
Agony of an African programmer - ilhackernews
http://www.iafrikan.com/2014/04/03/agony-of-an-african-programmer/
======
jwr
I would gladly start working with programmers in Africa. I'm based in Europe
(Poland), and for a long time I've been thinking about how we're working with
people around the globe while completely ignoring the huge continent that is
right within ±2h of our timezone.

The problem begins with the word "Africa". Obviously, this is a meaningless
word, describing an entire continent full of radically different countries.
And yet we use it. I know how I get annoyed when my country gets generalized
as "Eastern Europe" (first, we're Central Europe, and second, countries in
this part of Europe are quite different from each other). I can't even imagine
what it feels to be thrown into an "Africa" bucket.

Then there is the issue of whom to work with (and where), how to start, how to
build trust. It's just immensely difficult. I know next to nothing about
African countries, much less about major cities, good schools, places where I
could find programmers and business partners.

I am hoping for more ties between European and African developers and
entrepreneurs, so that we can start working together. Which would hopefully
make the life of an African programmer easier, at least on a practical
(economic) level.

~~~
wilsonfiifi
You could probably get in touch with the trade representative of any the
embassy of the country you are interested in. That would most likely be a good
starting point to get general information.

In Ghana a few good points of contact would be:

Ghana Consulate Warsaw: [http://www.worldembassy.us/embassy/ghana-poland-
warsaw.html](http://www.worldembassy.us/embassy/ghana-poland-warsaw.html)

Google Ghana:

Mark Davies: [http://markdavies.net/](http://markdavies.net/)

Ghana Telecom University College: [http://gtuc.edu.gh/](http://gtuc.edu.gh/)

Meltwater: [http://meltwater.org/](http://meltwater.org/)

University of Science and Technology:
[http://www.knust.edu.gh](http://www.knust.edu.gh)

------
chestnut-tree
The patchy and expensive internet access that many people around the world
experience really emphasises the importance of offline or native apps. There's
a relentless (and in my view unnecesary) push by many technology companies to
run everything online as if it's some natural progression we should all be
moving towards. Some of us, even with broadband access, don't want to run apps
in the cloud, (where everything we do is gleefully tracked and recorded). It's
clearly to the benefit of many companies to push for an "online first"
approach, but I feel it's unsuitable for many apps. I'm not convinced it's a
better experience for users either.

~~~
rodgerd
> I'm not convinced it's a better experience for users either

It's a weird situation where we have vast power available on our local
environments and burn it all to run JavaScript VMs to access huge server farms
for functionality which in many cases was already available in local
applications.

~~~
null_ptr
It's all about moving the software market from an _owning model_ to a _renting
model_. If you depend on their online service to always be around and
available to you in order to access _your data_ and get things done, they have
a tighter leash on you. Not to mention that cloud apps make it that much
easier to data mine usage, pander advertisements, and squeeze pennies out of
users at every opportunity.

------
dougk7
This article really nailed it. I spent two months last year in the D.R Congo
and in those 2 months I had approximately only 4 hours of coding.

Electricity was reliable only between 11PM to 5AM and we spent New year's eve
in the dark.

My data provider had a special 3G plan where you get 1Gb data between 12AM and
6AM for $1. This worked well for the first 2 weeks only then connection became
non-existent. The only thing the provider had to say was "sorry but we don't
have coverage in your area."

Yet I met some brilliant folks who would make amazing programmers if only they
had access to all the resources we get with reliable internet and electricity.
I spoke with many of them about starting a computer club where we meet weekly,
share ideas and learn from each other. Some were kin but many were skeptical
because they're used to unkept promises.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the state has installed fiber optic in some parts
the capital city but nobody wants to use it because they know the government
will abuse it and extort millions from users. And the country's ccTLD .cd is
still one of the most expensive in the world.

~~~
malandrew
I wonder if Joey Hess has any advice he could offer to people in such a
situation. He's obviously optimized how to be productive out in the middle of
no where with limited network connectivity.

