Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I was surprised to learn about the world's advanced digital money transfer capabilities, especially in Tanzania and Kenya. It takes leaving the U.S to notice how archaic our systems are. I appreciated your perspective on entrepreneurship— too many businesses and not enough business— struck a chord.
Great piece Stephen. I especially appreciated your insight on how ordinary Tanzanians are better off now than the previous generation, and how this is actually a worldwide phenomenon. In workshops I always used to ask my students if the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer, and they always agreed. The fact, as you noted in your piece, is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are also getting richer, which is a good thing. A fascinating way to show this is by using the clever “3-D” YouTube video “200 Countries in 200 Years.” It’s only four minutes long and well worth your time.
Oh yes, I sure am familiar with "200 Countries, 200 Years in 4 Minutes." One expert said that it's the best presentation of data visualization he's ever seen. I've shown it in my classes and workshops many times. Sadly, the professor in it, Hans Rosling, passed away not long ago.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I was surprised to learn about the world's advanced digital money transfer capabilities, especially in Tanzania and Kenya. It takes leaving the U.S to notice how archaic our systems are. I appreciated your perspective on entrepreneurship— too many businesses and not enough business— struck a chord.
Sadly, our payments infrastructure in the United States is slow largely because of corporate rent seeking. It sure isn't for lack of technology. Planet Money did a great piece on this about a decade ago (maybe time for an update from Decode Econ). https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/10/04/229224964/episode-489-the-invisible-plumbing-of-our-economy
Great piece Stephen. I especially appreciated your insight on how ordinary Tanzanians are better off now than the previous generation, and how this is actually a worldwide phenomenon. In workshops I always used to ask my students if the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer, and they always agreed. The fact, as you noted in your piece, is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are also getting richer, which is a good thing. A fascinating way to show this is by using the clever “3-D” YouTube video “200 Countries in 200 Years.” It’s only four minutes long and well worth your time.
Oh yes, I sure am familiar with "200 Countries, 200 Years in 4 Minutes." One expert said that it's the best presentation of data visualization he's ever seen. I've shown it in my classes and workshops many times. Sadly, the professor in it, Hans Rosling, passed away not long ago.
It's always worth a re-watch, so here it is: https://youtu.be/jbkSRLYSojo?si=uRGyd4ZYAMyzmKXV
Great piece!