You may not have heard of Chinese firm Transsion – but it is currently dominating the mobile phone market in Africa and the Middle East with three brands that have never been sold in China.
Chinese-made phones are calling the shots in Africa as they beat global giants Samsung and Apple::undefined
If we assume the loans will implode either way, the Chinese model at least funnels some of the money back to their own contractors, and ends with some goodwill and infrastructure. It’s an aid programme with extra steps.
I wonder if the western model optimizes for loans doomed to fail to use them as a lever to extract structural and political concessions, or if it’s just a happy accident.
This isn’t as absurd as it looks.
If we assume the loans will implode either way, the Chinese model at least funnels some of the money back to their own contractors, and ends with some goodwill and infrastructure. It’s an aid programme with extra steps.
I wonder if the western model optimizes for loans doomed to fail to use them as a lever to extract structural and political concessions, or if it’s just a happy accident.