutions and homes with low-cost, high-speed Internet service. Until that point, Mr. Wyler, 37, had never set foot in Africa — he was invited by a Rwandan government official he had met at a wedding. Mr. Wyler never expected to start a business there; he simply wanted to try to help the war-torn country."
This is an interesting story, partly because here is a guy who wanted to invest in Africa and do a good thing. That’s what many people, including myself, are asking for. If outsiders want to help Africans, then do it through investment money, not aid. The problem is, Greg did just that and has yet to see a major return on his investment.
This is the type of negative investment activity that shines a bad light on Africa as a whole. Believe me, others will not invest because of his story. Regardless of whether it’s his fault, the Rwandan governments fault or any number of other things. The fact is, the investment isn’t panning out (yet), so it will scare off other investors.
Here’s another bleak quote:
"The result is that Africa remains the least connected region in the world, and the digital gap between it and the developed world is widening rapidly. “Unless you can offer Internet access that is the same as the rest of the world, Africa can’t be part of the global economy or academic environment,” said Lawrence H. Landweber, professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who was also part of an early effort to bring the Web to Africa in the mid-1990s. “The benefits of the Internet age will bypass the continent.”
So, while our governments mess around, squabbling over incoming undersea cables. And as the private sector telecoms monopolies kill our global competitiveness, what are we supposed to do?
Part of the answer is to band together and make a case for change. Take a look at what Eric Osiakwan is doing with AfriSPA and work with Google representatives like Joseph Mucheru in Kenya to get some legislative change working in our favor. Become part of the local community trying to do something - don’t just sit back and expect it to happen on its own.
The Undelivered Promise Rwandas Internet - To learn more about this author, visit Erik Hersman's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Strategic Planning Guide Super Productivity Entrepreneurship Or Job? Intro to M&A Personal Leadership |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
