Synopses & Reviews
andldquo;A hopeful narrative about a continent on the rise.andrdquo; andmdash;New York Times Book Review andquot;For anyone who wants to understand how the African economy really works, The Bright Continent is a good place to start.andquot; andmdash;Reuters
Dayo Olopade knew from personal experience that Western news reports on conflict, disease, and poverty obscure the true story of modern Africa. And so she crossed sub-Saharan Africa to document how ordinary people deal with their daily challenges. She found what cable news ignores: a continent of ambitious reformers and young social entrepreneurs, driven by kanjuandmdash;creativity born of African difficulty. Itandrsquo;s a trait found in pioneers like Kenneth Nnebue, who turned cheap VHS tapes into the multimillion-dollar film industry Nollywood. Or Ushahidi, a technology collective that crowdsources citizen activism and disaster relief. A shining counterpoint to the conventional wisdom, The Bright Continent rewrites Africaandrsquo;s challenges as opportunities to innovate, and celebrates a history of doing more with less as a powerful model for the rest of the world.
andquot;[An] upbeat study of development in Africa...The book is written more in wonder at African ingenuity than in anger at foreign incomprehension.andquot; andmdash;The New Yorker
and#160;
Synopsis
William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks; some scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a remarkable true story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. It will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.
Synopsis
The path to progress in Africa lies in the surprising and innovative solutions Africans are finding for themselves
About the Author
Dayo Olopade is a Nigerian-American journalist coveringandnbsp;global politics, development policy, and technology.andnbsp;She consults onandnbsp;frontier market strategyandnbsp;within the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
andnbsp;
Dayo has been aandnbsp;correspondent in Washington and in Nairobi, reporting for publications includingandnbsp;The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, The New York Timesandnbsp;andandnbsp;The Washington Post. andnbsp;
andnbsp;
She holds BA, JDandnbsp;andandnbsp;MBA degrees from Yale University, and currently lives in New York.