Presidents Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Uhuru
Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) at
the East African Community Heads of State Summit in Nairobi. PHOTO |
JEFF ANGOTE
By: Musabi Muteshi
MUSABI MUTESHI
Many African economies are growing at double
digit figures; at least some of them have been. But yet Africans aren't
dominating the world’s podiums imparting wisdom to failing or
struggling economies on the "How To's".
Instead, we get the usual suspects coming to Africa to tell us how to improve our economies.
Inspired by this situation, I sought to understand what was going on. And maybe even as I am left with more questions than answers, there continue to be intriguing thoughts as well as anecdotes that range from movie making to health making.
Some of you may have read an earlier commentary I did where I mention Italian women trying on 77 pairs of shoes before they chose one. Italian shoemakers have had to rise to the challenge of a demanding domestic client and become the best in the world. The lesson being that if you first build a consumer base at home, then the world will come knocking at your door.
In the movie, “Field of Dreams”, the main character interprets a voice he hears in his dream that says, “If you build it, he will come” to mean that he should follow his dream to build a baseball field and his hero players will come.
This brings me to the world of film and the importance of the domestic market. Hollywood is arguably the best known movie making centre in the world. India’s version of Hollywood, Bollywood, has since grown to dominate the globe. The new kid on the block has come in the form of Nigeria’s Nollywood. We also have our Hillywood here.
According to UNESCO, based on a 2006 survey of feature length movies, Bollywood topped the list with 1,091, Nigeria had 872 and 3rd place went to the United States which produced 485. Nothing captures the pomp, celebrity glamour and mega bucks that characterise that industry than Hollywood.
And so it is remarkable that Nigeria, in a short 20 years has managed to surpass, even if not in revenues, the United States in the movie making business.
When I think of Hollywood what comes to mind is the once super-popular genre, Westerns; described as a “uniquely American staple”. The genre goes back over a 100 years starting with Silent-era movies, to Classic westerns to Spaghetti westerns.
On the other side of the world, Bollywood’s beautiful movie stars play out family dramas and romantic love. Where Hollywood’s Westerns have gun-toting, rugged men, Bollywood has singing, dancing heroes and heroines. Then there are Nollywood’s magic-steeped stories acted out with authenticity and a certain brashness.
On the economic side, the ‘Westerns’ were traditionally made in less than 10 days and on a shoe string budget. Nollywood churns out cheap production movies in less than a week and saves money by going straight to video. Bollywood too has a high percentage of low budget movies being produced.
None of these highly successful industries were trying to appeal to a global audience. If anything, it was the opposite; their target audience was their own people. It is estimated that 56% of Nollywood’s films are in local languages. As one famous Nigerian actor said, “they reflect themes Africans can relate to, instead of Hollywood’s version of the continent”.
When Rwanda decided to create a home-grown health system to give all its residents equitable access to health, everyone said it couldn’t be done. Not by a poor African country.
Yet, a country that has rebuilt itself in 20 years, has managed to showcase a health system at a cost (average US$ 55 per person) that is much lower than other African countries that also receive higher amounts of Aid money for health than Rwanda does.
In 2013, The Atlantic, a renowned US-based magazine, in an article on Rwanda’s remarkable health care system stated, “Over the last ten years, Rwanda’s health system development has led to the most dramatic improvements of health in history... if the United States extended health care into the community like Rwanda, care for chronic diseases would markedly improve while costs would over time drop.”
Nollywood employs 1 million people and has attracted World Bank funding for job creation. Nigeria has created a movie industry that is affordable to its citizens and gives equitable access to movie goers.
And for health systems, I second The Atlantic when it concludes that “Innovations in resource-squeezed places like Rwanda give hope that health care can be both equitable and affordable.”
From an African-grown movie industry to an African-grown health system these creative approaches have the world watching.
So it is high time then for those African pundits to travel the world and teach flailing countries the How To’s of double-digitally growing their economies.
Currently based in Rwanda, the writer comments about people, organizations and countries whose stories create a chrysalis for ideas.
Instead, we get the usual suspects coming to Africa to tell us how to improve our economies.
Inspired by this situation, I sought to understand what was going on. And maybe even as I am left with more questions than answers, there continue to be intriguing thoughts as well as anecdotes that range from movie making to health making.
Some of you may have read an earlier commentary I did where I mention Italian women trying on 77 pairs of shoes before they chose one. Italian shoemakers have had to rise to the challenge of a demanding domestic client and become the best in the world. The lesson being that if you first build a consumer base at home, then the world will come knocking at your door.
In the movie, “Field of Dreams”, the main character interprets a voice he hears in his dream that says, “If you build it, he will come” to mean that he should follow his dream to build a baseball field and his hero players will come.
This brings me to the world of film and the importance of the domestic market. Hollywood is arguably the best known movie making centre in the world. India’s version of Hollywood, Bollywood, has since grown to dominate the globe. The new kid on the block has come in the form of Nigeria’s Nollywood. We also have our Hillywood here.
According to UNESCO, based on a 2006 survey of feature length movies, Bollywood topped the list with 1,091, Nigeria had 872 and 3rd place went to the United States which produced 485. Nothing captures the pomp, celebrity glamour and mega bucks that characterise that industry than Hollywood.
And so it is remarkable that Nigeria, in a short 20 years has managed to surpass, even if not in revenues, the United States in the movie making business.
When I think of Hollywood what comes to mind is the once super-popular genre, Westerns; described as a “uniquely American staple”. The genre goes back over a 100 years starting with Silent-era movies, to Classic westerns to Spaghetti westerns.
On the other side of the world, Bollywood’s beautiful movie stars play out family dramas and romantic love. Where Hollywood’s Westerns have gun-toting, rugged men, Bollywood has singing, dancing heroes and heroines. Then there are Nollywood’s magic-steeped stories acted out with authenticity and a certain brashness.
On the economic side, the ‘Westerns’ were traditionally made in less than 10 days and on a shoe string budget. Nollywood churns out cheap production movies in less than a week and saves money by going straight to video. Bollywood too has a high percentage of low budget movies being produced.
None of these highly successful industries were trying to appeal to a global audience. If anything, it was the opposite; their target audience was their own people. It is estimated that 56% of Nollywood’s films are in local languages. As one famous Nigerian actor said, “they reflect themes Africans can relate to, instead of Hollywood’s version of the continent”.
When Rwanda decided to create a home-grown health system to give all its residents equitable access to health, everyone said it couldn’t be done. Not by a poor African country.
Yet, a country that has rebuilt itself in 20 years, has managed to showcase a health system at a cost (average US$ 55 per person) that is much lower than other African countries that also receive higher amounts of Aid money for health than Rwanda does.
In 2013, The Atlantic, a renowned US-based magazine, in an article on Rwanda’s remarkable health care system stated, “Over the last ten years, Rwanda’s health system development has led to the most dramatic improvements of health in history... if the United States extended health care into the community like Rwanda, care for chronic diseases would markedly improve while costs would over time drop.”
Nollywood employs 1 million people and has attracted World Bank funding for job creation. Nigeria has created a movie industry that is affordable to its citizens and gives equitable access to movie goers.
And for health systems, I second The Atlantic when it concludes that “Innovations in resource-squeezed places like Rwanda give hope that health care can be both equitable and affordable.”
From an African-grown movie industry to an African-grown health system these creative approaches have the world watching.
So it is high time then for those African pundits to travel the world and teach flailing countries the How To’s of double-digitally growing their economies.
Currently based in Rwanda, the writer comments about people, organizations and countries whose stories create a chrysalis for ideas.
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