There are two general areas that both the “no” and “yes” camps focus on in discussing this topic—empowerment and entrepreneurship. The empowerment group invokes the idea of “Africans for Africa.” First, young Africans must focus on turning their problems into opportunities. Many site Uganda as an excellent case in point. The president of Uganda worked to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS through using methods that empowered individuals in a way that was culturally relevant and thus more effective than Western programs. I think the example of Uganda is an important case study in the power of Africans to rise up and take action to solve their own problems. After examining aid programs in African countries, it is clear that “Western arrogance” is not limited to “cookie cutter” problem solving in the Middle East. Western countries and citizens believe that they have the superior solutions to Africa’s problems. In reality, Western countries and citizens are unaware of the cultural and political differences in Africa and have no reason to believe that their money can change the continent. Rather than “throwing money” at Africa, Westerners should follow the advice of one development pioneer Edward Green, and “go to Africa with humility, open minds, and the ability to learn and discern what works in different cultural settings.” By understanding other cultures, development organizations and Western citizens will be able to understand how to really help the citizens of poor countries. One organization that has done a particularly good job in helping empower local groups is Kiva, which allows you to lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world—empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. The World Bank and other development organizations should take a hint from Kiva and start empowering citizens rather than corrupt governments.
Encouraging entrepreneurship is also an excellent way to increase quality of life, economic growth, and market competition. The idea of “seed loans” of $10,000-$20,000 to small entrepreneurs is a good starting point. When people have control of their own economic future, they will be more likely to sustain growth because they will be interested and motivated to make their own ideas succeed. Some might feel such arguments are purely normative; however, their foundations represent free enterprise, a goal which all major economies and economic organizations claim to support. China (though I'm not a huge fan) is a great example in showing that free enterprise is not only possible in Western, democratic countries, but can be achieved when entrepreneurs in any country take responsibility for their own well being. The recent rise in competition between private and public education in Africa is case in point of the positive changes that can happen when people take initiative to help themselves.
Overall, the prospects for development in Africa look bleak. As idealistic as I am, I do not see Western culture moving away from viewing money as the main solution to solving Africa’s problems. Each year, the number of organizations and people collecting money to help Africa continues to grow yielding only short term results that do not help solve long term problems. If Western citizens and governments are actually serious about investing in the future of Africans, they need to promote more engaging and personal development strategies that will lead to a better understanding of cultural differences and involvement of Africans in solving their own problems.
