Guest Author 
Oscar. H Blayton
CareTaker 
Aba Boy
Dave O'Cube
Don Thieme
Edward Echwalu
Emmanuel.K. Bensah
Ella Romanos
Mojolaoluwa Caxton-Naibi
Anthony Kila
Misi A.
Nzingha Smith
K A-T
Pamela Stitch
Paul Usungu
Sokari Ekine
Samantha Ofole-Price
Tomas Ernst
Augustine Pius Thliza
Thomas Gowans
Ugo Daniels
Veronica Henry
Vic 
Oluwole Akindutire
Xcroc 
William J. Zick
The 2nd Edition of Africa Enterprising Blog Carnival Opens
Welcome to the 2nd edition of the Africa Enterprising Blog Carnival.
This edition is unique because it coincides with the official launch of AfricanLoft as a platform for the global African and Afrophile community. The 2nd Africa Enterprising Blog Carnival addresses issues that relate to foreign aid, trade, business and entrepreneurship with focus on the African continent. Readers will also find assorted topics on business concepts and ideas under the Universal Business Tenet category.
As you peruse the summaries listed below, it is our desire that you visit the blogs to access the full posts. Please bear in mind that the purpose of this carnival will be defeated without some input from you, so, be bold to challenge, be frank to critique, and be free to compliment - as you deem fit. Thank you.
trade vs aid in africa
Benin Mwangi presents Is the Trade vs Aid Debate Missing Something? posted at beninmwangi.com, saying, “When we look across Africa’s blogosphere this whole question of Aid vs Trade looms large. So this piece begs the question, “what comes first in the trade vs aid argument?”
Jen Brea presents Africans to Bono: “For God’s sake please stop!” posted at Africabeat, saying, “Africans can and will be the agents of their own futures. This is at least what I gleaned by demonstration. Many of TED’s most controversial and entertaining moments were made by people like Andrew Mwenda and James Shikwati who used their 18 minutes talks to tear Aid a new one.”
Erik Hersman presents But, Where Were the Hippos!? posted at White African. saying, “The backstory here is from George Ayittey’s brilliant speech in Arusha, where he likened the TED Fellows and other entrepreneurs present as the “Cheetahs” willing to do anything, regardless of
government help, to succeed and make Africa better.”
Benin Mwangi presents Kenya, Amplifying the Trade Vs Aid Discussion posted at The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business, saying, “No story displays the chasm that has occurred between the two supporting camps like these two stories both coming from Kenya”
Omodudu presents My Dad, On Aid And Investment In Africa posted at AltNigeria Blog, saying, “Some blogger have come up with creative ways to honor fathers today. I simply asked my dad to guest blog. I asked him to weigh in on the current debate on Aid, Invest and Technology in Africa. He is
over twenty-five years deep in this debate.”
Benin Mwangi presents Zambian Head of State Joins Africas Trade -vs- Aid Debate posted at beninmwangi.com, saying, “This post celebrates the occasion of an African Head of State Writing a very well written piece on Trade vs Aid in Africa.”
entrepreneurship in Africa
Lifuchi Kalechi presents Make Money Online With Your Website Or BlogList posted at Make Money Online With Your Website Or BlogList, saying, “I am a blogger in the SADC region and hope this post will be helpful to fellow African bloggers using adsense.”
tim vang presents Two down… many to go! - C4-World A/S posted at C4-world A/S, saying, “Allen Kemigisha – Fruit & Vegetable Market Stall Allen’s business has been in existence for the last two years dealing in the sale of fruits of various kinds.”
Imnakoya presents Grandiose Parlor Bringing Business Opportunities to Life in Nigeria posted at Grandiose Parlor, saying, “This post delves into the small business scene in Nigeria highlighting the entrepreneurial pursuits of two individuals each of whom is fulfilling their own unique market niche.”
