Unless we stop despising each other, we can as well forget about being industrialised.

I have always said that unless Kenyan adopts a strong industrialisation policy based on export- oriented strategies, all the talk about growing the economy will just remain hot air.

If Kenyans think the country will become industrialised through exporting raw coffee , flowers and tourism, they are deceiving themselves.

Raw coffee is firmly controlled by international brokers who fraudulently determine the market prices. Tourism in Kenya is a small game: we only attract low income tourists with little spending powers. Real tourists with real money go to Switzerland.

Practically, all industrialised countries focused on manufacturing and exporting. Heavy technological investments and market protection has made Japan what it is today. The same with S.Korea.

Now, here is where it gets interesting: No whites will buy cars, smart phones and computers manufactured in Africa. Of course you all know why. You can imagine how a Californian would be put off with a smart phone bearing the ‘made in Kenya’ label.

I therefore believe that the African countries that will become industrialised will be those that will focus on manufacturing serious products(cars, phones) specifically targeted for the African market . But the problem is this: Africans, as usual, slight and despise each other. If I can develop a smart phone superior to the Iphone, Kenyans wont buy it simply because ‘Karl Marx is a Kenyan and, well, …I just don’t like things made by Africans’

It’s thus not surprising that we prefer toothpicks from China, pencils from India and eggs from South Africa.

For this reason, Africans are conditioned to be consumers not producers. Importing second hand clothing is BS. There is no real economic growth in land speculations. Our economic growth is normally driven by very unsustainable economic policies and broken capitalism ethics.

When Kenyans will stop worshipping foreigners and their products, you can then start talking about real economic growth.

One serious and locally owned company can change the whole economic outlook of Kenya. Samsung’s revenues is equivalent to 17% of South Korea’s GDP or six times the GDP of Kenya.

The big question is: will Kenyans and other Africans ever trust anything made in Africa?

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There is no real economic growth in landspeculations.

True

I think you are right about this. However most african countries never produce industrial goods with good quality. Industrialized countries are buying goods from south africa. I mean manufactured goods (hummers, computers, mercs, all sorts of cars, phones, and many others , from south africa), but only because the apartheid white people started it all. Its all about quality. If you want to know its quality, buy a computer manufactured in germany, and you will note nothing compares. early tweintieth century, europeans were saying that the chinese are primitive, the japanese are lazy and self centered. There was a time the English thought there was nothing good that could come out of germany. Chinese are gearing up to the westerners, but they are not yet there. However, they exports huge quantities of manufactured goods to europe and america. Its all about quality.

Hii maneno ya coffee, sijui tourism, sijui maua, sijui kuongeza tax, sijui kuweka njia murram, sijui irrrigation plan, sijui kununua laptop ni upuzi (Waliona hiyo imesaidia nchi gani?). Mwafrika ni disorganized and lacks foreplanning. There is no sense in raising taxes sky high, and investing in stupidity. Brazil tried agriculture for centuries, the other day they gave up and started industrialization. They are now towards the top. Even in that agriculture, we cant beat european countries, America, and some other desert countries. If you think we beat the USA or Europeans kwa tourism inua mkono(you must be stupid).

Land speculation: Hizo ni upuuzi. For the coutry, it brings nothing. Individually, Its going up now but in the long run you might not make much out of speculation unless you are very calculating. 5M might be doing other better business than speculating. There are legitimate speculators though.

Alafu no country becomes wealthy without perseverance. We love the easy way out. kenyans wont put up manufacturing industries because they think its too expensive, and that japanese second hand cars are a simpler solution. A century ago, the japanese wouldnt import Ford vehicles, they made theirs even though it wouldnt go for five kilometers without breaking some metal, and they made it through an expensive investment and research. Similarly, they wouldnt buy american planes. they made their own mitsubishi and others. Today, the japanese actually build parts for boeing and such.

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Mwafrika hawezi saidika, the truth is that we are inferior.Our only advantage and superiority over the white man is in music and entertainment.The music industry is dominated by the Black man, other endeavors are just futile.

Hapana mkubwa. We do not dominate music industry. Americans and jamaicans do kwa hip hop and reggae. In other music tuko far. What can Dr dre’s 1 billion mean against Gates or buffet’s 80billion? Alafu ebu study Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in D minor and Bach’s Mass in B minor ujue the extent mzungu can go with music.