I reckon a big piece of being productive involves learning how to get as many
needed resources available offline as possible. If you have offline resources,
your biggest hurdle is limited to electricity availability, which I imagine
can be solved with batteries and renewable energy.

------
matt__rose
Africa is a big place. From what I hear, Nairobi is one of the most
interesting places to be an entrepreneur these days. Yes, there are huge
challenges all over africa including, but not limited to, corruption,
unreliable power, political instability, and terrible infrastructure.

But this very constraint is what drives projects like M-PESA, and Ushahidi,
and BRCK.

Also, Software Developers in the US and Europe don't necessarily make 100,000
Dollars. In some spots you'd be luck y to make half that.

~~~
doktrin
> _Also, Software Developers in the US and Europe don 't necessarily make
> 100,000 Dollars. In some spots you'd be luck y to make half that._

This is correct. Moreover, European salaries are also often lower than those
in the US tech hubs.

I would also go so far as to say that nowhere in the US does a median web
developer's salary afford her/him a particularly luxurious lifestyle. Salaries
are always adjusted, among other things, for regional cost of living.

When I made 6 figures in Washington DC, it afforded me roughly the same
standard of living I have in Pittsburgh while making $30k less. That is to say
: access to a studio or 1-bedroom apartment, a low cost vehicle and the
ability to socialize occasionally while still contributing modestly towards my
savings.

~~~
wobbleblob
Here in Western Europe, earning $100,000 per year would be exceptional. You
would have to be both self employed and a highly valued rockstar developer to
make anything in that ballpark. A third to half that much is more common, and
that doesn't take cost of living into account. Paying $15,000 a year in rent
and another $10,000 in utilities for less than 1000 sqft of living space,
another few thousand per year for a parking license, about $5000 a year in
road tax etc. A California cost of living on a Mississippi income.

~~~
troels
Europe is a diverse place - From my experience, 100K isn't unreasonable for a
seasoned programmer in London or in most of scandinavia. You'd be lucky to get
half that in the less well-off countries, even within EU. And outside of EU,
well ..

------
randunel
This description sounds a lot like eastern europe :) When I used to live
there, electricity was only available when it wasn't raining. The internet was
really crappy and it used to cost a pretty big percentage of my salary.
Investors were practically non existent, and the brain drain took its toll on
any innovation attempt (alongside the corruption). I have now left eastern
europe for a better western country, and I have to face their '1st world'
complaints. A brit does not, can not understand what that is like. I think the
same goes for americans. Feel free to downvote your ignorance :)

~~~
guard-of-terra
I can totally relate to this, but it gets better, doesn't it? Today Internet
is often faster and cheaper in the eastern europe than in the west. We no
longer need computer books so much. As for brain drain, it's more of an
opportunity if you're a developer.

On the other hand, we have every piece of software available in the pirated
form and had no shame of using that. Haven't we?

~~~
leaveyou
he's very probably exaggerating the electricity thing and yes the internet is
better today in romania (where he left from) than in many other west european
countries mostly due to brand new communication infrastructure and a booming
IT sector.

~~~
randunel
@leaveyou exaggerating? really? Otopeni had power outages during most
rainfalls, although it's neighboring Bucharest. I still talk to people there
(relatives) complaining about this situation in 2014. I know that the capital
city had it easy, and probably still does, along with other major cities. But
the only internet available in small cities was via copper phone lines. I
could go on about this forever, we had to use electricity generators and
diesel heaters just 10 km away from the capital city. I guess some people take
a lot for granted :P

------
KhalPanda
> A web and software developer in Africa earns from $10,000 to $20,000 dollars
> per annum whereas their colleagues in Europe and the US earns at least
> $100,000 dollars per year.

"at least $100,000 dollars per year"

..."at least $100,000 dollars per year"

Where can I find one of these mythical minimum-100k-salary programming jobs,
without having 10+ years of experience and working for a massive tech company?