Africaincorp’s staff presents AFRICAINCORP: Afrifashion presents: Zulurose posted at AFRICAINCORP, saying, “The Zu is ” a mens and womens fashion label celebrating the unexpected metamorphosis of culture in its many colours. An eclectic marriage of metropolitan style, pattern, colour, tailoring, and old world charm. Zulu Rose caravans the crossroads of inspiration, imagination, and intuition in search of that perfect style to high light your inner image full of beauty”
Africaincorp’s staff presents AFRICAINCORP: 2007 Afriurban appetizers posted at AFRICAINCORP, saying, “This is a summary of the Events taking place in the Afriurban context. The socio-economic dynamics that have been shaping the continent of Africa in the past 10 years, are intriguing and should give us a lot of hope for the near future. The young and ambitious African must partake in the building of the vision of success,self-assertion and ownership. Africaincorp follows the money trail and covers the Afriurban movement.”
Africaincorp’s staff presents AFRICAINCORP: Africaincorp: wealth building through Investment posted at AFRICAINCORP, saying, “Access to resources, time,people,capital,knowledge,information,land etc.. is the key factor in wealth building and the next generation of workers,owners,investors and decision makers in Africa must clearly understand . The creation of a matrix that would channel
capital, information,knowledge and ownership into the hands of more young Africans should be the goal of our generation and the next to come”
Business and Investment in Africa
G. Kofi Annan presents What’s your Africa strategy? posted at Annansi Chronicles, saying, “Many of us can agree that today, Africa plays a major role in the development of the global economy. The magazine covers and celebrity reports are a small part of how Africa has become a major player.”
omodudu presents Africa’s Slice Of The Global Service Market posted at AltNigeria Blog, saying, “I read the Wall Street Journal article on off-shoring personal tasks, it became apparent to me that very little stood in the way of Africans, in terms of ripping the full dividends of this trend.”
Joshua Wanyama presents African Path posted at African Path, saying, “A review of African businesses and the opportunities that exist in investing in Africa.”
wilson ng presents Creating a Culture of Entrepreneurship posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, “I believe that irregardless of vocation, a person schooled with a mindset and culture of entrepreneurship will have better chances of success. What better place to start than to encourage that in school when he/she is young? In developing economies in Asia and AFrica, school administrator should do more to encourage it in the basic curricula of schools.”
universal business tenets
Stacey Derbinshire presents Why You Would Be VERY Wise To Start A Business While You Still Have Your Day Job posted at Starting a Small Home Business.
Chris Denny of Lead Optimize presents Top 3 Factors to Generate Sales Leads posted at Lead Optimize.com, saying, “Top 3 site factors to generate sales leads online.”
Warren Wong presents Do You Get Money? posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Do you “get” money? Did you know that if you leave your money in the bank gathering interest, you actually lose a little bit of it every year? Read this article to find out more!”
Mike Harmon presents
Article Syndication- The Sky is The Limit So Explore and Aim for the Sky posted at Basic Accounting, saying, “Article syndication is a very simple process wherein one gets to share their article among various online sites which helps to impart knowledge through the web.”
almomento presents Simple Steps to Discover Your True Destiny posted at BurstCreativity.
Matt Hanson presents Matt’s Creative Advertising Blog » Blog Archive » Printing Estimates - Harness These 5 Helpful Hints posted at Matt’s Creative Advertising Blog, saying, “Many online printers provide printing estimates for clients who visit their websites. Many of these of course are canvassing for the best prices…”
Tom Stanley presents Advantages Of A franchise Business posted at Tom’s Franchise Information Blog, saying, “The advent of franchising brought a big change in business. Many have since become rich because of franchising. Franchising has indeed many advantages.”
Jason Rakowski presents How To Avoid Common Pitfalls When Using Music On Hold For Your Business posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, “While on hold messaging is not a complicated product, it can be somewhat confusing for beginners because of all the available choices. This article will help you avoid the most common pitfalls that can trip up a newcomer who is looking to make the best decision for his - her business.”
Lori Prokop, Blog Manager presents Your Customer is an Asset posted at Rodney Burge - Marketing Strategies, saying, “Would this be of service to your readers? Thank you”
Stacey Derbinshire presents Three Life Saving Tips For New Businesses posted at Starting a Small Home Business, saying, “While entrepreneurs that are starting their new business typically look for ways to save money on everything from office space to
consulting services, there are some things that are worth the splurge and more often then not, can give you the competitive edge you need to succeed.”
