Bright Continent Breaking Rules & Making Change in Modern Africa

The path to progress in Africa lies in the surprising and innovative solutions Africans are finding for themselves

Africa is a continent on the move. Itandrsquo;s often hard to notice, thoughandmdash;the Western focus on governance and foreign aid obscures the individual dynamism and informal social adaptation driving the past decade of African development. Dayo Olopade set out across sub-Saharan Africa to find out how ordinary people are dealing with the challenges they face every day. She discovered an unexpected Africa: resilient, joyful, and innovative, a continent of DIY changemakers and impassioned community leaders.

Everywhere Olopade went, she witnessed the specific creativity born from African difficultyandmdash;a trait she began calling kanju. Itandrsquo;s embodied by bootstrapping innovators like Kenneth Nnebue, who turned his low-budget, straight-to-VHS movies into a multimillion-dollar film industry known as Nollywood. Or Soyapi Mumba, who helped transform cast-off American computers into touchscreen databases that allow hospitals across Malawi to process patients in seconds. Or Ushahidi, the Kenyan technology collective that crowdsources citizen activism and disaster relief.

The Bright Continent calls for a necessary shift in our thinking about Africa. Olopade shows us that the increasingly globalized challenges Africa faces can and must be addressed with the tools Africans are already using to solve these problems themselves. Africaandrsquo;s ability to do more with lessandmdash;to transform bad government and bad aid into an opportunity to innovateandmdash;is a clear ray of hope amidst the dire headlines and a powerful model for the rest of the world.

andldquo;A corrective to Africaandrsquo;s image as a dark, hopeless placeandhellip;A hopeful narrative about a continent on the rise.andrdquo; andmdash;The New York Times

andquot;The author gives a multitude of examples and a huge mass of fascinating detail. Her case is persuasive...for anyone who wants to understand how the African economy really works, he Bright Continent is a good place to start.andquot; andmdash;Reuters

andldquo;Bright Continent will change your view of Africa. Itand#39;s that simple. Dayo Olopade looks with the eyes of a first-generation Nigerian-American and sees a landscape of ingenuity, technological innovation, and grit. A lively and enjoyable read.andrdquo; andmdash;Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation and Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University

andldquo;[Olopade] seamlessly traverses the continent, threading a narrative that shows how African innovation is playing a vital role in its own developmentandhellip;This book is filled with numerous examples that ought to make you rethink your perceptions of Africa.andrdquo; andmdash;The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

andquot;Together, these maps form a new mental and strategic landscape, one based on possibilities, not merely perils, and we should be grateful to Olopade for her reimagined cartography.andquot; andmdash;The Plain Dealer

andquot;Dayo Olopade has written a book that bracingly lives up to its title. In it, an Africa we are all too unaccustomed to seeing comes vividly to life thanks to her restless eye and keen curiosity. It is one of local solutions born of necessity and local heroes who arise from even the most fragile soil.andquot; andmdash;Howard French, Associate Professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and author of A Continent for the Taking

andldquo;This book captures the complex thoughts of a whole generation of young Africans. Olapode shows Africa as it is, a complicated space occupied by real people with the desire and the power to shape our futures.andrdquo; andmdash;Uzodinma Iweala, author of Beasts of No Nation and editor of Ventures Africa Magazine

andldquo;The Bright Continent is a long overdue and much needed corrective to the dominant perception of Africa. It is a book loaded with revelations of heroic, and often ingenious lives, all of which are eloquently and poignantly brought to life through Dayoandrsquo;s brilliant observations.andrdquo; andmdash;Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and All Our Name

andquot;The Bright Continent is an absolute brightness. Sidestepping dead-end debates, the indefatigable Olopade maps out a contemporary Africa which is vital and self-reliant. Her definition of the Yoruba term kanju as and#39;specific creativity born from African difficultyand#39; will enter the English language. Through strong reporting and clear thinking, Olopade demonstrates how to improve the lives of African youth stuck in a purgatory of and#39;waithood.and#39; This is essential reading.andquot; andmdash;J.M. Ledgard, Director, Future Africa, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and longtime Africa correspondent, The Economist

andldquo;In her debut book, Nigerian-American journalist Olopade finds qualified cause for optimism about Africaandrsquo;s futureandhellip;A refreshingly hopeful argument, well-grounded in data and observationandmdash;of considerable interest to students of geopolitics, demographics and economic trends.andrdquo; andmdash;Kirkus

andquot;Nigerian-American journalist Olopadeandrsquo;s first book rebuts the view of Africa as mired in poverty, war, and failed aid projects, and instead offers a hopeful perspective.andquot; andmdash;Publishers Weekly

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andldquo;[An] upbeat study of development in Africaandhellip;Despite evident exasperation at Western interventions that fail to adapt to local systems, the book is written more in wonder at African ingenuity than in anger at foreign incomprehension.andrdquo; andmdash;The New Yorker

andldquo;[A] sweeping new workandhellip;A very ambitious book.andrdquo; andmdash;Michel Martin, Tell Me More

andldquo;An excellent introduction to contemporary sub-Saharan African society and the regionandrsquo;s economy. Olopadeandrsquo;s optimism is refreshing.andrdquo; andmdash;Foreign Affairs