Source: UK twenty-something.

~~~
paolomaffei
In London with 5 years experience that's a reasonable estimation for web
developers, especially if you are contracting

~~~
V-2
If anything, that's an average for well-seasoned developers in one of the best
paying cities in Europe. Not a minimum salary ("at least") of a regular
programmer in Europe in general.

------
V-2
While 100k (especially as a minimum treshold) is an overestimate even for
richest European countries, "Europe" is not equal to "just Western Europe" or
"just a bunch of richest countries in Western Europe", as some seem to think.

Apart from the UK, Switzerland or Germany, there are countries like Greece and
Portugal, and there's Central and Eastern Europe, too.

Median programmer salary in Poland is 5500 zl, which is about 3900 zl after
deductions and 1 USD = ~3 zl, so it's 22 thousands per anum (gross pay) or
15.6 grand net pay.

Grass is always greener, huh?

~~~
wobbleblob
I can tell you from experience that anything close to 100k would be an
exceptional salary in Western Europe (Germany, Benelux) as well, depending on
how you factor in the exchange rate. If I simply multiply my income in EUR by
1.4 (average exchange rate vs USD) it doesn't look that bad, but you can only
really take advantage of that when mail ordering something from the US or Asia
under the minimum amount to owe import duties. You generally spend a euro like
you would a dollar in the states.

------
Havoc
Working without stable power is such a hassle. Good luck coding something
complex with a diesel generator going brrrrr a couple of meters away and all
the UPSs in the building going wild. Or all the restaurants just shut down
because the roads washed away and power is out for days on end. So no dinner.
Or you find a place still serving but you end up with food poisoning because
they can't cook properly in those conditions. True story.

------
graemian
Get out of Africa. Africa will steal your life.

If you choose to stay in Africa and have your potential limited by silly
things like bad Internet and no electricity, then make that choice
consciously, and for good reasons, like wanting to be near family. If you stay
because you feel some deeper connection to Africa because you were born there,
get over it. Get out of your comfort zone, live your own life. Consider
carefully the costs of maintaining that irrational connection. Personally, I
think it's a cop out, an excuse to be mediocre. It's a global world, stop
thinking locally.

What would Elon Musk have achieved had he stayed in Africa? Substantially
less. Get yourself into an environment that is supportive of your dreams and
goals, not one that works against you.

~~~
pjc50
You've not noticed the massive barriers to legal immigration being built in
the West, have you?

~~~
graemian
You've found an excuse to give up on your dreams, have you?

~~~
pjc50
I'm in the West looking out..

------
lgleason
I am based in the US but travel to South Africa a few times a year. The tech
community there is strong. Though I haven't had my feet on the ground in Kenya
I also hear that there are some amazing things happening there. Startups like
Soko.com come to mind.

Growing these areas will help. With that being said Africa is a large
continent and a large portion of it lacks the basic infrastructure that we are
used to. For example I met a guy through a friend who's entire business is
setting up and maintaining generators for lodges and other businesses in
northern Botswana. He was telling me that there are many areas up there where
there is no access to a power grid so your only option is to have a generator
(or solar farm) for power.

With that being said some of these challenges have also spawned some
interesting solutions. There is a reason why Whatsapp sold for the amount that
it did. It is really exciting to see technology begin to make it's way to this
continent. The rest will come with time.

------
wallzz
I think the article is plein of cliché about the africa: electricity, internet
price ?!! seriously these things have been improved in most of african
countries especially in the north of Africa (Ghana has the fastest internet
speed in africa ), and now its much more an advantage than of disadvantage for
tech companies.especially for salaries and low fees.

