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Ask HN: What are the odds that a startup succeed in third world countries?

3 points by pal_25 ↗ HN
Startups are really hard to start ,let alone making them succeed. However,in developing countries like Kenya,where most people are poor ,developers always find it hard to get started and show their ideas to the world.Some cant even afford basic tools like good laptops,ethical boundaries and corruption also play a role in giving incentives to budding programmes with no contacts of middle or established members of the society.The so called local investors also bite huge 'chunks' of the pitching candidate.What do you guys think,is it possible to change africa with startups the same way their goovernments puts it on their papers?

3 comments

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ape-box
For many social, and economical reasons i believe a local startup will have more chances to become successful than a western one, but that seems obvious ...

If you are thinking/planning a system or efforts to encourage and support the growth of local startups, be aware that if that system will be truly made with capitalistic goals instead of economical development it will ruin and eat up everything making the country in worst state than before, and it will make the good minds flee the country, and that's history, past and modern ...

pal_25
We have many issues that the government [i] has tried to change but failed .[ii]hasnt seen as necessary to change.For instance,teachers are poorly paid ,health care systems are bad leave a lone roads.Education systems are the worst::sort of business for the upper class with average privileged students getting best courses in universities at the expense of poor and needy students who have outperformed them in national exams ..how can we solve these issues using startups?
ape-box
Well that look like a lot of opportunities ;)

People when pressed and in survival mode, will bring out brightness and genius to overcome issues, given all the troubles it will be really slow process, but when someone will raise and do something good, pride will come out, sense of community will bring people together, and this will help the project be successful, maybe not facebook successful (but it could be, i believe times are still too young now), but enough to live and make a difference.

In America, and Europe, people have it easy, so it's also easy to start a company and do something, people don't really know what means hard work and fight for surviving, so in the end most of the startups seen as successful fail; while in other less fortunate countries (in Europe too) people have it hard, so when a company is able to survive it will be way stronger, and even if it don't make the same money of the failed american company, it is successful as the people working in it will be able to live, and make a difference for someone in need.

Anyway to stay on the original question: i don't know what have said the government, and i can't really say much about as i'm pretty ignorant about Kenya and Africa in general, and besides i've never been there. But i know people, and i've seen in many occasions the brightness and will needed to succeed, those people simply didn't knew their capabilities and where still locked in the mindset of being nobody and so untitled to make a difference not only for themselves but for everyone.

I would like to continue this dialog ...