Wednesday
January 15
2020

Viewpoint: Today’s Africa Is the China of 20 Years Ago

By Jack Ma

I set foot in Africa for the first time in 2017. As Special Advisor to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, I have visited Kenya and Rwanda. Having done a lot of research before leaving, I thought I knew what to expect – and hoped to get out of my comfort zone.

I was not used to analyzing the situation in a foreign country. To my surprise, it was not much different from what I had experienced at home in China.

On each of my trips, I try to meet young entrepreneurs. And the continent was no exception. So I talked to African entrepreneurs. I discovered their personal stories, their dreams. And suddenly I found myself propelled twenty years back in time, to the time when Alibaba was founded.

Photo courtesy of rawpixel.

Source: The Africa Report (link opens in a new window)

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