The question that I looked for an answer for in the article is : where is the
silicon valleys of Africa?, I know that there have been many attempts to
create tech hubs , like the "cyber parks" in Algeria and Tunisia, where you
can rent offices with a symbolic price and create your startup where the
process is covered by professionals of different fields (juridique,financial,
banks ...) , but these cyber parks remains pretty much empty , or just
occupied by big international companies selling their stuffs or promoting dead
technologies to young students (like Microsoft)

~~~
atmosx
I wonder if creating the environment is enough. The thing that valley has and
you can't find around is investors: From seed money to angels. Every region
has 2 or 3 but that's about it. The culture is different and you can't change
that overnight. Not to mention that Europeans are way more skeptical/prudent
when it comes investments anyway compared to USA.

~~~
lgleason
I volunteered at a Startup Weekend in Johannesburg last year and do agree with
this statement. With that being said I do think that the investors or starting
to get more tech savvy.

My family on my fiancee's side is from South Africa and I regularly travel
back and forth between South Africa and the US. Whenever I'm there I try to
line the trips up with tech conferences and/or local meetup groups. South
Africa has a strong tech community that is doing really interesting things.

The thing that surprised me was that on my last trip I found out that one of
my fiancee's family members is a investor in a startup. This guy is not very
tech savvy, but even he could see the possibilities. Does the community still
have a ways to go, yes. But with that being said I do think they will get
there.

Also, the stuff happening in Cape Town is really exciting.

~~~
buyx
South Africa has serious structural issues preventing a tech revolution: a
rotten school system, a welfare-based economy with a tiny tax base, that is
dependent on credit-driven consumer demand rather than production,
underinvestment in infrastructure, and government with a huge mandate, that is
too timid/rent-seeking to change things (heaven help us if our Proportional
Representation system fragments into something like those of Israel or Italy),
big business that has a long tradition of collusion and price-fixing, a white
minority that is hell-bent on maintaining the status quo, and a union movement
that cripples job creation. Previously, South Africa was a resource-driven
economy - there are limited traditions of entrepreneurship.

The chances are good that the African startup revolution, if it comes, won't
start in South Africa.

------
FD3SA
The trouble with software is that, of all industries, it has the lowest
barrier to entry and the lowest capital costs. Crucially, the marginal cost of
deploying software across the globe is next to nothing. This is why the
Microsoft stack is so dominant worldwide. It was so easy to export when it had
a monopoly in the US, that Microsoft had nothing to lose and everything to
gain by spreading its products across the globe.

African countries are not the only nations lacking in indigenous technical
solutions. A place like Canada has over the years lost all of its comparative
advantage in the technology sector to massive US companies.

One of the many consequences of "free trade".

------
wilsonfiifi
This article is an interesting read that I can relate to, moreover, the author
is from Ghana where I currently reside so I understand the challenges he's
referring to. I however think that the issues raised are the same generalist
ones being made about business/entrepreneurship in Africa that don't go deep
enough to address the root causes of the challenges, the solutions successful
people are implementing and some possible solutions that are yet to be
explored.

Before I go any further I would like to state first that I'm speaking from the
point of view of a Ghanaian entrepreneur and not an African entrepreneur
because I am more familiar with the situation here at home and I would only be
speculating about what transpires in other African nations.

Cost of equipment:

\------------------

It's true that the duty slapped on the importation of IT equipment makes you
wonder what the rational is because I was under the impression that one taxed
heavily the importation of luxury goods or items that are manufactured locally
to protect indigenous industries. However the market is flooded with used
computers/laptops from abroad that are cheap and can get the job done (albeit
a bit slower that one would prefer). A core 2 duo desktop with a 15" lcd
monitor and a UPS will set you back Ghc700 ($260).

But if the cost is still prohibitive then you have to come up with an
alternative solution. For example, when I got my first freelance project, I
couldn't immediately afford a pc so I leased one from an internet cafe and
agreed to share the work and revenue with the owner.

Availability of learning material:

\----------------------------------

I think IT is one of the few industries where so much leaning resources are
available online for free and more so now with the advent of MOOC. If you
don't have an internet connection at home or a usb modem then go the an
internet cafe.

PayPal blacklisting:

\--------------------

Now this is a very annoying and unfortunate situation! West Africa is made up
of the following countries: Benin. Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal,
Sierra Leone and Togo
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa)).
Of all the listed countries PayPal isn't in 4, namely: Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory
Coast and Liberia ([https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/country-
worldwide](https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide)). One of the
reasons PayPal doesn't want to do business with us is because of credit card
fraud which I think is a rather lazy excuse. If Skrill can make it work then
really...

However iTunes, Skrill, iStockPhoto, Hetzner.de, Linode, AWS, Rackspace,
Register.com, Gandi among others all accept visa cards from Ghana so you can
get by without PayPal (although you can't register your copy of Sublime Text
so you have to I've with the annoying reminders or switch to Komodo IDE).

Banks here don't issue Visa Credit cards willy nilly but you can more easily
apply for an international Visa Debit card and if your bank doesn't offer one
then change to another institution!

I'm going to end this comment here because it's getting too long and I'm
running on a UPS (lol) but my main point is that yes, there are challenges but
they are surmountable. You either solve them head on or work around them but
there is always a solution. And besides entrepreneurship is all about the fun
of solving challenges anyway so come over to Ghana and have some REAL Fun!

