Dambisa Moyo and the Rigotnomics Development Bank

Wow! Look at this chick! A native of Zambia with advanced degrees in public policy and economics from Harvard and Oxford about to publish an attack on Western aid to Africa (Dead Aid)

Interviewed by the New York Times, she was asked "What do you think has held back Africans? " She answers "I believe it’s largely aid. You get the corruption — historically, leaders have stolen the money without penalty — and you get the dependency, which kills entrepreneurship. You also disenfranchise African citizens, because the government is beholden to foreign donors and not accountable to its people" (Is there any empirical paper showing more aid reduces entrepreneurship? Sounds like a great paper!)

She also mentions Kiva, where you can make a loan directly to an African entrepreneur. This has lead me to creating the Rigotnomics Development Bank (RDB) and lend directly to entrepreneurs (thorugh Kiva). Anyone with a deposit in the RDB (minimum 5$) has a vote in which projects get financing and returns are shared proportionally to deposits. For those interested, let me know and I'll organise a meeting so we can discuss how we want to run this thing. We could definetely borrow a lot of money for HEID students, and it's a safe depoist, not aid! and I will make it 100% transparent, on a kick ass website)

She also as some non-academic credibility. She was working for Goldman Sachs in London in the capital markets, helping mostly emerging countries (Israel, Turkey and South Africa) to issue bonds. Asked why she didn’t get a bond issue going in her native Zambia or other African countries, she answers that "issuing a bond would require that the president and the cabinet ministers go out and market their country. Why would they do that when they can just call up the World Bank and say, “Can I please have some money?”

David Roodman (the xtabond2 guy) is skeptical about her ideas, though he glamors her as the anti-Bono!

Now let's set up the RDB.