Thomas Humes presents Cash Flow - Life Blood for Every Business posted at Wealth Building World, saying, “The purpose of this article is to familiarize business owners with a kind of financing that is unfamiliar to many people, Factoring. I will explain, in a simple yet comprehensive way, how to improve your companys cash flow.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of africa enterprising using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
looks good!
omodudu | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Will be back. This is going to take a while. I am really impressed with the coverage here. Very rounded I must say.
Emeka Okafor | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
In response to Omodudu’s “Africa’s Slice of the Global Market” one can say the fledgling steps are being made see here
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Thanks Omodudu. I guess one could say that it is representative of the most diverse and well rounded group of folks on the planet-ha ha…
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Thanks Emeka. I will take a look and its quite a coincidence that I just interviewed a business that does that type of work and will see if there might be a tie in with your post.
Thanks again
omodudu | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
I figured waiting to read all the articles and then writing a comprehensive comment will not work for me. I’d nibble at it a post at a time.
I just read Emeka’s comment Benin’s (first post). It is interesting that the idea of raising a charged enterpreniural class which would lead Africa to the next level is a rather popular idea. Yet very little is done in that area. NPR had something about this on air yesterday. It is also a running theme in one of my two favorite books, The World is flat(sort of worldwide perspective though) and The New New Thing (Silicon valleyish).
My point is that, there is sort of an agreement on the means by which Africa will lift itself out of its present state. Why is so little being done, and why are all the efforts so exclusive? Also why is there sort of an unwillingness amongst the players to work together? More has to be done A conference here and there would not do the trick. I believe there are some individuals here who are much more aware than I am about this issues. Can we get bullet points on the challenges that coordinators face when it comes to building a common platform? i am willing to explain further if I have to.
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Omodudu:
Please explain it Sir, I am one of those guys thats not good at figuring out what someone is trying to say. Which is quite ironic given my tendecies of beig vague sometimes too
Emeka Okafor | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
One of the first ideas that comes to mind is building bridges to existing entrepreneurial communities in a non-condescending manner. After all we want learn from them as much as assist if possible.Are there members of these communities we can include in these conversations? Get them to start blogging about what they do? Include and engage the younger generation? The learning process needs to be bi-directional and mutually reinforcing…These groups do not even realize what they have achieved, How many stories are there about the individual success stories of the Mourides?…or the manufacturer’s of Nnewi? or the fabricators of Suame Magazine in Ghana?…We must find a way of celebrating their success and participating in their evolution….
tim vang | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
this is extensive…. GREAT!
i need some more time to dig into all the different and exciting posts/blogs…
all the best,
tim
hash | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Great blog carnival! Man, those are some interesting links, I’m going to have to take an evening to read all of them.
Question: will the blog carnival be hosted at different blogs each week? If so, where can I sign up for a spot?
CareTaker | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
@ Emeka: AfricanLoft will be pleased to showcase/assist these people. How can they be identified? How can they be encouraged to tell their stories? What organization can help and what resources must be deployed to make this happen?
Timbuktu Chronicles and Africa Unchained have identified some, are there ways the contents on these sites and others be expanded to convey the stories beyond the mere 200 word blog postings?
The ‘folks in the trenches’ will definitely provide some valuable insight to this and several other conversations in the blogosphere.
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Great idea Caretaker. We should all talk more about this here or on the Google Group-it’s been on my mind for a while too.
Benin Mwangi | Jul 6, 2007 | Reply
Emeka:
Sorry for not responding to your comment. I think that this as you have indicated is a bit of an eveolutionary process and the further we go into it, the more developed our aparatus for spreading specific types of stories will get.
But my suggestion as it relates to that is if we did go with a 2 carnival per month format perhaps one could be dedicated only to the types of stories you are mentioning. Whislt the other could probably remain the same.
At any rate, I am open to further suggestions and am sure this might also hold for the other members of the group and or this section of the blogosphere.
As always, Emeka-you are always so insightful-thanks
Hash:
I answered you on the Africa Enterprising google group. But to summarize it, I’m open to changing the carnival format and believe that you and some of the other members might be too.