~~~
buyx
Regarding fraud, I think that African (huge generalisation) governments just
don't seem to take it seriously enough. Even in South Africa, where every SIM
card should be registered, it isn't uncommon to see phishing emails with local
numbers.

Companies also don't really care: phones stolen in one African country are
sold in others (South Africa to Nigeria seems to be one popular route), and
blacklists aren't shared cross-border. In South Africa, SIM-swap scams result
in people's bank accounts being cleared out with cellular networks and banks
both disclaiming responsibility.

Until the attitude to this sort of fraud changes, I don't blame payment
companies for staying away from Africa.

~~~
BrandonMarc
Very true. PayPal has an incentive to handle _more_ transactions, not fewer
... so making the deliberate decision to blacklist a region wouldn't happen
lightly, wouldn't happen without careful study, and likely would be revisited
from time to time.

The article writer speaks in this general direction, actually:

 _It is also high time our governments start to stand firmly behind young
African men and women developers ... It is not enough to congratulate them
vocally of their achievements, it will be right if you can support them with
your resources be it financially, intellectually, skills and much more._

I would call taking their reputation seriously and dealing with the problems
falling under the "much more" category.

------
darronz
The author forgot to mention something; Finding good staff.

Finding staff is difficult because of the scarcity of developers and anyone
talented almost always has a job paying far more than a startup can afford.

Training juniors is the only alternative, but in doing so your company ends up
being a training shop for other companies to headhunt from.

~~~
wilsonfiifi
I totally agree with you on this. We had the same problem with recruiting
talented staff when we started. We ended up hiring graduates who where on a 1
year National Service Scheme. We spent a quarter of the year training them and
got about 8 months worth of production work out of them. A couple stayed on
after the 1 year "obligatory service to the nation" period had expired and the
rest joined better paying companies.

Honestly being a training ground for young graduates isn't that bad. It was
very good for my personal development because teaching/training inexperienced
but bright coders really raises your game because believe you me, they will
challenge you and put you on the spot! Lol. I should probably make a living of
organizing bootcamps for CS graduates and after 3-4 months, "auction them off"
to companies … evil laugh!

------
tty
>"A web and software developer in Africa earns from $10,000 to $20,000 dollars
per annum whereas their colleagues in Europe and the US earns at least
$100,000 dollars per year."

