Africa's Most Entrepreneurial Ethnic Groups

LightYagami · 2017-01-31T14:04:21+00:00

Igbo of Nigeria The Igbos of Nigeria are Africa's most energetic and most entrepreneurial people. They are not ancient traders but emerged much more recently with the onset of the British colonialism. Through sheer grit, hard work and a talent for spotting new opportunities, they emerged as the dominant traders and business leaders as Nigeria raced towards independence in the mid 50s. The Igbo dominance of Nigeria's commerce and industry was one of the reasons that led to the Biafran war. Today you can find Igbo traders all over the world from South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, China, Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ireland, Vietnam, India amongst others. They are mostly merchants although a significant number have diversified into industry, banking, and transportation and service businesses. Researchers have identified the Igbos along with the Ashkenazi Jews and the Swiss Protestants as the people with the greatest achievement motivation in the world. Kikuyu of Kenya Like Nigeria's Igbos, Kenya's Kikuyu established businesses with the onset of colonialism. Since Kenya's pre-colonial economy was entirely in the hand of white settlers, many Kikuyu businesses emerged following Kenya's independence in 1963. Today, the Kikuyu run businesses straddling virtually all sectors of the Kenyan economy ranging from transportation, retail trade, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, and much more. Kikuyu business communities can be found in virtually all East African cities such as Kampala, Kigali, Juba, Kinshasa, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam and in countries such as the United States, Britain and China. The Somali With their country in shambles for over two decades, one can easily assume that the Somali must be the most impractical people with the worst management skills. But if their success in business is put into consideration, nothing could be further from the truth. The Somalis rank amongst some of Africa's most entrepreneurial communities. They mainly operate as merchants owning several stalls and are dominant in import-export trade due to their networks in Dubai and Guangzhou. You will find Somalis in businesses such as imports of clothes, shoes, watches, laptops and other manufactured goods mainly from Asia. Export trader mainly involves miraa or khat to Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years, many Somalis have diversified into transportation, hospitality and banking. The Chagga of Tanzania Numbering just 2 million people, Tanzania's Chagga are known for their great entrepreneurial skills and are the wealthiest ethnic community in Tanzania. They are also one of the most educated people in Tanzania. Together with their prowess in harnessing agriculture, the Chagga are great merchants and are present in almost every corner of the country. They have massive financial power in Tanzania and own businesses ranging from banks, insurance companies, tourist resorts, airlines (Precision Air) and are players in many other sectors of the economy. Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast From the 15th century to the 19th century the Akan people dominated gold mining and trading in the region and, from the 17th century on, they were among the most powerful groups in west Africa. Akan Jungle Warfare, The Third Anglo-Empire of Ashanti War. The Graphic 1874 This wealth in gold attracted European traders.Initially the Europeans were Portuguese but, eventually the Dutch and British joined in the quest for Akan gold. Groups such as the Benin Empire in modern day Nigeria and states in Central Africa would serve as intermediaries who waged wars on neighboring states in their geographic area to capture people and sell them as slaves to Europeans(Portuguese) who subsequently sold the enslaved people along with guns to Akans states in exchange for Akan gold.[15] Akan gold was also used to purchase slaves from further up north via the Trans-Saharan route. The Akan purchased slaves in order to help clear the dense forests within Akanland.[15] About a third of the population of many Akan states were enslaved people. The Akans went from buyers of slaves to selling slaves as the dynamics in Akanland and the New World changed. Thus, the Akan people played a considerable role in supplying Europeans with slaves for the trans-Atlantic slave trade.[16] Ghana later apologized to the descendents of slaves for the role some of its people may have played in the slave trade. Akan people, especially the Ashanti, fought against European colonists to maintain autonomy including many Anglo-Ashanti wars. the war of the Golden Stool, and other similar battles. By the early 1900s all of Akanland in Ghana was a colony or protectorate of the British while the lands in the Ivory Coast was under the French. On 6 March 1957, following the decolonization from the British under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, the Gold Coasts Akanland was joined to British Togoland, and the Nothern region, Upper East region and Upper West region of the Gold Coast to form Ghana.[19] Ivory Coast gained independence on 7 August 1960. Africa's Most Entrepreneurial Ethnic Groups

Thread starter LightYagami
Start date Jan 31, 2017

LightYagami

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Africa's Most Entrepreneurial Ethnic Groups

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