Emeka Okafor | Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Engaging entrepreneurial communities will involve but is not limited to the following:
-Interviews,writing about them as we are increasingly observing on the blogosphere.
-Identifying the young ‘cheetahs’ within them and bringing them up to speed a la, William Kamkwamba. Why is this important? Most of these communities are not exactly open to outsiders traipsing through,they tend to be very close knit.Nurturing homegrown champions will be invaluable in building bridges.
-I have alluded to this before, we need to identify the “Stars” for purposes of validation.
-Developing a language that is devoid of tireless mostly ineffectual ‘consultant-speak’..I have nothing against consultants I am one myself, this space needs different methods. For engagement we need to develop a vocabulary, that is practical and dead-on for it to be effective. Most of the engagement process will be pioneering, they are not that many precedents. It will be educative.
-Open our eyes. We tend not to observe what is around us and working as much as could.Take the New York City Mourides community that I was not aware of. They were the first group I saw giving the Chinese traders a run for their money in certain areas.Could we not look at their means and methods of operation, and suggest methods of formalizing and or improving their activities? How many ‘educated’ Africans have approached them as equals,and tried to understand how they do it? We are more likely to dismiss them, forgetting that everything from Goldman Sachs to Marks and Spencers had very similar roots.
These are some of my initial meandering thoughts….
Segun | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Interesting perspectives Emeka, will be great if the big media in Africa are aware of the value of this class of entrepreneurs. A simple documentary of the several small businesses in Lagos and Aba for instance will be a goos start.
Emeka Okafor | Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Segun, the point is not to wait for “big media”, but do it ourselves with increasingly powerful New Media tools.
Benin | Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
Emeka:
Thanks for challenging our ways of thinking on this and
I totally agree with you on not waiting for big media to step in and relay these stories to the world.
omodudu | Jul 10, 2007 | Reply
Reading Kofi’s post on why firms need an African strategy, a few thoughts come to mind.
African’s in diaspora need an African strategy even more than multinationals. AS a people we need a strategy easily understood by all players. Strong enough to make an impact yet flexible and nimble to be deployed by small groups. What is the role of the diaspora in the new economy?
Reading Emeka’s comment on Benin’s post.
I now understand or rather believe that Africa will not be lifted our of poverty by the West, and more interestingly Africa will not be released from the grips of poverty by the entire population. This deed will be carried out by a few who have taken it upon themselves to lead (more like choose to believe what appears impossible at the moment). This is why I tend to view the present activities in this area with some cynicism. A sort of De’Javu, we have seen this before. Side note: I read a piece in this weeks time magazine about how the MBA’s are hijacking the NGO’s.
On using the internet as a tool for social change in Africa. I think Africa more than any other continent stands to gain a lot from the present crop of online tools of collaboration and exchange of ideas. However it is my believe that the present mode of adoption which is just a clone of the models existing int he West would not work too well for Africa. Is there anyone out there that knows more about this?
Emeka Okafor | Jul 11, 2007 | Reply
I just had a chat with Rob Neuwirth author of Shadow cities he spent 3 months in Nigeria researching his latest project on Informal Economies. He recounted a number of stories about the inherent potential within the informal space…to get a taste of where he is coming from take a peek at this recent post
CareTaker | Jul 12, 2007 | Reply
The largest open-air market in the world - Lagos! I will comment more later…Thanks for sharing E!
CareTaker | Jul 12, 2007 | Reply
I think what Africa needs most, after watching Rob’s video, are social and political entrepreneurs.
Mike C | Jul 18, 2007 | Reply
Hi everyone,
I’m a half-Malagasy Canadian entrepreneur who wants to go back to my mother’s country to start up some businesses. Does anyone here know of any resources, especially regarding loans or grants that would be helpful to me?
Thank you,
MC
CareTaker | Jul 18, 2007 | Reply
MC: Harinjaka Andriankoto RATOZA the Malagasy blogger at http://harinjaka.com/weblog/ may be the best bet on how to proceed with your requests. Good luck.
Afro American | Oct 10, 2007 | Reply
I really impressed by this challenging topic that how a man can achieve his goal in his life.
Ashish | Oct 15, 2007 | Reply
this a nice way to achieve your goal in your life