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andldquo;[Olopade] invites her readers to peer past the biases that inform western stereotypes of Africa and Africansandhellip;Itandrsquo;s time for the West toandhellip;start looking for smart investments in the continentandrsquo;s abundant pool of intelligence and energy.andrdquo; andmdash;Boston Globe

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andldquo;[Olopade] seamlessly traverses the continent, threading a narrative that shows how African innovation is playing a vital role in its own development.andrdquo; andmdash;Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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andldquo;[Olopade gives] a face to African entrepreneurship, and her suggestionandhellip;that Africa can be the guidepost for how the world should tighten its fiscal belt and andlsquo;aim for the notch marked andldquo;Africaandrdquo;andrsquo; is exciting.andrdquo; andmdash;The Root

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andldquo;Olopade has a slew of insights that will feel spot-on to anyone familiar with Africaandmdash;or, for that matter, with almost any developing economyandhellip;[The Bright Continent] is an optimistic vision, and one thatandrsquo;s steadily gaining traction in policy debates.andrdquo; andmdash;Bookforum

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andldquo;An ode to the virtues of the small in economicsandhellip;[Olopade] gives a multitude of examples and a huge mass of fascinating detail. Her case is persuasiveandhellip;For anyone who wants to understand how the African economy really works, The Bright Continent is a good place to start.andrdquo; andmdash;Reuters

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andldquo;Bright Continent will change your view of Africa. Itand#39;s that simple. Dayo Olopade looks with the eyes of a first-generation Nigerian-American and sees a landscape of ingenuity, technological innovation, and grit. A lively and enjoyable read.andrdquo; andmdash;Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation and Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University

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andquot;Dayo Olopade has written a book that bracingly lives up to its title. In it, an Africa we are all too unaccustomed to seeing comes vividly to life thanks to her restless eye and keen curiosity. It is one of local solutions born of necessity and local heroes who arise from even the most fragile soil.andquot; andmdash;Howard French, Associate Professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and author of A Continent for the Taking

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andldquo;This book captures the complex thoughts of a whole generation of young Africans. Olopade shows Africa as it is, a complicated space occupied by real people with the desire and the power to shape our futures.andrdquo; andmdash;Uzodinma Iweala, author of Beasts of No Nation

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andldquo;The Bright Continent is a long overdue and much needed corrective to the dominant perception of Africa. It is a book loaded with revelations of heroic, and often ingenious lives, all of which are eloquently and poignantly brought to life through Dayoandrsquo;s brilliant observations.andrdquo; andmdash;Dinaw Mengestu, author of All Our Names

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andquot;The Bright Continent is an absolute brightness. Sidestepping dead-end debates, the indefatigable Olopade maps out a contemporary Africa which is vital and self-reliant. Her definition of the Yoruba term kanju as and#39;specific creativity born from African difficultyand#39; will enter the English language. Through strong reporting and clear thinking, Olopade demonstrates how to improve the lives of African youth stuck in a purgatory of and#39;waithood.and#39; This is essential reading.andquot; andmdash;J.M. Ledgard, longtime Africa correspondent, The Economist

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andldquo;A new mental and strategic landscape, one based on possibilities, not merely perilsandhellip;We should be grateful to Olopade.andrdquo; andmdash;The Plain Dealer

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andldquo;A painstakingly researched and lively tour of the people, institutions, and ideas currently at work on the continent.andrdquo; andmdash;The Africa Report

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andldquo;An exhilarating book. [Olopadeandrsquo;s] style is refreshingly breezy, and displays an inherent confidence that belies her youthandhellip;As this book successfully illustrates, the continent is following a trajectory that, despite all the ongoing challenges, is steadily in ascendance.andrdquo; andmdash;African Business Magazine

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andldquo;A refreshingly hopeful argument, well-grounded in data and observation.andrdquo; andmdash;Kirkus and#160;

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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

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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.

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Why the world needs a new map of Africa

2.and#160;Kanjuand#8194;16

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Walking the fine line between genius and crime

3.and#160;Fail Statesand#8194;34

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;How bad borders made bad neighbors

4.and#160;Stuff We Donand#8217;t Wantand#8194;52

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;The mistakes that make do-gooding worse

5.and#160;The Family Mapand#8194;67

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;How Africans rely on the original social network

6.and#160;The Technology Mapand#8194;91

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Leapfrogs and lessons from Africaand#8217;s digital moment

7.and#160;The Commercial Mapand#8194;121

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;How to buyand#8212;and selland#8212;a better future in Africa

8.and#160;The Natural Mapand#8194;157

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Why Africa will feed, fuel, and shape the world

9.and#160;The Youth Mapand#8194;191

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Harvesting Africaand#8217;s demographic dividend

10.and#160;Two Publicsand#8194;217

and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Whoand#8217;s in charge, anyway?

and#160;and#160;and#160; Acknowledgmentsand#8194;237

and#160;and#160;and#160; Notesand#8194;239

and#160;and#160;and#160; Indexand#8194;264