Why is Africa so poor? Contrary to prevailing arguments, The African Paradox; Is China the Solution argues that Africa's poverty has little or nothing to do with corruption, colonialism, slavery, tribalism, war and disease, etc. Rather, Africa has remained poor because it has not learned how to create value-how to make the products or offer the services that people need. Why has it not been able to learn how to create value? The book offers five reasons. First, driven by a false sense of entitlement, many Africans have focused on value capture rather than value creation-focused on finding ways to consumer what others have made rather than learning how to do things for themselves. Second, it has not been in the interest of rich countries and their businesses to help African countries build value creation capabilities. It does not make sense for rich countries to make smart rivals out of loyal customers and suppliers. Third, the timing has not been right, yet. Fourth, African countries have failed to identify their strengths and opportunities and capitalize on them. Fifth, Africa and its benefactors have failed to understand that the transformation of Africa from poor to rich is a radical innovation, and therefore failed to pursue the right strategies. The book offers five strategies that African countries can use to dig themselves out of poverty. It also argues that China can be a huge part of the solution to Africa's poverty problem.
About the Author: About the Author Allan Afuah holds a Ph.D (doctorate) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is associate professor of Strategy at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Dr. Afuah's research focuses on understanding the determinants of firm performance in the face of disruptive technological changes. It explores how firms and countries can best create and capture value. It is about strategic innovation-about doing things differently to win or improve performance. Professor Afuah's other books include, Strategic Innovation: New Game Strategies for Competitive Advantage; Business Models: A Strategic Management Approach; Innovation Management: Strategies, Implementation and Profits; and Internet Business Models and Strategies: Text and Cases (co-authored with Christopher Tucci). Dr. Afuah's research has also been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Research Policy, R&D Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and Economics of Innovation and New Technology.