Either he doesn't consider Eastern European softwware developers as colleagues
or he thinks all of Europe is London, which it certainly isn't. The upper
limit he gave is more than most Eastern European developers make.

~~~
atmosx
In Greece PhD level programmers make from 25-35 EUR[1]. It's abotu 26,5k with
taxes paid. It's extremely bad, but that's the Greek reality apparently and
Greece (was supposed to be) in Europe last time I checked. A _normal_ BSc
programmer is around 1,5k/month. You get the (sad) picture...

[1]
[http://www.dotnetzone.gr/cs/forums/thread/34443.aspx](http://www.dotnetzone.gr/cs/forums/thread/34443.aspx)

~~~
roel_v
"In Greece PhD level programmers make from 25-35 EUR[1]. It's abotu 26,5k with
taxes paid. It's extremely bad, but that's the Greek reality apparently"

Uh that's pretty decent anywhere in Europe for anyone doing actual
'programming', i.e. not management or consulting, so basically meaning all
junior- to mid-level software development jobs. I'm not even sure what 'PhD
level programmer' means - it's not like 'programming' is an academic exercise.

------
cliveowen
"A web and software developer in Africa earns from $10,000 to $20,000 dollars
per annum whereas their colleagues in Europe and the US earns at least
$100,000 dollars per year."

I don't think this is factually true.

That said, the article really makes you think how much easy we have it in the
developed world, yet we always find the time to complain about everything.

~~~
mtct
I, in Italy, as a junior software developer, earn €17000/year.

And genuinely I'm not complaining.

~~~
w1ntermute
Yeah, it's not really accurate for the PIGS , and even in northern Europe,
it's not as high as in the States.

~~~
bdcravens
I had to look the term up, but my first guess was correct ("Portugal, Italy,
Greece, Spain")

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_(economics)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_\(economics\))

~~~
mbesto
FYI - Another one I learned while being in Europe is FIGS, which sort of
represents the "more economically developed" Euro languages - French, Italian,
German, Spanish. This pretty much covers every nation you would need to speak
to in order to do legitimate business in Europe. (Scandinavia generally will
do business with English speakers)

~~~
w1ntermute
The Germans are pretty solid English speakers too. More so than the French,
Italians, or Spaniards, anyway.

~~~
pjmlp
I live in Germany, good luck trying to speak English outside the big cities or
people with lower levels of education.

Thankfully it doesn't matter to me as I speak the language fluently.

------
Dewie
> The problem is that, though the syllabus looks good and would be a good
> starting point for being a software and web developer, these students do not
> spend time working on their personal projects and instead code for a grade
> “A” in exams.

What, these students only work on getting good results in school, where
they're studying? What a bunch of slackers.

~~~
batoure
I think that this may feel like a fun line to poke at but based on my
experience in this part of the world I would say that what the author is
getting at is that in education (with no exceptions given for learning
software) there is a base belief in learning by route. people learn the single
method to accomplish a task, if you ask them to do that very specific task
that was on their c++ final in that way they will execute it flawlessly
because that is what an A looks like and so they have memorized it. But the
minute you change the constraints in any kind of way you find that people are
missing the breadth of the entire skill set needed to function.

~~~
nmrm
Which is a strong argument for rigorous coursework. The type that's
sufficiently time-consuming that it trades off with personal projects.

~~~
batoure
Definitely, however this is a situation caused by a lack of teaching talent.
Teachers are simply not skilled enough to create a programming curriculum that
could be considered rigorous.

------
stefantalpalaru
proper link: [http://www.geektime.com/2014/04/06/agony-of-an-african-
progr...](http://www.geektime.com/2014/04/06/agony-of-an-african-programmer/)

~~~
dang
Thanks. Fixed.

Edit: On closer inspection, that post was blogspam, so I changed the url
again.

------
bayesianhorse
Sometimes I think it would be a better idea to let any educated African (or
any African for that matter) immigrate to any country he wants. In the first
world, programmers (and most other professionals) are more productive and earn
more. They can then send home some of the money they earn, which results in a
net-positive effect of emmigration.

Currently the barrier to this solution are the immigration controls inspired
by irrational fear (rationalized by unquestioned assumptions and
generalizations).

Fixing African institutions to a point where they can compete with the rest of
the world will take decades or even a century or two. The process could be
accelerated by returning expatriates.

