China in Africa

Africa has been on my mind a bit lately, in part due to a wonderful (though likely quite controversial) article from last month's Fast Company, which I finally got around to reading.  The article touches on China's land grab on the African continent, telling a story that many will be fascinated to hear.

Certainly, part of the reason that China has been able to so aggressively go about acquiring raw materials from African countries is because of the relative lack of local industry in so many African countries.  I'll be posting some more thoughts on this soon, as Hernando de Soto's book, The Mystery of Capital, sparked some thinking, but also wanted to share the following TED talk that makes a similar point, though it comes from a different direction.

Addendum:

I should also note that, according to the Fast Company article, part of the reason for China's aggressive move into Africa has to do with an entirely different talent management challenge than is being faced in most of the rest of the World.  In China, the challenge isn't only producing enough skilled workers and managerial talent, it's also finding jobs for the millions of unskilled and unemployed that China is working to integrate into the country's middle class.