Magatte Wade: Why it's too hard to start a business in Africa -- and how to change it
Magatte Wade: Warum es so schwierig ist, ein Geschäft in Afrika zu starten - und wie man es ändert
Magatte Wade creates jobs in Africa -- and calls attention to the obstacles to job creation on the continent. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
is something that happened to me,
ist etwas, was mir passiert ist,
weeks ago, it happened.
I would ever hear it said to my face
von denen ich nie gedacht hätte,
anderen Menschen zu hören.
they filled it with so much hope.
mit so viel Hoffnung.
renewed my commitment
die ich heute mit Ihnen teilen möchte.
to share with you today.
that I am a haunted person.
dass ich eine Verfolgte bin.
die unmöglichen Geschichten.
meinen Menschen, Menschen wie ich,
laying at the bottom of the ocean,
ertrinken, auf dem Meeresgrund liegen,
that's the best we can do?
was wir tun können?
who are trying to migrate to Europe --
nach Europa auszuwandern,
um einen Job zu finden.
to Europe to find a job.
when we're trying to cross through Libya
wenn wir Libyen durchqueren
maybe sometimes 500 dollars.
vielleicht manchmal 500 Dollar.
of bodies that fall off an airplane.
die aus einem Flugzeug fallen.
the landing gear of a plane
im Fahrwerk eines Flugzeuges,
wenn Sie, wie ich, von Kindesalter an,
from the moment you were a little girl,
Geschichten hören würden,
and they keep repeating themselves,
as my people are dying,
kulturelles Minderwertigkeitsgefühl
we have this culture inferiority,
that comes from us is not good enough.
kommt, gut genug ist.
by creating, it's Michelangelos.
zu kritisieren, ist es Michelangelos.
come to me with problems
nicht mit Problemen an,
of a couple alternatives.
dass du nachgedacht hast."
that you thought of something."
es gibt ein Problem, finde eine Lösung.
something is wrong, find a way to fix it.
the businesses that I start,
the very best of my African culture.
afrikanischen Kultur enthalten.
21st century, world-class tendered,
und qualitativ sehr hochwertig,
sophisticated markets in the world,
anspruchsvollsten Märkte weltweit,
third one is launching next month,
die dritte wird nächsten Monat eingeführt,
where they are, there's no jobs.
keine Arbeit gibt.
is the root cause of why they're leaving.
ist die Grundursache, warum sie gehen.
because they have no money.
because you have no source of income.
keine Einnahmequelle hat.
what is a source of income?
eine Einnahmequelle?
source of income, what is it, tell me?
eine Einnahmequelle? Was? Sagen Sie es!
mittlere Unternehmen geschaffen werden?
and medium size enterprises, SMEs --
for a small-business person
erleichtern sollten,
at the Doing Business index ranking
im Doing Business Index Ranking
it is to start a company,
ein Unternehmen zu gründen,
it is literally impossible
buchstäblich unmöglich ist,
in these countries of ours.
what it means on the ground
was das konkret heißt,
facility in Senegal.
in Senegal.
that I can't find in the country,
die es in meinem Land nicht gibt,
on everything that comes in?
für alles, was importiert wird?
even to look for fine cardboard
Feinkartonagen finde,
fertigen Kartons finde?
are not going to come here
3000 dollars' worth of cardboard
im Wert von 3000 Dollars
so that I can have cardboard,
for another five weeks.
with the most nonsensical laws out there.
da draußen die Hände gebunden.
said to me words that marked me,
etwas, das mich sehr getroffen hat,
to my employees in Senegal.
in Senegal dieselbe Sache.
her name is Yahara.
sie heißt Yahara.
because I had come to believe --
weil ich zu dem Schluss gekommen war --
represented as poor people --
arme Leute dargestellt --
yes, maybe we are inferior.
dass wir vielleicht minderwertig sind.
in the begging situation?"
was ich Ihnen erklärt habe,
just what I explained to you,
dass es nicht an mir liegt.
that I am not the problem.
that's my problem."
ist das Problem.
they now change their outlook on life.
ihre Sicht aufs Leben ändern.
of our solutions, then?
that we should be simplifying
dass wir das Geschäftsumfeld
of all of these countries?
vereinfachen sollten?
from the other 50 countries
aus diesen 50 Ländern bitten,
to do the same thing.
dasselbe zu tun.
what are you doing?
des Spiels, was tun Sie?
everybody here in this room,
is educate yourself,
indem Sie sich informieren,
for e-government solutions.
e-Government-Lösungen ein.
how do we fight corruption?"
wie bekämpfen wir Korruption?"
I'm here to tell you
by the stroke of a pen.
when and how to do that.
wann und wie man das tun soll.
for anyone to do, so do it.
warten muss, also tun Sie es.
that you want to fix corruption.
als täten Sie etwas gegen Korruption.
from the other 50 countries
aus den 50 anderen Ländern,
to get my stuff in the country,
um Dinge zu importieren,
that I would have to go a pay a bribe?
dass ich Leute bestechen müsste?
unsinnige Gesetze.
you don't need to wait for anyone.
Sie müssen auf niemanden warten.
an Souveränität fehlt,
that maybe you have no sovereignty,
I have simple words for our "leaders."
Worte für unsere "Regierung".
of millions of young people
junger Leute,
im Leben haben,
and everything is good,
und alles ist gut,
you get out of my way,
Sie lassen mir freie Bahn
we create all these jobs we need,
wir schaffen alle nötigen Arbeitsplätze
this very prosperous country
sehr wohlhabenden Land,
it should have been for a long time.
we move on with our lives.
wir leben unser Leben weiter.
the calm, productive way.
auf die ruhige, produktive Art.
ever even try to think
auch nur versuchen sich vorzustellen,
if we don't go there.
happiness, human flourishing --
menschliches Aufblühen --
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Magatte Wade - Brand creatorMagatte Wade creates jobs in Africa -- and calls attention to the obstacles to job creation on the continent.
Why you should listen
Magatte Wade's first company, Adina World Beverages, brought Senegalese bissap to US consumers through Whole Foods Market, Wegmans and United Natural Foods, Inc. Her second company, Tiossan, brought Senegalese skin care recipes to US consumers through Nordstrom and boutique beauty retailers. Her third company, SkinIsSkin, manufactures lip balms based on Senegalese ingredients in Senegal and markets them in the US to reduce racial bias.
Based on her experiences creating consumer brands and building agricultural and manufacturing capacity in Senegal, Wade has spoken at dozens of universities including Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia and MIT, among other, as well as at global conferences on innovation and economic development in France, Dubai, Guatemala, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and many more. She writes for the Huffington Post, Barron's, and the UK Guardian. She is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum at Davos and has appeared on the cover of Forbes Afrique. She was also named one of the "Twenty Young Power Women of Africa" by Forbes US.
Magatte Wade | Speaker | TED.com