Okay perhaps not dominance, but you have to agree that the black man is superior when it comes to music.Beethoven was a single case and he was great.

Kwa hip hop hatuna match. And that is because it just “yo ya, come on, am chillin with ma niggas…” and such. lakini you cant say we dominate music. ebu research other music types uone we arent dominant. Alafu beethoven si peke yake kwa classical music. Kuna Bach, Mahler, haydn, Mozart…endless list.

Not only hip hop, what about soul music, dancehall, pop, reggae…i’m looking at it in terms of popularity, even simple rap requires a great deal of creativity so don’t undermine it.

I think we are good in music but we dont dominate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010s_in_music

In 1997 KANU had a very detailed economic manifesto how to move Kenyan industries from agricultural based to technological based but like anything else good it never saw the light of the day.kibaki tried to implement it but it was twisted by his goons to be vision 2030.

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Of we stay focused on the four pillars of vision 2030 naona tukitoboa,ukabila na graft ndio imetuiza.

Hapo kwa music umeanguka kabisaaaa. Wachana na hizo symphony enda ukambani upate talent.Maybe you are talking about marketing and sales.

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Industrialization is a long shot that we cannot dream about at the moment due to the complex nature of capital acquisition and the degree of competition in the world. Unlike some decades back when it was easy to thrive by providing cheap alternatives to western products, today’s market place is much more competitive due to the Asian-Chinese emergence, and the flooding of western capital in Asia. For countries aspiring toward industrialization, it is important to take note of the fact you cannot topple the frontrunner by emulating his moves- he will certainly beat you with experience. All throughout history, winners emerge by identifying new avenues through which they can leverage their potential rather than struggling to emulate contemporary champions. It is only by identifying such potential and leveraging upon it that we can take on the big boys. I will provide you with a rather simplistic example well known to many- the Somali business community in Eastleigh. Despite hailing from the most inhospitable of places and with very scant education, this community has managed to wrestle a great deal of business of all sorts from communities endowed with better means. It all starts with identifying internal strengths that can be exploited to overcome imposed disadvantages.

Exploiting one’s strengths to the full allows one to build enough competence to take on established entities. Japan rode on the back of materialistic appetites in the West and a cheap skilled labor. On the other hand, China exploited its huge resources and population to make it to the world arena. Countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have been buoyed by abundant natural resources.

For Africa, we need to identify our strengths and exploit them by all means. For instance, the tribe can be a unique strength that can be exploited to yield positive outcome (I am always reminded of this whenever I witness mechanics fixing a car in Luo).

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Wakenya huuza vitu zao expe n expect you to buy… Try buying those African print clothes huuzwa hapo nje ya Nakumatt galleria now compare to second hand clothes at gikosh

KARL MAX = BORING

Sasa wewe wasomali ndio the best example you can find? Only those who have tried tested methods wametoboa. INDUSTRIALISATION. Maneno ya tribe ni wapi ishafanya?

How?

Our problems are just historical… If you keep telling your child he is stupid and all manner of I’ll words he will internalize and become them. Colonization was the worst thing that could have happened to Africa, every economy that’s industrialized was not colonised but all have been influenced heavily by the Europeans.

When one trades with you on equal footing you share and learn from each other but when one of your partner has an upper hand just knw you will be exploited coz you dnt have a choice.

As one of the villagers stated in an earlier topic on education all the eastern players have structured their education to their culture and way of life. They know more about their environment than anyone and become the best in a specific fields. Africans want to excel in fields where the white man has an advantage of centuries of experience.

When you explain in a specific fields you can be able to produce quality products. Apple and android took

Some people are saying that because europeans toof off first we should not industrialise. That is cowering down. And again, why is South Korea among the top most while the North is behind Kenya?(never mind they made a nuke, they are abysmally poor). because the south took off first? Korea was colonised by the Empire of Japan for 35 years. South korea industrialised and its economy is something in the times high teens ours. Remember both North and South were one nation at some point. And everyone has problems. Although countries in the east were not effectively colonized, Britain, France, and most of all the Empire of Japan, have been wreaking havoc there for a long time.

Ingia,

What was your klist handle, if you don’t mind me asking?